What is an "easy" baby?

[robinator]

Lane sttn from 6 weeks. She isn't overly clingy. She was never colicky, never had reflux. Doesn't have meltdowns.

However, she will NOT let me leave her in church nursery. She has NEVER been happy stationary: I would look with jealous longing at other babies who were just chilling in their carseat. We also had to always be on the move - I couldn't just sit in a chair or glider with her; oh, no. Up and walking or I'd hear about it.

Even now, she would rather be finger walking instead of sitting happily and playing (my poor back!). But yet she is so fun, and loving, and silly and clever.....I love her!

How do you define an easy baby? Is a baby easy if they do the things you want them to do? Are they difficult if they don't do what you want them to?

I'm curious how you define it, because we all probably have different ideas of what an "easy" baby is.

 

[babybrums]

I think I would consider an easy baby one that is generally happy and can - at times - entertain themselves. LO is usually pretty happy, doesn't fuss much. He will play in his bouncer if I put Finding Nemo in but if I put him in his room to play with his toys for a while he only lasts a few minutes. He doesn't fuss when we go out in public and loves going to other people. I would consider him to be, for the most part, an easy baby. Especially when I compare him to some babies on here. I don't know how some of you moms do it! I don't know if I could handle a "difficult" baby.

 

[LegoHouse]

My son is an easy baby. He needs my boob a lot, but he is easy to settle. Our relationship has gelled really well and I find it really easy to meet all of his needs. He is happy 99% of the time, and has never cried tears.

My daughter was an extremely high needs, refluxy little madam. She cried 99% of the time, and was super hard to please. I loved her the same, but boy was she hard work!!



Neither of them STTN at 6 months. My daughter slept through sometimes at 18 months. I'll see how my son is

 

[GracieGoo]

Before my little boys sleep probs (that I have posted about) I considered him to be a very easy baby - I still do in general. He is happy in himself, happy with other people, a chatty (well in baby language) little monkey who gives me so much joy that I personally didn't believe being a mum would be this 'easy'. I think all babies have their moments, if a baby suffers from colic reflux etc then obviously until that is under control then it will be difficult to mum/dad. To me if the parents feel like they are managing well and coping in general with the changing ways of their baby then they have an 'easy' baby... Doesn't necessarily mean that baby would be easy with other parents (I can deal with my little guy wanting to be into EVERYTHING and literally not keeping still, but doesn't mean another mum could, I would struggle with a baby that was hard to feed for example as I would always be worried about getting the right stuff into them)...

 

[fairydust87]

My son lol. Hes an angel. Been sttn since 10 weeks. Never cries unless hes teething or tired and you cant even call it a cry. Forver smiling and giggling. Been eating solids from 4 months with no problem. He self soothes and can entertain himself hours at a time. I can do whatever I want as I know hes ok playing with his
toys. Im so lucky and blessed to have such and amazing child x

 

[Samiam03]

My son was an easy baby. He was entertaining himself from day one...let me lay him down forever with almost no fuss, slept on his own, hardly cried, ECT. Even now he is an easy toddler...never fussed with any changes like moving to sippy from bottle, moving to the big boy bed, ECT. He also still entertains himself for long stretches.

I realize how much I took him for granted now that my daughter is so clingy lol.

 

[mellyboo]

My baby is getting easier... Bed time sucks tho and she becomes non easy during the day she is happy watching you do your thing unless she gets tired and needs a nap you'll hear her whine and then I'll try and put her down for a nap!

 

[Sapphire83]

People have different ideas of 'easy' babies as their priorities differ. Some people may consider a picky eater who sleeps through the night an easy baby. Others may disagree as difficult meal times override the fact that baby sleeps through the night for them.

 

[Reno]

Everyone tells me I have an easy baby! He is great with his food, is happy sitting on his own, or will be held by anyone!

He has never slept through the night, but I don't mind a few night cuddles! Since I've been back at work I don't have the willpower to be up with him in the night, so he ends up in our bed after his first waking.

He is very content and babbles away to himself. He doesn't cry unless he is fighting sleep!

 

[staralfur]

At this point I would consider my next baby easy if he/she slept well. And I don't mean STTN (though that would be nice) but rather was easy to get to sleep and didn't mind sleeping on their own occasionally.

 

[robinator]

People have different ideas of 'easy' babies as their priorities differ. Some people may consider a picky eater who sleeps through the night an easy baby. Others may disagree as difficult meal times override the fact that baby sleeps though the night for them.

I definitely agree with this - it's really what's important to us. It may also be a case of the grass always being greener - like I am blessed with her health and ability to sttn and self settle; that she's easy to transport, a good eater, etc. But when I want to sit down and just take a friggin break, I can't, because she always wants to be on the move. Crawling isn't good enough; she wants to walk. This would be great, except she doesn't walk alone (first steps last week aside). Since she was four months old, she would much rather be finger walking than sitting and checking out any books or toys. It is impossible to sit and have a conversation with someone.

So in this regard, to me, she's not so easy - pretty high needs with her sense of adventure. But compared to other babies I've heard about/read about, she's a piece of cake.

 

[fannyadams]

I think a baby is 'easy' if the parents find them easy!
With my son I never understood why people found babies hard work. What a shock I've had with my daughter!

People used to say I coped really well with my son as I was a teenager when I had him. I used to wonder what they meant as he just fitted into my life easily (he had his moments don't get me wrong!).

So I would say he was easy as he wasn't a major upheaval to my life.

My daughter had colic and has been high needs ever since. My life has had to change completely. I don't sleep, I can't meet friends with her, everything revolves round her and her needs. Not easy at all.

