Your baby, you spoil him too much

I always knew I had a special baby. As a newborn, he cried really a lot. But that's normal, they told me, it's a baby. At two months, he was very alert, looked everywhere, smiled and slept little during the day. He could easily go a morning without sleeping. A professional sleep wrestler, I tell you. Bringing my Kitten to apples or a restaurant while he sleeps peacefully in his shell... I didn't know that.

Food was the eternal battle. And it still is today. My Kitten is very difficult to feed because he looks everywhere. And obviously it makes up for it at night because it's so much easier to drink while half asleep. On the other hand, if he is hungry, tie your hats! It's here, NOW!

A few months old, I had him in my arms constantly. As soon as I put it down, the crisis. Even today, I have to stay on the lookout and ready to pick up my Kitten because when he gets tired of being on the floor, that's when he wants attention. I was then told the classic phrase that parents hear far too often: “ You spoil your baby too much!” You always have him in your arms, he'll pull tantrums on you. »

What do you want me to do? That I leave him to cry alone and wait for him to calm down? Good luck!

And as my little kitty didn't really want to be caught by Morpheus, I was told: " You should let him cry, he will eventually fall asleep." ". I did it. Error. It took me 30 minutes to calm him down because he was in such a crisis. No chance.

One fine day, I read the book “ Be the expert on your baby ” by Mélanie Bilodeau, which I highly recommend to new parents. And I understood.

First, reassure parents, it's impossible to spoil a baby too much. We cuddle him, reassure him, give him attention and tell him we love him. He needs it to gain trust and feel good around you.

I then arrived at chapter 8, the chapter which allowed me to put my finger on its difference. I read it and I wanted to cry because I recognized my baby so much. I read his entire resume in a few pages. I have a BABI. A BABI baby.

A BABI, a baby with intense needs.

• A hyperactive baby: always on the move who needs to be constantly stimulated,
• an intense baby: who cries loudly, who screams, who gets angry for nothing, who wants an answer to his requests immediately,
• a baby in arms: phew, yes.
• an unpredictable baby: I can no longer count the number of times I heard myself tell him that I didn't understand what he wanted. A sudden crisis for no reason is common among us,
• a demanding baby, that is.

At home, I feel like the GO on duty, a real clown. I'm there to encourage him to stop crying, to make him laugh when he has to change his diaper, to try to keep him focused when he has to eat and to comfort him by dancing around the house to get some peace and quiet. . At the end of the day, I am completely exhausted. Not surprising.

My Kitten, I don't spoil him too much. I have to deal with a baby who has intense needs and learn to manage his reactions to meet them. A BABI is for life. I don't play the victim. I have a smart baby. A communicative baby who chatters and coos a lot. My Kitten needs the arms of his Mom and Dad Cat.

For all these efforts, I have been rewarded. A beautiful gift that my Kitten gave me when I heard him say “ Mommy ” while I was changing his diaper during the night. Is this a coincidence? Maybe, or not. He said it again one fine morning while looking at me while I was drinking my coffee.

My baby is a special child and I have a feeling he will continue to amaze me (and exhaust me) for decades to come. I'll let you know when he does his first bacon dance.