Thank goodness for Dr Sears!

Moobles wasn't a particularly difficult baby, she just puked a lot and fed a lot. We mostly got round the puking by keeping her vertical as much as possible and always having at least three muslins within arm's reach. The feeding wasn't a problem, I happily spent hours pinned to the sofa munching junk food and watching films, afterall, I had nothing else to do, the housework could wait (it's still waiting!).

Aside from the puking, which didn't bother her greatly she was a fairly happy baby, very independant and sociable.

Velcro Boy was a bit different. The clue is in the name really, he was a placid little fellow for the first six weeks of his life, I even remember gloating smugly at him falling asleep in his crib and going 2-3 hours between feeds. Then something happened and he began to cry. All. The. Time. Seriously, unless he was feeding or sleeping he was screaming. There wasn't anything obvious wrong, nothing we tried worked except holding him and singing. So we held him and sang, for about 6 weeks, until gradually he stopped crying quite so much and even smiled occasionally!

VB is still very much a Velcro baby at 16 months, he's happiest when he's being cuddled, he's not particularly adventurous and he's still prone to frequent tears. So we still carry him a lot, he still breastfeeds whenever he wants and we soothe him when he's cranky.

It's been tough, I had Moobles to consider and sometimes VB had to wait while I made lunch or put her to bed, or counted to 10! But generally we've managed ok, mainly thanks to co-sleeping, breast-feeding and a large collection of slings!

So, imagine my delight when I flicked through the Sears "Attachment Parenting" book to discover that VB isn't miserable, spoilt or manipulative (as suggested by some well-meaning baby gurus) he's simply high-needs. And guess what? These babies don't need strict routines, or to be left to cry, they need comfort and cuddles.

So, yay! It wasn't me who broke my boy at six weeks, he's just high needs and he needs extra attention from us all.

So, to summarize; Dr Sears rocks. Babies cry - it's normal and sometimes you won't know why. You can't spoil a baby with love, carry them, cuddle them, sleep with them, feed them, do these things as often as possible. You won't make any kind of rod for your back, you'll just create a happy child who knows they're loved and is secure in that love.