Up until this point, my sister has had just about the perfect baby. Not too fussy, no signs of colic, a good nurser, easily transitioned from mommy’s bed into her own crib, and she never makes a big deal about having a wet or dirty diaper. I had warned her that both of my girls hit a mysterious peak of fussiness between six and eight weeks, where they’d scream for hours despite being fed, changed, well-rested, cuddled, and entertained. Fortunately for my sister, my niece missed this milestone, and sailed right into her ninth week without a break in her happy disposition.
My niece is fifteen weeks old today, able to hold her head up and anxious to take in the world around her, quick to smile and laugh, eager to track every movement and sound around her, and fussy about all of it. She’s finally hit that point where eating and sleeping are her happy times, and the in-between periods are wearing my sister out with attempts to soothe her. She likes to sit upright, and take in the world, but her little head gets heavy quickly, and she gets fussy from that. So the logical thing would be to let her lie down, with a rattle or activity mat (or two very eager cousins) to entertain her, but she no longer likes to lie down, and this leads to fussiness.
Of course I’m sorry to see my sister struggling to keep this formerly content baby happy, and I wish I had some advice to offer, aside from the usual “she’ll grow out of this stage.” But on another level, I’m glad to know that she has a normal baby after all, and not the perfect little angel that made my girls look like thorny spawn.
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