What’s it like to have an easy baby?

[PeachesoutinGeorgia]

I’m kind of past it now (18m) but now I’m emotionally detached of any envy, genuinely would like to know what’s it like to have an easy baby?

whats wake up/ mornings like?
what are baby groups like?
what are naps like?
what’s bedtime like?

Sorry you've had a hard time of it, and I'm very much in the thick of it with my second, who is anything but.
My first was a dream, she started sleeping through at about 6 months, so we moved her to her own room. To put her down I would breastfeed her, which she also took to immediately and I had lots of milk, she would fall asleep immediately and stay asleep. She had a 2 hour nap in the afternoon and I would use that time to clean, excersise, or have my own nap if I fancied one. She weaned very easily and has always been a very good eater. Very happy friendly baby, could be left with any relative who volunteered to look after her.

(My son is a completely different kettle of fish, has never slept well, has food allergies so weaning was awful and is now a picky eater, screams a lot and is very very clingy to me. If he had been my first I wouldn't have had a second)

Heaven after having a baby that was hard work . The easy baby slept through the night from birth and was sunny natured. Toilet training was a breeze too. Complete contrast to the first who had us up at night , prone to tantrums etc . It's just down lottery and luck if you get an easy baby . Both baby's had the same upbringing.

I have 2 DC: 3 year old DS1 and 10 week old DS2. My 3 yo was a very difficult baby mainly because he cried for many hours a day, was very difficult to soothe, hated all forms of transport, struggled with breastfeeding and really resisted sleep. His first 6 months were torture and the next 6 months were only marginally better.

I consider my 10 week old to be pretty easy currently, although aware it could all change. He sleeps lightly from 5am ish but will doze in my arms or next to me in bed until 7. He’s happy being put down on the floor or in the bouncer while I get 3 yo ready for pre school. He then naps without fuss in the pram on the pre school run. He naps on the boob, in the pram or in the sling on days when DS1 isn’t in pre school and we are out and about doing things. We’ve just started baby groups and he generally copes with them fine. If he gets a bit overstimulated it’s very easy to calm him down. He’s breastfed, but takes a bottle of formula without fuss in the evening from DH while I do DS1s bedtime. He goes down about 9pm after being breastfed or rocked to sleep. We usually get 6h at the start of the night then it’s variable. He had a bit of crying in the evening between about 3 and 7 weeks but other than that he doesn’t cry much. Fussy days are the exception, not the norm, unlike with DS1. We have a set wake up time but other than that he’s fed and naps on demand/when it suits what we are doing.

Basically, compared to DS1, he just fits in pretty well and seems to be far more robust to being a bit hungry or a bit overtired. We don’t have to plan life around him much, where as DS1 needed life to revolve around his every need. My standards are pretty low after DS1 so he might just be an average baby, not even easy 😂

However, having said all that, If you want a baby who naps predictably in a cot and feeds to a schedule I’m sure my DS2 would be anything but an easy baby. The only time he screams is if you try and put him down for a nap in the cot during the day. He point blank refuses to take a dummy so breast feeding is often used as a soothing tool which I know a lot of people hate. It really is subjective!

A colleague of mine researched, wrote and published a book on maternity leave, she told me I'd love it. I guess that's what it's like to have an easy baby. By comparison I had to quit postnatal mum and baby yoga because it was too stressful.

She slept through at 12 weeks and now sleeps roughly 12-14 hours per night.

She settles herself, no rocking/singing, etc. just put her down and she'll go to sleep.

Diagnosed with reflux at 11 days (DP is a Dr) so we were able to make her feed easily. She weaned easily and pretty much eats whatever you give her.

Placid, friendly baby. Loves the company of other children. Will happily be left in the gym crèche for an hour.

BUT - during the day she is a menace. She's ten months old now and crawls (fast!), pulls herself to standing and cruises round the furniture - fast! I can't take my eyes off her for a second. I can't do anything productive whilst she's awake. She's into everything and I feel like I spend my day taking things off her, no matter how baby-proofed the house is. She empties bins if she can get near them and sorts through the contents 🙄 (waste paper baskets, not kitchen bins or anything). She's honestly just a little terror and I spend most of my days stressed out.

But - she's also my third and the first two weren't such good sleepers or eaters so I really do appreciate how easy she is.

