19.5 months

Liam was exactly 19.5 months when Ben was born.  These are some pictures my sister-in-law Michele took of him while I was in the hosital having Ben.

He looks so happy, so chubby (look at those chubby legs and that size 5 diaper), and like he has so much hair!  He also looks so much like a baby still, and he very much was.  He had maybe 20 words, but rarely used words at all except to label things.  Today Ben is 19.5 months; he has much less hair, is about 10 pounds thinner and 3 inches shorter (wears a diaper a size smaller and clothing 3 sizes smaller).  Ben has 100 words or so, frequently uses them to request demand things.  As much as Liam seemed like a baby when Ben was born, Ben seems even younger to me now.  The pictures are bittersweet because back then I had no concerns about Liam's development and every hope that Ben would be an easier baby than Liam was.  Liam and I had no clue how much this guy would change our lives:

It is a good thing that life happened in this order.  Ben's constant crying helped to highlight Liam's auditory defensiveness which is what prompted me to seek help for Liam, and I have a feeling if Liam had remained an only child, he would have gone undiagnosed until school age.  At 19.5 months, Ben is a very difficult and generally unhappy child.  As difficult as it was to nurse Ben while Liam climbed the couch or colored crayons on the wall, it would be much more difficult to nurse a newborn today while carrying Ben and walking circles around the house for 1-2 hours just to quiet the screaming for a bit.  Ben refuses to share Mommy, pushing Liam off my lap or hitting him for trying to talk to me, but Liam has always been a very generous big brother and allowed Ben however much attention Ben wants that day.

Ben is now the same age Liam was when he became a big brother, and I am really glad to never have to experience 2 under 2 again.  In fact, I am certain that after the last 19.5 months, I am done having babies altogether.