Please tell me about your grumpy, miserable babies!

[TaVeryMuchLove]

When did they start to cheer up? What are they like now they’re older? I need a light at the end of the tunnel!

DS2 is almost 9 months old and miserable pretty much all the time. Constantly grizzling, crying or full on screaming. It’s not even like this is a new phase - he’s been like it since 8 weeks. Please tell me it’ll get better and he’ll cheer up. I’m so drained.

I have a high needs baby too. He's 1yo now and he has improved the last few months but some days can still be really grumpy all day and it can be tough to manage. So I feel your pain! It did improve like other PPs has said during each milestone though, sitting unaided, crawling, walking etc. It can be draining but he's super curious and loves to explore so I think the grumpiness is frustration in part. Apparently my husband was a grumpy, crying baby and he's now the most laid back, chilled person ever so here's hoping

Mine!!! She was a complete nightmare as a baby. Cried, fussed, could not be left alone, didn't sleep. She is DD2 and there is only 18 months between her and DD1, it nearly killed me.
She got a bit happier with each milestone, walked early at 10 months. I think like others have said she didn't like being a baby! And looking back she may have had undiagnosed reflux issues.
As a toddler she was very stubborn but also very loving and interested in the world.
She's now 12, and is a very sporty girl who is still curious about everything (though at least she knows better than to dismantle things out of curiosity now!). Lockdown was hard for her as she really missed her exercise.

I had a friend with a similar baby, he is now 13 and a lovely, gentle, book lover with a passion for cricket.

I promise it will end, but I completely understand how hard it is right now.

Mine was a high needs baby and is a high needs toddler. He was really really grumpy till he was 2 (that's when his last tooth came in). Since 2, he's been much more chilled with no sign of the terrible 2s so far - I think he had them from 18-24 months during lockdown (🤞🤞🤞).

Sadly no one can tell you when, but it will get better.

For anyone looking for threads like this in the future, DS is now 15 months and improved massively when he became more mobile. Once he could crawl properly, he was much happier and now he can walk he’s better still. In fact, he’s lovely! It was such a hard time when he was teeny, but it does get better. Thanks to all those who told me as much!

With DD1 if literally anyone looked at her she would cry. If we took her anywhere with people, lights or noise she would cry. If she was a moment late for bedtime she would cry. She could not switch off in the day, and naps consisted of half an hour or pushing her in the buggy screaming to get a 28 minute nap.

Things improved drastically at around 9 months when she learnt to pull up and cruise (never crawled), got even better at 11 months when walking and she became sunny, sociable and a delight at 18 months when she started dropping her final nap and sleeping 12 hours at night.

She’s just about to turn 3, is very very bright (according to nursery) and stridently independent - goodness me the tantrums if she can’t take her own shoes off! She really knows her own mind, yet is also kind and sensitive. I think her personality just didn’t suit being stuck in a helpless baby body.

I had one like this. It was such hard work and exhausting. He is now a very even tempered teenager. I agree with pp - he didn't like being a baby! He was bored, I think, and needed lots of stimulation. But not too much, or he'd get overwhelmed and cry even more. I was often baffled. He is truly pleasant company now. It will pass!

(My mum says I was the same and he was payback )

@CherryAndAlmond my mum says I was awful too! Funny that!

@Slavetominidictator

I too had a very unhappy baby. I think she basically hated being a baby.... She got happier at each milestone out of babyhood - crawling, walking, talking, so it definitely was frustration in part. She's still quite intense but everyone delights in her now and finds her great company and she's an amazing big sister. She's almost nine. My next baby was so easy going and cheerful (became a tricky toddler though). Made me realise it wasn't anything I was doing wrong... Have a look at high needs babies - if I'd seen that kind of info at the time, I think it would really have helped.

Mine hated being a baby too, I'm convinced of that. She was angry and frustrated, hated having to depend on others to do everything. Once she could move, it got better - but only when she was on the move. The rest of the time she was still quite miserable. I knew she knew how to smile, as when it was a new skill she practiced a lot, but once she mastered it, she rarely brought it out. She was stern and impatient for most of her baby- and toddlerhood.

The positive side: the terrible twos were not in any way different from the preceding time, it just got better and better. She has always been sporty and needs movement, if she doesn't get enough exercise she gets grumpy. But now at 13 (and really, since about 4) you wouldn't know that she was any more work as a baby than your average kid. She can talk about her emotions and work it out (sometimes literally, through sports), and is funny and good natured to boot. I was worried she would be angry and grumpy for the rest of her days when she was a baby.

Mine was also a miserable little sod

He was an incredibly frustrated baby/toddler always wanted to be one (or five) steps ahead of what he was actually capable of. If he couldn't do something (which was 99% of the time) he would cry and scream tears of white hot rage! This happened day in, day out for years.

He also needed a lot of attention and mental stimulation. He got bored very easily.

So yeah, in short he was bloody hard work and one of the reasons I only had 1!

Happily I can report that he's an awesome 7 year old. Wise beyond his years, in touch with his emotions and incredibly kind and caring. Those early years are now a distant memory!