First published: 23 September 2022 @ 6:00 pm
High-needs baby, or a baby who requires high maintenance, can be a challenge. But they’re not necessarily difficult babies. They’re just babies who need extra attention and care.
In fact, babies who are high maintenance need a lot of support from the parents, which is why we believe in putting them in their own cribs with their own diaper pails.
They need that support so that the parents can focus on other things, like their own careers and activities.
As you’ll see from this article, if your baby has these characteristics, they are probably a high maintenance baby.
The Five Characteristics of a High Maintenance Baby
1. No Crying It Out
Most high maintenance babies don’t know how to self-soothe at night or when they wake up in the morning.
In fact, they don’t know how to fall asleep without being held or rocked by their parents at night or when they wake up in the morning.
This makes it difficult for parents who work full time. They have little time during the day to tend to their fussy baby when they need attention the most.
2. Not Ready for a Nap
It’s not unusual for high-need babies to have trouble falling asleep without some sort of external help.
They may need something as simple as being rocked or something as elaborate as being put in a crib with his or her own diaper pail and a pacifier.
Many high-need babies don’t even know how to fall asleep on their own without some sort of external help during the night-time hours.
Therefore, we recommend putting them in their own cribs, whether they’re newborns or older babies.
Photo by Laura Garcia on Pexels.
3. Separation Anxiety
Some high-need babies have separation anxiety, so they cry loudly when left alone by their parents for even a few minutes. It’s a common complaint among new parents.
To fight this problem, you can use distraction techniques to distract your child from the anxiety.
For example, leave him with a sitter while you go outside or have another appointment.
If your child has an acute need for touch, offer him an affectionate back rub or massage before you leave. This will help keep his anxiety level down.
4. Poor Feeding Habits
It may be their personality traits, or just their hunger, but some high-need babies have a hard time eating.
Some high-need babies are picky eaters and don’t like any food that you put in front of them.
They will often eat very little or not at all if they don’t like the taste of what you are feeding them.
Others can’t seem to stomach certain foods and may vomit if they eat too much of a certain food, especially one that is highly sugary or has lots of salt.
Some high maintenance babies eat a lot and easily get hungry. If your baby is like this, then you need to feed them frequently.
5. No Lying Still While Being Tended To by Their Parents
Not all high maintenance babies grow up to be difficult children, but some do. And some babies are just high maintenance from the start.
Some babies don’t like being handled, and others are very demanding when they are fed, played with, or changed.
It’s not that they don’t want to be loved or cared for, but they just have a lot of energy and can be overwhelming.
The good news is that many high-need babies grow out of these behaviors as they get older.
So if your baby is high maintenance at six months old and you’re already panicking about their needs, you can expect things to calm down a little as they get older.
Photo by ANTONI SHKRABA on Pexels.
Dealing with Baby’s Demanding Personality
There are five characteristics of a high-need baby, but it’s important to remember that not all high maintenance babies have these characteristics.
They can be high-need babies with only one or two characteristics. In fact, some high-need babies don’t have any of these five characteristics.
It all depends on the individual baby and how much their parents can handle in tending to their needs.
While we know some parents may find this challenging, we also know that it is better for the parents to care about other aspects of life.
Our blog, Mature Parent, is devoted to helping parents learn how to be more mindful and compassionate with their babies, so we hope that this information helps you as a parent.
If you liked this article, please recommend it to others as well.
