High-Needs Baby

You don't have to be a doctor to carry the certificate that completely authorizes you to check your baby. Being a mother, this responsibility natural befalls on you, and you have to be good at it. Before embarking on this rather new term, we must have an idea what the term High-Need actually is.


Some regard this applicable to all babies since they all need extra care, but truly speaking the term 'high-needs' is simply a descriptive term given to any baby that requires a significant (above average) amount of holding, attention, movement or motion in order to prevent crying, screaming or fussing.


The main reason of babies to be in high-needs is due to the constant pain or discomfort.  Following are the characteristics of High-need babies which are  experienced majority of time with them.


* Difficulty falling and/or staying asleep
* Difficulty entertaining themselves
* Excessive crying or fussing
* Loud, intense crying or screaming (often for no apparent reason)
* Difficulty feeding
* Unpredictability
* May be difficult or seemingly impossible to soothe
* Demanding (may cry urgently when needs aren't met immediately)
* May need to be carried around constantly
* May require movement or motion (e.g. A swing, car ride, etc.) to prevent crying
* Reacts strongly to stimuli (both positive and negative)
* High-energy
* May require lots of activity/stimuli to remain entertained
* May need the calm and familiarity of home to remain somewhat content


To cope up, the mother should adopt a patient attitude and be gentle. She can apply many strategies to bucket the attention of the baby, such as Baby Games.