It all depends on the circumstances my firend. You gotta bite the bullet sometimes and realize that the one person who got 3 years for an offense may have had one extra factor against their favor than the person who gets probation for a similar offense.
BTW, you made it clear that the guilty plea cam after the child abandonment, but not the arrest date of the offense. Sometimes the arrest warrant occured well before the initial court date comes. A bunch of different variable come into play.

