To the Mom with a “Hard Baby”

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What to Do When Your Baby is High Needs

I don’t remember a whole lot about the first few weeks after Butterfly was born. I mean, I do remember, but much of it is sort of a blur with just a few moments standing out sharply against the rest.

One of those moments was standing in a lactation consultant’s office with a veteran IBCLC and hearing her say, “You’re doing a great job. You just have a hard baby. I had one like that and I still remember what a struggle it was; it’s a very tough time, but you’ll make it.”

It probably sounds odd, but those were the most encouraging and freeing words to me. I went from feeling like my mothering instincts and efforts were totally failing to feeling empowered that I was doing all the right things and just needed to stick it out.

cute baby
She was probably laughing at my attempt to get her to sleep…but isn’t she cute???

Now don’t get me wrong: my sweet girl is and has always been the happiest, most fun, most delightful child ever (though I might be a bit biased).

But she was/is also very intense. And sleeping is something she has never really gotten into. Or rather, she doesn’t mind sleeping, it’s just that the whole “going to sleep” and “staying asleep” thing is inconvenient to her voracious appetite for anything that involves not sleeping.

Add to that that Butterfly is fantastic at expressing her feelings (and especially in those early days it was mostly letting us know what she *didn’t* like- which included basically anything that wasn’t nursing or at least being held) and that was pretty much a summary of my life for the first few months.

I’m only a few years into this mothering thing so I’m no expert by any means, but here’s some things I know now that I wish I had known then.

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1. Your baby is not any other baby.

I know this sounds obvious, but it took me a while to understand just how unique every baby is. Just because your baby doesn’t do things the way they’re “supposed to” doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. Take all of the “supposed to”s with a grain of salt, and do what seems best for YOUR baby.

This one clicked for me finally when I asked a mom group how in the world I was supposed to get my baby to stay asleep while I laid her down.

The dominant answer was to lay her down when she was drowsy, but not asleep. And I wanted to scream because I didn’t know how to do that, and felt that obviously I was missing some big magical parenting skill. Then I realized it wasn’t that I was un-magical. It was that my baby doesn’t do drowsy. Seriously, any time she has fallen asleep it has been an accident on her part. It wasn’t bad advice, it just didn’t match my baby.

2. There is such a thing as an easy/easier baby and their parenting didn’t make them that way.

Babies have different personalities, just like adults. There is such a thing as a chilled out baby (I have one now). That yours is not one of them does not make you a bad parent.

When parenting a High Needs baby, it can be tempting feel guilty because you think surely you’ve done something or aren’t doing something that is making them this way. Hear this: IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT. They just have a different level of needs than other babies, and you are doing an amazing job as a parent as you respond to those needs.

3. How long, how often, how regularly, and where your baby sleeps are not measurements of your success.

sleeping baby
Mattress on the floor for her bed

Go ahead and learn a polite or funny answer to give whenever people ask about sleep and move on. I settled on “She’s doing great!” It was two years before Butterfly slept through the night on her own, and we created our version of a Montessori Bed to make even that happen.

To this day she doesn’t need as much sleep as her peers and is up before the sun every morning. How and how much she sleeps doesn’t make me a bad parent; it makes me an awesome one for recognizing and responding to her needs, even when they seem greater or different than average.


Find what works for you and go with it until it doesn’t work for you anymore; then change! Some babies sleep great by themselves from Day 1; some babies scream relentlessly if you just think about putting them down. Don’t let yourself feel judged for doing what you feel is best for your baby, whatever that looks like.

4. Ask other moms for advice! And then ignore a lot of it.

Other moms are there and have been there! Most of the time, somewhere in all the advice is an idea that will work for your baby- you just have to figure out which one it is!

And then honor the rest as advice that worked well for someone else, and ignore it- or store it away as possibly helpful for your next baby. And talking to other moms will often lead you to that other person who says those wonderful words: “Mine too.”

5. You will make it, and it will get better.

Eventually my baby would go in the car seat without screaming. She even FELL ASLEEP in it sometimes. It was amazing. I used to watch my friends with their newborns asleep in their car seats and wonder what sort of fairy dust I was missing out on.

When she moved past screaming in the car, it was blissful to be able to travel out of the house without feeling like I was torturing my child! But for the first couple of months I thought that day would never come. But she grew up. And it happened. So hang in there. It gets better.

6. Once you’ve assured yourself that your child is unique and that doesn’t make you a bad mom, quit comparing.

Be happy for the mom who gets a shower every day or whose kid sleeps more than an hour at a time at night. That’s wonderful. It’s tempting to feel like you have to “prove” yourself to those moms, but you don’t. You are an awesome mom just the way you are and your baby is amazing just the way he/she is. Accept it and let the rest go.

7. A hard baby is not a burden.

stylish toddler
Her personality coming out in her sense of style

My little girl is a blessing, no matter what. She is beautiful, wonderful, smart, and fun. Some days the challenges will eclipse the joy for a few moments, but the joy will come back with that next giggle or smile or hand grabbing your face. It cannot be said emphatically enough: you hold in your arms an amazing treasure!


My hard baby has grown into a beautiful 3yo with just as big of a personality as she had when she was a newborn. The intense crying has turned into a large vocabulary and the ability to express her feelings very well (which has it’s own challenges as a 3yo, but that’s another post!), and her appetite for life is still just as big and contagious.

She still doesn’t need much sleep, but even that can have it’s benefits- she’s more flexible if we need her to be, so we get to have more adventures. And this girl is going to rule a country or run a company or something one day, seriously.