My youngest was easiest. Now hardest. They’ll get their turn OP 🤣

Mine woke frequently at night, but I would still class her as easy in a lot of ways

She almost never cried as a baby, she was always very placid and calm, smiled a lot. Even now she is 2 I can reason with her, which my mum told me she couldn't do with me until I was 4. Eats really well too so haven't ever worried about that. Potty training was straight forward, we talked about it a lot before hand.

whats wake up/ mornings like?
As a newborn: wake in the night for a feed (once)-little snuffle/murmer … fed quickly and easily, back to sleep
morning-either the same snuffle, murmur, wake up or id wake first and see him lying contentedly

older baby-wake up like clockwork at 6.40 lie playing or looking around until someone fetched him.
what are baby groups like?-either fell asleep as I carried him round, lay with toys or sat and looked around

what are naps like? Normally in pushchair but transferred easily if fell asleep in car etc.
what’s bedtime like? Fed to sleep, put in cot.

compsred to number one who cried night and day, needed constant attention, wouldn’t feed, never content!

number 2 was definitely a healing experience

My first (5 years old now) was a very demanding baby, colicky and prone to meltdowns when out and about. With DS2 (5 months old) the biggest difference is that it's just much easier to take him out places because he doesn't have a short fuse like DS1 had as a baby. He's more chilled out, only cries when he needs something (rather than screaming for hours 😖) so it's just generally more relaxed.

My baby was very easy .. self settled ... slept from 7pm to 7am (one very quick night feed & straight back to sleep), easy going and placid ... could leave him with anyone, loved going to a crèche or baby group. I honestly never had a disturbed night.
He was easy going as a toddler & child ... bit of a pain between 14-16 but nothing too serious apart from never keeping his room tidy! Now in his 20s & back from Uni still has a messy room.

I made sure I never had another child though .. might not have been so lucky the second time .

My first baby was probably the best year of my life. I basically had a holiday for a year with her strapped to me. Always smiling. Both of us.

I remember DC2 lying on the mat happy as anything while I drank tea and watched greys anatomy from the start and thinking "is this normal ". I could make plans to be somewhere or whatever it was so weird after DC1. He still wasn't a great sleeper at night with lots of regular waking but he'd settle easily enough. I actually went back to work for a few hours a week when he was seven months old and I was back into all my size 10 clothes and felt great as I was back doing regular exercise and eating well as no stressed out comfort eating. That maternity leave was among the happiest time of my life.

Didn't mention his naps ... two really long ones morning and afternoon, usually in his cot or pram if we were out walking. Whatever time he had his nap he would still have a 7pm bedtime. From two and a half he would to go the pre-school in the morning and then come home and nap for a couple of hours blissful for me .

I had an easy daytime baby, but a nightmare nighttime baby. During the day DD was happy, calm, easy to take place, content with being passed around family and I honestly felt so content in my motherhood journey. At night? She rarely slept, suffered with split sleep for months which caused me to have a mental breakdown, and now she's a tantrumming toddler!

It's still hard. They still have their moments.

My first was a dream baby. Only ever waking once or twice a night from birth and slept through from about 7 months. Eats pretty much anything, even now at 9 he’ll try any food you offer him. Very smiley and cheerful, zoomed through his milestones. Never had to arrange plans around him he was happy to eat/sleep on the go. He’s always been able to occupy himself for a little while so I can have a brew in peace, never been a Velcro baby.

My second is almost 9 months and I was worried I’d had my ‘good’ one and I was due a ‘difficult’ one but same story pretty much so far 😂 still waking once or twice a night but easily settled. The biggest difference with DS2 is that he is LOUD. He has found his voice and he uses it.

It's like turning the difficulty down on a video game. Still has some challenges, but not all at once, and you're much less stressed about it.

My first was an easy baby. My only real difficulties with her were only napping on me during the day, and frustration at not being able to move. Plus the whole pandemic thing from when she was 6 months old. But that ended when she dropped to one nap at 10 months, and crawled at 6-7 months. She didn't sleep through the night until 16 months (when she learned to walk), but her night time wakes were a case of feed back to sleep, which took minutes. She's been a reasonably easy toddler too. No tantrums to speak of. She's easy going, and not a risk taker. So no running off, no climbing, and no trying to off herself through curiousity as only a toddler can. Potty training was quick, but we did start late due to the arrival of her brother. She did turn into a very picky eater, but we're gradually coming out of it now. Otherwise, we have had the threenager strops and general emotional turbulence. Early in to the fuck you fours now, but compared to (what I know of) her peers, she's still a dream.

Her brother, on the other hand, has been an eye opening experience. He's 18 months and other than a stretch of time from 6 weeks to 6 months where he slept through the night (trying to lull me into a false sense of security), he has been far more difficult than his sister. Ok... not entirely, but definitely more so. He's headstrong, and has been throwing tantrums since 9 months old. For a two month stretch he woke up every hour, and was difficult to settle. Antidepressants followed. He climbs on anything and everything, throws anything and everything. If denied something to throw deliberately goes out of his way to do something he know I don't like. Fiddling with the oven or washing machine is his go to. It's not all bad though. He slept through from earlier than his sister, and he gives the most amazing hugs.

My second was an absolute dream..a total delight! Honestly if he'd been my first I'd have been convinced I was the most perfect parent in the world!!

