It may sound strange, but it’s something that really worries me. My baby is a very calm child, he almost never cries (quite the opposite of what I imagined before giving birth) and I only realize that he is hungry when he makes a tender gesture with his lips (like a pout), asking for milk. He only cries if the gases bother him a lot or when someone he doesn’t know gets too close to his face.
What worries me most is the night. My husband had been a first-time father years before and he told me that when his daughter was a baby, she cried almost all night, so he and his ex-wife could barely afford two hours of sleep, which is why he finds it strange that our son doesn’t cry. At first I thought “Good! I’ve been lucky with my little boy” but seeing the amount of vents from other moms on Reddit saying that they couldn’t sleep because of their babies crying, I started to get worried. Why doesn’t the same thing happen to us?
I keep waking up by myself every night, peering into my newborn’s crib and putting my face close to his body to check if he is breathing. Sometimes I wake up and sit on my bed staring at him, asking him “why don’t you cry?” “why don’t you wake up?” “Is there something wrong with you?”
Sometimes, I wake up again to check if he’s breathing and I find him awake, looking at me with his calm little eyes but without making a single noise, apart from a little sound with his drool. I think I’m going crazy and yesterday I felt hysterical. My husband tried to calm me down but I desperately called my mother to ask if something was wrong and her response only made me even more nervous, demanding that I go see a doctor for my baby.
This community is honest in its experiences, and I find comfort on several occasions. Is this normal for a newborn baby? Should I consult a doctor?
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It’s not unusual for some babies to be naturally calm and cry less—they all have different temperaments. My baby was also very quiet as a newborn, and like you, I often checked their breathing at night out of worry. If your baby is feeding well, gaining weight, and meeting milestones, it’s likely just their personality, but checking with a pediatrician can give you peace of mind.
As a mom to a colic baby count your blessings!!! My nephew was born around the same time as my son and wow they were and still are complete opposites. My nephew is a chill little potato, sleeps good and hardly cries. Mine is busy busy busy, bad sleeper, and cries SO much. Both healthy boys.
You just have a chill, happy baby! Mine was the same, especially as a newborn, he never cried. Now he’s 4 months old, he’s teething, and he cries a lot. He also has recently discovered that he has the ability to scream, and wakes up in the middle of the night to practice screaming (happy screams).
When my son was a newborn I got really worried about how quiet he was (everyone told me that newborns are such loud sleepers). The only thing that allowed me to get sleep, was buying an owlet breathing alarm. Otherwise I’d stay awake for hours every night wondering why he wasn’t breathing and snuffling loudly like everyone said he would.
But if you’re still worried, it’s okay to ask a doctor or child nurse, if that’s what you need for peace of mind.
The first month or so with my daughter, she only cried if she was hungry and it took us too long to make her bottle lol. She woke up much more around the 6 week mark. I wouldn’t say she cries a lot now, but she definitely does cry. Lol. That being said, I think it comes down to baby’s temperament. You probably have been blessed with a happy, chill little dude!
Our baby never cried during his first weeks of life. It changed by Week 7, and it was BAAAAD. In my experience, newborns are often much more chill than older babies. SOME babies are crying all the time starting at birth (in Germany, they are called “Schreibabys”, and public institutions have special offers for families who deal with a Schreibaby), but they are the exception, not the norm. Please enjoy your calm newborn! And even if he stays mostly chill: That’s also good! As long as he doesn’t appear lethargic, I wouldn’t worry. We were always sure that our baby was ABLE to make himself known when he was uncomfortable. He just wasn’t uncomfortable.
People don’t tend to post on Reddit when everything is fine. I’d say my son was pretty similar until maybe 8 1/2 months when he started getting frustrated that he could stand but not climb onto the couch Until then he rarely complained, he could even have a completely full nappy and wouldn’t say anything about it. Just lie there and smile up at me.
You don’t say how old he is but it sounds like you could be developing PPA (post partum anxiety) if it’s keeping you up at night. It might be worth talking to a doctor about your health, not your son’s.
My son has been such a chill baby since I brought him home and he just turned 1 a few days ago. Unless he’s hungry, or teething, he’s honestly the calmest baby. 100% lucky with this kid, I heard rumors that number 2 might be the opposite! Enjoy the chill baby <3 but as always, if you’re concerned, no issues speaking with a doctor.
My son was the same but he found his voice the older he got. Especially starting at the 4 month mark when he seemed to really “wake up” to the world.
He’s currently yapping and whining away because he has 4 teeth budding.
My baby’s definitely on the low end of crying. As a newborn, it was weeks and weeks before he did a proper cry! Even when he got his vaccinations, he gave out a single yelp and then was fine again; the nurse had never seen anything like it.
Now at 5 months old, he’s still not a big crier but he does occasionally cry now for maybe up to 30 seconds. Like when a stranger spooked him, he cried for a little bit. I have friends who have seen him pretty frequently, like spent hours with him, and they say they’ve never witnessed him crying. It’s just different temperaments.
My first was like this! He was just a super chill little baby. He slept wherever and so often! He’d just wake up to eat and go right back as a newborn. Then once he started to be awake more he was still just such a happy baby, he would just sit or lay on the floor until I picked him up.
I was SO worried. I constantly googled if he was sleeping too much? Or if he was too calm? I stressed about it so much. I completely regret all that worry now!! I should have just enjoyed the happy and content little guy he was. Now as a 2.5 year old he cries PLENTY enough to make up for it haha.
I would see your doctor and just make sure he’s healthy for your own peace of mind, but also don’t get to caught up in worrying. Enjoy this time, you’ll miss it when he’s a very emotional toddler!
My baby was a relatively calm newborn. I had to wake to feed him for the first few weeks until our pediatrician gave us the ok to let him sleep. He slept through the night pretty quickly. I was constantly checking on him — he was fine. In the beginning, he really only cried if he was super hungry or at diaper changes (he hated them).
My mom says I didn’t cry either, actually slept through the night my entire life, and was a fairly chill baby. Some babies are just like that, if he’s gaining weight, has enough wet/dirty diapers, etc… shouldn’t be an issue but checking in with their doctor is always fine too!
My oldest and now my newest are like this. It’s a certain nighttime grunt that lets me know he needs to eat. Both my boys (as babies) only cry when truly upset which is rare.
My oldest now cries over everything… yay toddlerhood… but he genuinely tears (non-tantrum) are still few and far between.
I can count on one hand how many times my daughter cried with any real effort before 5-6 weeks when the witching hour started. I was lucky and also never really put her down lol.
You say he’s a newborn, I think this can be normal. Some of us just get easier babies. Just be happy because it’s unlikely to last! (Not meant in a snarky way, just everything with babies is a phase.)