PARENTS
"Was She a Good Baby?" Don’t Ask!
A mom shares her struggles of raising a baby who was difficult to soothe.
Written by
Chessa Latifi Donaldson
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PARENTS
Written by
Chessa Latifi Donaldson
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It was a common question after my daughter was born.
“She’s very good at being a baby,” I’d respond curtly.
Instagram may tell you that infants are supposed to lay quietly in their adorable swaddles, a peacefully snoozing burrito while you drink your coffee next to them in a sun-lit room peppered with leafy green plants and coordinating wallpaper. My reality—and many women’s reality—was far different.
We lived in a cramped apartment where there was no escaping my daughter’s fussiness. Soiled burp cloths piled up next to a cardboard box with nappys and wipes. Discarded dummys were sprinkled on every surface. My daughter cried—a lot. The root cause? Likely my own inexperience, coupled with unrelenting exhaustion and a child that just needed a little bit more.
Was she a good baby?
She was great at being a baby. She cried, she slept (never long enough), she was gaining weight, she was occasionally focusing her eyes on an object for a few seconds. She, however, was not easy to soothe. She required constant rocking and shushing. Six o’clock in the evening announced what we called “the witching hour,” where it was guaranteed tears for entirely too long.
But there was nothing wrong with her. She was not a bad baby. As she grew up, I learned her personality, and she taught me what she needed to feel comfortable. She does not like loud, sudden sounds. Groups of new people make her nervous. She needs her parents close by. She’s shy, and also very smart. There was never any fooling her. As a preschooler, this hasn’t changed too much. She’s slow to warm up, but once there, she’s game to play.
When you ask, “Is she a good baby?” you’re insinuating that there are bad babies. There are no bad babies. Sure—some may be easier to soothe than others—but babies all want the same things: comfort and food. Needing those things does not make them good nor bad. Their method of expressing those needs is not good nor bad. Babies are simply babies, giving out clues to their personality as early as can be, and it’s our job as parents to figure them out.
Disclaimer: The information on our site is NOT medical advice for any specific person or condition. It is only meant as general information. If you have any medical questions and concerns about your child or yourself, please contact your health provider. Breastmilk is the best source of nutrition for babies. It is important that, in preparation for and during breastfeeding, mothers eat a healthy, balanced diet. Combined breast- and bottle-feeding in the first weeks of life may reduce the supply of a mother's breastmilk and reversing the decision not to breastfeed is difficult. If you do decide to use infant formula, you should follow instructions carefully.