Anyway turns out it was just luck.., hes 5 now and absolute feral hooligan!! Whereas my hard-work firstborn at 7 is just the lovliest, gentlest soul..

I hope you're not using this post to beat yourself up OP?

Now 23 year old: Hell on wheels, had to be swaddled until she was five and still wouldn't sleep through the night. Excellent manners in all situations.

• *Now 14 year old: self soothed, slept from 8pm until 9am until he was 3 and then woke at 11pm and has done ever since. Hungriest child I've ever met, prone to nonsense, impulsive decisions and thinking he's "stronger" than any sharp object.

They're both absolutely lovely now though.

It's like having a dolly to play with!

My first wasn't super difficult but he was a ball of energy. He would only sleep on the move or on me. He didn't need much sleep. He met all his milestones ahead of schedule. So was on the move at 5 months by rolling. Then he never sat still. He never got up later than 6.30. I was so tired. Couldn't wait to go back to work. He's still hard work. Still won't go to bed alone or before 9.30.

My 2nd was angel. From day 1 she'd sleep alone. She hardly ever cried. She was very 'in tune' with me. We got tired at the same times. I could sleep when the baby slept (I rolled my eyes at that awful phrase first time). She was pretty slow on moving. Not rolling until 7months. She snoozes in the morning. Sometimes refuses to get up. At night she asks to go to bed. She's independent. Keen to try things herself. Glad she was the 2nd. Would have had a huge shock if I'd gone form her to my little fire cracker of a done!

I have a 9 month old and he's always been on the easier side. He took really well to a routine and loves his sleep.

I wake him at 7am or he would sleep for longer
He's very happy to sit and observe at things like baby groups, he is a bit unsure around new people though so takes a while for him to warm up but when he does then he is all smiles
He has a 2 hour morning nap followed by a 1 hour afternoon nap, I put him down awake and he'll just turn his head and go to sleep
Bedtime is 7pm, he sleeps for 12 hours and has since he was 8 weeks old. Same as naps, he just goes to sleep himself

I'm pregnant again and think I'm probably in for trouble this time. 😂

I think I need to hide this thread… I’m really not over the envy and mine are now 10 and 8 😆

I think I had easy babies, pretty placid, easily adopted a routine, no health scares or issues really. But I still found it hard to adapt and tiring and overwhelming at times. The daily grind was just that. That's what I didn't anticipate, that just the everyday slog was hard and repetitive and dull and tiring.

I haven’t had an “all through” easy baby but both of mine were easy for several whole months at a time. See how I’m emphasizing the positive ? They were also incredibly difficult for several months at a time.

First child was the worst sleeper, couldn’t link sleep cycles and woke up every 50 minutes, during the night, for 4 long months. Didn’t sleep during day for longer than 30 minute stints. Cried quite a lot. Vomited a lot. Wouldnt co sleep but instead would bounce and roll around the bed. Would only sleep whilst moving or feeding. This baby was basically like Ben from Outnumbered in baby form.

Did sleep training, a dream thereafter. This was what people meant by “being on maternity leave”! it honestly felt like the best luxury holiday ever, as I was finally getting enough sleep and could run a household and even have a poo when I needed one rather than when I could fit one in.

Except when it came to feeding and eating. She was BF only till 10 months, starved herself at nursery for 10 hours and ate only pasta and one particular protein food at home.

second child, dream baby for 3 weeks, I was so bloody smug, I even made a variety of hand-made Christmas gifts for family. He then started vomiting copiously and being awake and unhappy all day long. much better on dairy free again but this baby broke me a bit —lot—. And yet by 7 months was such a sunny, happy child who could be taken anywhere and ate anything from dal to kimchi to curry laksa to bao buns to Gregg’s emergency catering to…. Well, literally anything.

He got to three and then had the most epic, headbanger, violent tantrums ever until 5. Chucked his food across the room, wouldn’t sleep alone, etc etc. Calm and placid thereafter.

I would say they are fairly easy kids as they have grown older. Definitely not without issues, they have those, but generally life is ok and we enjoy being round each other, we talk and have fun, etc.

Part of me doubts this “easy baby” concept. how can it be so? They are so needy and dependent and vocal.

Part of me wonders whether people with easy babies just manage to gloss over the crap bits better than me.

Part of me wonders whether some people with easy babies are just a bit more impervious to babies’ needs or holds less truck with crying and just ignore it to the point the behaviour becomes extinct.

and part of me really wishes for a bloody easy baby or babies for my own kids!

My eldest was a very tough baby. Wouldn't nap and cried all the time. His little brother was an absolute angel. Always quietly smiling, rarely cried (and his crying was quiet unlike his brother's screams!) and slept allllllll the time. So easy to take around everywhere. He's now three and is an utter nightmare!