So to the new mom with a hard baby: hang in there.

It WILL get better. You are an amazing mom. Your baby is beautiful. And it’s worth it.

I’ve create a pack of Scripture Cards and a post about Practical Coping Strategies for Anxiety for Moms to encourage you- be sure and check them out! To download the Scripture cards, just put your email in the box below.

Do you have a hard baby? Tell me about them in the comments- I would love to hear from a fellow Mama- we’re in this together!

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31 thoughts on “To the Mom with a “Hard Baby””

  1. I can relate to all of this. It’s hard and it gets easier. I now have a 2yo with an impressive vocabulary and great social skills.

    1. Yes! It’s amazing how all those pieces that were difficult in those early days start to blossom into great skills and personality traits!

      1. I am very blessed to read this article! So wonderful and inspiring, I have a beautiful high need 5 mos old baby girl, a first time mom. Been reading articles about high need babies as I was struggling to cope initially. Heard many positive as well as negative comments which questioned my parenting skills and sometimes could make me feel down. Hard when you heard somebody else comparing your baby to others, but this is indeed empowering. Did all my best for my little girl’s needs, I am a mother who first and for most know my child, and I am addressing her needs, I am doing incredibly well. I remembered the nurse smilling and telling me “She really knows what she wants” the day she was born. And so, I know one day my baby girl will grow up to become a strong and a very good leader in a positive way. Thank you very much for this blog ❤

      2. Ftm of a now 6 mo old high needs baby girl. Shes very much advanced but typical getting her to sleep techqunies involving very bad sleep props stopped working and I was forced to have to start teaching her to sleep (and gentle methods did NOT work, over stimulated her more). Anywhos, last night was night 20 and it was BAD! I can’t tell you how MUCH I needed this today. Thank you!

  2. I love #4! I always say do your research on all things parenting and baby, but take every bit of it with a grain of salt! I love this though–It’s so comforting to know that it’s not me being a bad mom, but sometimes it’s the child is just difficult (especially during Leaps).

  3. This is such a great article for first time moms! I remember going to my lactation group and I was exhausted because my son had fed 16x the previous day and I got a total of 3 hours of sleep. I was so envious of the other moms that had babies sleeping through the night – until I heard how they had lost weight that week. I realized that we all have struggles and sometimes it’s easier to focus on what everyone else is excelling at vs seeing their struggles as well. Being a new mom is so hard, and this article is so encouraging <3

  4. Now my 5 month old son LOVES sleep, and he will sleep from 10pm to 10am straight if I let him, but getting him to sleep used to be a big struggle, and I used to do everything I could to settle him down but he wouldn’t have it. I had to remember it was just him, and it wasn’t anything I was or was not doing. Great blog!

  5. This is such a great reminder for moms with difficult babies! As a new mother, you may feel very isolated and alone, but it’s very encouraging to hear that others have gone through the same thing! My baby was very difficult too, so I can definitely relate to this!

  6. I have 4 kiddos and once had the easy baby and the hard baby. As I write this, I’ve been up all night with babe #4 (who is only 2 months) because he doesn’t want to sleep longer than 45 minutes before he wants to be held again. It’s hard. Each babe is so different .

  7. You clearly are a great mum. Out of my five babes I have had some hard babies. It passes, just in the moment it is hard to imagine that it all will pass. Good job mama.

  8. Yes!! Each baby is different. My first was an easy baby and my 4 month old…not so much! What worked for my first didn’t for my second so you just have to know how to care for each baby differently.

  9. Oh I feel for you deeply. My son was somewhere between easy and hard. There many, many days (and nights) with very little sleep and a lot of crying. Then there were a few that felt so easy it was like a dream. Did I fall asleep nursing again? ???? It’s very easy to feel like a bad parent. It’s extremely easy to think it’s all your fault. What we should always remember that the guilt we feel about being a bad mom is a sign that we are doing everything we possibly can for them which makes us good. No matter how guilty we feel.

  10. Oh yes, there are definitely easier babies. Having three kids have educated me on that. My eldest was so manageable — I was able to do everything I needed to do. My last two, though, are totally different stories, haha! They rock my world.

  11. It’s so hard not to compare anything – kids, parenting choices or even stuff to others. What great encourage and advice for mamas! I think looking past what doesn’t feel convenient for you to look at your child’s strength will build the most beautiful connection!

  12. My daughter, now 29, was a hard baby. Spitting up until 6 months, not taking naps during the day and having strong vocal cords! As an infant, she knew what she wanted. Today, she is strong minded and assertive, all in a good way. She is phenomenal salesperson and manager. She now has her first child, who reminds me so much of her. I just take it all in and SMILE!

  13. Even reading this with my 3 year old son who has been a “hard baby” from the minute he was born this is encouraging. Our challenges now are different than as a newborn, but very real all the same. I feel like I’ve just accepted that he is our difficult child and probably always will be. So thank you for this!

  14. Thank you so much for posting. I am a new mom of a 4 month old baby like this. I feel guilty for even calling him “hard” or “difficult“ because he is so sweet and happy (when he is being held).
    It brought me so much comfort to know that this is ok, he is ok, I am doing ok. And that he might even grow out of screaming bloody murder every time we get in the car????????.

    1. Aw, Mama, I’m so glad you were encouraged! I am/was right there with you. You are doing so great- being a first time mom is so challenging, and adding in a high needs baby takes it to a whole other level. It IS all okay, and you’re doing great. Hang in there- it gets better!!!

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