 

[little_lady]

I agree with fannyadams. I always called Isabelle an easy baby. She still doesn't sttn but she only cried if she was tired or hungry, and I didn't find my life taken over by baby because she napped well and enjoyed being in her bouncer just watching. So she was easy because I found my life was still easy and I had a lot of 'me time' still.

Now she is a more difficult toddler because I've lost a lot of that time and most of it is spent entertaining her or pulling her out of somewhere she shouldn't be lol.

I'll see what my second baby is like, I suspect he won't be as 'easy' but only because I won't have so much time to dedicate to him now.

 

[MrsM17]

I will explain why I think me son is NOT an easy baby.

Didn't stop crying from the moment he was born (no lie) until 12 weeks when he was diagnosed with cmpi. He was that bad in hospital the nurses called a doctor down at 5 am to check him as he did not stop crying. This continued when we got home. He would sleep approx 4 hrs in a 24 hr period from exhaustion.
Couldn't leave the house, go for walks or anything it was torture.
He was admitted to hospital at 12 weeks as he was so bad.
Severe eczema, so bad he needed bandage wraps (due to cmpi)
He chilled for a bit having finally been diagnosed. Slept sort of well and fed well. Took to weaning well. Plauged by 5am screaming session wake ups from here on though and he still never sleeps past 5.30/6am.
Napped for no longer than 30 mins at a time 3x a day so could NEVER get anything done.
Started teething - up all night constant screaming got 6 teeth in 8 weeks.
Was ill constantly for 3 months, had 2 ear infections, continuous cold, terrible cough, hand foot & mouth, D & V bug.
Started to refuse to eat and refuse formula.This continued for 2 months. Again back and forth to docs/hospital. Lost weight.
Started to eat again but still refused formula (huge prob if your baby is cmpi!!)
Started to paddy and throw strops, can't take him out shopping, wont sit in his pushchair, screams to get out.
Still doesn't sleep through.
Now started to take formula again 3 months later

Having said all this my son under all those issues is such a happy, smilely baby and I love him so so much.

Anything other than this would be an easy baby to me haha!!!! x

 

[AngelofTroy]

Micah is for the most part now an 'easy baby'. After 2 months of slow weight gain, poor feeding, tongue and lip tie problems, reflux and long periods of awake time at night, he has settled into a lovely routine!

He sleeps 10pm-8am with no waking for a feed or anything else (I fully expect this to change tho!) combi-feeding has taken the stress out of feeding and he's gaining nicely along the 9th percentile now. He's generally happy in the day, loves to be held but will lie in his cot and watch the mobile for a bit and is usually happy to sit in a bouncer while I get short jobs done. A mirror can always make him smile

The word used most to describe him is 'content'

 

[leahtaba]

i feel as though my baby would be an an 'easy' baby as shes independent, eats well, can self settle, sleeps a good five hour stretch at least five nights a week, rarely cries, doesnt have colic or reflux etc..

but that doesnt mean im not usually up all night, i still have to deal with poosplosions, projectile vomits, still have to constantly worry over everything and still have a million and one things to do each day. so i dont really think there is such thing as an 'easy' baby really. looking after my easy baby certainly isnt easy! i just have it east compared to some women deaking with colicy babies or high needs babys...

ok im babbling hope my point was somewhat coherent

 

[candyem]

My son is an 'easy' baby. He is so happy and content, smiles at everyone he sees, is very socialble, has always slept well and I can't remember the last time he cried.

He got his first tooth through on Boxing Day (at least this was when we noticed it - he hadn't made any fuss at all and had been sleeping through as normal).

The only thing that has been testing had been weaning but now we are over that hurdle he is easy.

My mum and my mil are always commenting on how easy he is when they have him and that they 'Barely know they have him'.

My next child will obviously be a devil child

 

[BlueHadeda]

My firstborn was the easiest, most laidback child I've ever came across. After a brief stint with colic at 2-3 months, he slept through from 8pm till 8am every night, plus 4-6 hours naps (in total) during the day. He fell asleep at the breast or self settled/self soothed. He played on his own (preferred that!), never cried not even for milk or food or from being tired. He was never mizerable. He adapted to change very easily. Loved going out and would sit still on my lap in restaurants or visits with friends, just staring at people, smiling at them the whole time. He ate well in his first year, was extremely healthy, breastfed only about 4-5 times a day and only for 10min a time. He picked up weight so well that he ended up in the 97th percentile. He didn't even have issues cutting any of his teeth!

He never minded other people holding him though he was clearly very mommy-attached. He never moaned, he always hit his milestones early and was very strong. He was quiet in the car, usually fell asleep. He loved going shopping. He listened when I said No (usually!). He didn't throw tantrums until he was 18 months old, and then it only happened a handful of times and stopped abruptly again. He was really, really easy in almost every way. My subsequent children were/are relatively easy as well, but never again was any one of them that easy. My current 5-month old is still what I'd consider easy, because she rarely cries, entertains herself, drinks well and sleeps well, but she's still my most difficult child, LOL.

 

[candyem]

Haha! just remembered that my easy baby isn't so easy at nappy changes

Maybe you wouldn't realise how 'easy' a baby is until you have one that is less easy.

 

[Teeny]

everyone always comments that my daughter is so good. as in doesn't cry unless something is wrong, goes to anyone, will play for a decent time on her own....

but I always give her a bad press, it's left over from her reflux days and our long slog getting her napping in her cot, and she sttn till 4 months but since the. has gone through good and bad phases! I found her first 3 months really hard and love who she is now, so smiley and chatty, but still don't class her as easy......

if my next baby slept thru early, napped independently from birth and self settled early on I think I would be happy and think they were easy!