So it is no news to those who know our little guy that he can be quite the little grump. I realize that the photos on our blog show off a perfectly happy, contented baby. And perhaps that is the true reason why I post so many photos on here. I LOVE looking at these photos of a happy baby. Because truth-be-told, those happy moments are not his typical disposition. He is quite a serious little man. And cries...A LOT. It has gotten MUCH better over the past month or so, but he still has his days (and weeks). He can be quite demanding and requires LOTS of attention. And maybe most babies do. But as I have gone to the trusty Internet to search for some support, I have found that I am not alone...and that they even have a name for this temperament!
Some call it 'high-needs' and others refer to it as having a 'spirited' child. Here is an excerpt from an article I found:
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The Spirited Child
By Judy Arnall
About 20% of all babies born have temperament traits of a fussy or high need, or what we call a “spirited child”. Spirited children share many of the following characteristics: They require extra TLC (Tender Loving Care) from parents because their behaviour can be very challenging. Children generally do not change their temperament as they grow but temperament can change in intensity as they move through their developmental stages. Parents are not responsible for making a child “spirited”. They are born that way and grow up to be wonderful adults. Parents handling a spirited child need extra support, and need to be sure that their own needs are met: sleep, healthy food, healthy self-esteem, and personal time.
Spirited Child Characteristics:
Babies
-Want to be held all the time. (YEP)
-Doesn’t schedule well for eating, and toilet habits. (YEP)
-Cries for no “apparent” reason. (YEP)
-Reacts strongly against sleep training. (YEP)
-Won’t stay for long in carriers that are not attached to parents. (YEP)
-Gets bored very easily (YEP)
(It goes on to include traits of toddlers, pre-schoolers, school-agers, and teenagers)
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So as you can see, Isaac displays EVERY one of those characteristics. I have been hoping that maybe it was just his reflux issues that had him upset, but that has gotten better. And lately, it seems like he's upset due to teething. I'm sure I will be tempted to find something to blame it on at every phase. Reading these articles and making an honest assessment of my son, I am realizing that I need to accept the way he is and learn how to cope with the demands of raising a high-needs child.
All that said, he still brings me SO much joy. And despite his fussiness, I can still get a good laugh out of him. And when we do, it makes me forget all of the not-so-fun times. I will leave you with yet another video of him laughing. You would guess by seeing this that he is generally a happy baby. And well...he IS happy when someone is paying CONSTANT attention to him. :o) In the second part of the video, we are playing our newest game: Freek-a-boo! It's kind of like peek-a-boo, only it scares him at first. He seems to really enjoy it, though. Hehe.
2 comments:
You know that all babies fuss from time to time, and sometimes Isaac maybe seems to fuss more than others. But I can tell you that as he gets older, you really won't remember the fussy times. I had one with colic (as you know), which was HORRIBLE, but I don't concentrate on that very small segment of that child's life. You get through it, you do the best you can with it and you move on. You will always cherish the happy times, especially the happy times you have so diligently captured in picture and video. Keep on doing that and you'll look back and wonder what in heck you were talking about!
Hannah had a good time watching this!
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