What does a “Fussy Baby” look like anyway?

Often we will describe babies as having an unsettled or “fussy” period in their day or during periods of rapid development. But what does that mean?

Some babies are pretty chilled and its easy to spot when they are feeling a bit overwhelmed. But other babies seem to feel this way most of the time! Sometimes we describe them as “high needs babies”.

Fussy babies can’t get comfortable.

When your baby is unsettled, no position seems right. You will find yourself responding by changing how you are holding them, how you move your body and even where you sit or stand to sooth them. Actually - don’t sit down!

Fussy babies don’t know what they want

As we feel so helpless, parents seek to identify the cause so they can fix it. The problem here is there is no specific cause. Your baby is feeling overwhelmed by something non-specific.

Fussy babies can’t relax to feed well or fall asleep, even though they need to. Sometimes we just need to support them until the cycle ends.

Fussy babies probably don’t have “wind” or “colic”. We know there are predictable periods when babies are more unsettled. Around 6-8 weeks babies begin to cry more. This period lasts until around 3 or 4 months. While research is yet to reveal why this happens, it is likely linked to brain development. The pattern of behaviour has even been giving a new nickname: The Period of Purple Crying.

Fussy babies are probably going through a Wonder Week. Developmental Leaps tend to occur at predictable stages which have been described as Wonder Weeks. The changed behaviour during these periods include The 3 C’s: Clinginess, Crankiness and Crying. Which describes fussy babies very well.