High Needs Baby!

(Top Picture: Kaitlin at 4 months, Bottom: Kaitlin at 7 months)

I don't know about any of you other mommies out there, but I have seen the doctor for my daughter so many times, read numerous articles and I have since discovered that my darling little girl is a "high needs baby".

Certainly, to a first time mom, the term "high needs" doesn't sound pleasant and I can assure you, from personal experience, it is not. If you're unfamiliar with the term, consider yourself lucky. Haha.

A high needs baby (in my own lament terms, so please don't quote me on this as I am not an expert) is an infant that requires constant stimulation and constant attention. A high needs baby is one who bores easily with the simple things that most babies enjoy and most often times (at least from my own experience) always needs to be held and can rarely sleep through the night. My daughter Kaitlin, for example, has numerous toys! Mountains and mountains of glowing, shiny plastic that doesn't seem to interest her in the least. She'll play with certain toys for about 5 - 10 minutes and then she gets into these fits of rage where she either wants to be carried or simply wants the company of another person (preferrably, a familiar face). She has a jumperoo, a bouncer, a swing and a walker. Grant it, I have heard that many of these things are bad for babies to use and have taken that into great consideration before purchasing many of them, but Kaitlin got so difficult at one time that I was honestly desperate. I know that sounds bad, but being home alone and pregnant with a screaming baby for more than 8 hours is a bit overwhelming, wouldn't you say? By the way, I should add that Kaitlin has been high needs since the day we brought her home. She was a firecracker from the very beginning, even the nurses at the hospital warned me that she would not be an easy baby (boy they weren't kidding). =)

At first, I thought perhaps that I was just spoiling her too much and I began to limit the amount of time I would carry her or I wouldn't carry her immediately after she would start crying. I would make sure that all her basic needs were met, of course, and if they were, I would simply let her cry it out. I then realized that letting her cry it out didn't work. I took her to the doctor to make sure she didn't have colic or acid reflux and that is when her pediatrician told me that I had a "high needs infant". My jaw hit the floor and I suddenly felt a twinge of panic!

"High needs?? What in the world is that and how can I cure it? Is it life enabling?? Dangerous?? Will she develop normally??"

These were the questions that rushed through my brain, but before I could blurt them all out (as I often do when I have questions for the doctor), she simply told me not to worry. High needs babies are very common and they aren't normally developmentally delayed or anything, they just simply require a bit more work then other infants. I still didn't quite get it, so she told me to look it up on the internet and if I had any further questions, I could give her a call, but to rest assure as my baby was perfectly healthy, just a little high maintenence.

"High maintenence" now that term I was famliar with and as soon as she said that, everything began to click. I quickly went home and researched the words "High Needs Baby" on the internet. You'd be so surprised at how many sites offer advice and information on these types of babies!

Although each baby is different, they all have similar patterns of behavior. For example, constant fussiness, always wanting to be held, grows bored easily with toys, HATES tummy time, etc. The list goes on. My little stinker fit the bill to a T! However, I also read in an article that although these babies require a little extra, they eventually grow out of it and I have also read that these babies grow up to be quite the little geniuses. I don't know how true that is, but if that's the case, I don't mind putting up with a little fussing and fighting.

I'm still waiting for my little one to outgrow these terrible tantrums and bursts of fussy fits, but in the meantime, it's been quite an experience so far. I, of course wouldn't trade this experience in for the world and if I have any advice to give, the only real thing would be patience...that and earplugs (haha...just joking). I've found that a strict schedule works well for my daughter, but it might not be the same for everyone. If there are any mothers out there who can relate and have any advice on what to do with a high needs baby (maybe some advice on how one can get some sleep or how one can get things done around the house without allowing their little one to scream their little lungs out, I'm sure other mommies would appreciate the input tremendously).

Until then, please know, new mommies out there and seasoned ones, if you have a high needs baby, you are not alone! Let us all unite and join as one, not to stop the high needs frenzy, as it is part of our little ones darling personality, but to come together, vent, share experiences and give advice! After all, who would know better then other mommies who have the same thing going on, right?