"Was She a Good Baby?" Don’t Ask!

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.

Avertissement : Les informations présentes sur notre site ne constituent PAS des conseils médicaux pour une personne ou une condition spécifique. Elles sont uniquement destinées à titre d'information générale. Si vous avez des questions médicales et des préoccupations concernant votre enfant ou vous-même, veuillez contacter votre fournisseur de soins de santé. Le lait maternel est la meilleure source de nutrition pour les bébés. Il est important que, en préparation et pendant l'allaitement, les mères adoptent une alimentation saine et équilibrée. La combinaison de l'allaitement au sein et au biberon dans les premières semaines de vie peut réduire la production de lait maternel de la mère et il est difficile de revenir sur la décision de ne pas allaiter. Si vous décidez d'utiliser une préparation pour nourrissons, vous devez suivre les instructions avec soin.