Ds1 was not a good sleeper at all the first year of his life. He’s great now (he’s 10) and has been since around 12-13 months. He was always super curious and getting into things. Wasn’t into playing with toys as designed, wanted to find other things to do with them. He’s still curious and wanting to figure out how things work etc.
Ds2 was a really easy go with the flow baby. He…..is not like that at 7 anymore. He’s always been a rockstar sleeper though.
I would say yes, in some aspects. He was a super active baby and still is the type of kid (he's 6) that never stops moving. He was a pretty unhappy baby though - NOT chill at all, woke up a lot and was never happy being put down, and I would say he's not like that overall now. Sometimes he's salty, but overall he's pleasant and sweet.
I mean...yes and no. I think more by like 1-ish they stay a lot how they really are? Some things are maybe consistent, but others not so much.
My son was a REALLY HARD baby with lots of reflux. Never took a bottle, cried and cried, it was really hard. Now he's super chill and a really great easy kid (at this point). BUT, he still is a picky eater (lOVES to try things but doesn't like some of the basic foods the most kids like) with texture issues, and he also had constipation issues into early school age.
My 3rd was the easiest baby ever. She LOVED her paci, took bottles like a champ, ate anything we gave her. Now, she is generally a pleasant and easy kid, but when she IS stubborn about something, she is an immovable force and incredibly frustrating. That's been true since toddlerhood.
First and last...I'm not even sure. My youngest was REALLY Attached to me from birth, and that is still true to this day.
For the most part, yes. My laid back happy baby is a pretty go-with-the-flow kid, and the one who was SO stubborn that she literally would fall asleep sitting up in her crib is still very independent and strong willed.
My first cried all the fucking time. Like...the nurse at the hospital brought him back from the nursery and said "good luck with this one". Then he hit about 16 weeks and he was the king of chill. That lasted until about 3 when we realized he does NOT listen and talks ALL freaking day and that is where we have been ever since (he's 6 now). I think he is bound for greatness some day, but it will be a very long road (for me).
My second was born chill and has mostly remained that way since birth. He is your stereotypical 2nd child and I am too so I relate with him A LOT. He's 3 now and still pretty chill. I call him my lap dog because if you're laying on the couch he'll just walk up to you, dig his head into your stomach and lay down on top of you. He loves people's laps. He's quiet, but when he does talk I've realized he is VERY smart.
So---with one yes and with one no.
LOL. This reminds me that when DD was born we sent her to the nursery for the first night. The nurse that brought her back to me was like wow she is really loud! Her lungs work very well. I should have known then we were in for a rough ride! Thankfully I can laugh about it now.
Somewhat? DS was the chillest baby. Rarely cried and very go with the flow. But, he was (and is) a terrible sleeper. He hates sleeping alone so I still sleep with him and he’s 5.
At 5, he is very easy and go with the flow. Eats everything and willing to do whatever. I would say he’s still pretty chill. But! He’s sensitive and emotional, which wasn’t exactly his newborn personality 😀
Yes they stayed the same. My older son was a fussy newborn and became a very challenging toddler starting at 18 months. He’s 6 now and is diagnosed Adhd, anxiety, and sensory processing disorder. He’s overall doing much better but still a very high maintenance kid.
My younger son was a dream newborn and an incredibly easy going baby and toddler. He’s 4 now and has stayed that way.
Post by trytobearunner34 on Feb 10, 2023 17:44:07 GMT -5
Yes, my highly emotional, strong-willed 5 year old has been this way since birth. She can now talk instead of cry (though that is still her preferred method of communication at times:/) so we at least know what she is thinking now.
Post by sporklemotion on Feb 10, 2023 18:21:59 GMT -5
Sort of? DD1: super clingy and needy as a baby (needed to be held constantly; I didn’t put her down for the first 4 months of life). She is more independent now at 9. Sleep has always been rough— she is a total night owl and was back then, too. She has always been very observant and quiet, so that has stayed the same. Has never been very chill. She is 9 now.
DD2: much more chill as a baby, but now hates to be alone. So she generally talks and follows us around and needs help falling asleep. But she has always been relatively happy and that hasn’t changed. She was very shy as a baby and toddler, but became very social at around 4 or 5 and has flipped that aspect of her personality. She is 7.5 now.
Both girls have always been fairly active and energetic, so that hasn’t really changed.
Post by sarapocalypse on Feb 10, 2023 18:50:47 GMT -5
Pretty much. DS was a super chill baby who slept great at night, but sucked at napping. At 4, he is pretty much the same. He's always been content playing quietly and is fairly independent.
Post by scribellesam on Feb 10, 2023 19:08:06 GMT -5
In some ways yes, but not completely.
DS1 was always very animated and happy with a big laugh and still is. He had trouble falling asleep as a baby and still does at almost 11. Some of the traits of his autism have always been with him also, but he’s gotten a lot calmer over the years in many ways.
DS2 was an adorable cuddly nugget of sweetness. He still is, sometimes, but is much chattier and sassier than he ever was as a baby or toddler. He has always slept and ate great with no issues though, so that stayed the same. He is 8.
I think in general there are things I can look back and see aspects of their personality that they’ve had since the beginning, but they also have a lot more complexity to them now (which makes sense of course).
Kind of... As a baby DD was a good sleeper but didn't nap. She had to know and be involved in everything going on around her. At 11 she could care less about her surroundings and is most happy being on her own. She still needs a lot of sleep but now fights us due to peer pressure. I loved it when she had no issues going to bed at 7pm because she was tired.
She loved all the food as a baby and still loves food and cooking.
Post by goldengirlz on Feb 10, 2023 20:15:59 GMT -5
I’d say their toddler personality was more predictive than their infant personality.
DC as a baby had no chill. Super picky about everything. Terrible sleeper. Strongly preferred me.
We’ve always been very regimented about sleep, so we didn’t have any sleep shenanigans by the time they were a toddler/preschooler. Friends were always amazed that we could say good night and they’d stay in their room and not make a million excuses to try to stall or come into our bed. That hasn’t changed. (They’re also a rule follower to a fault and that was also true since toddlerhood. To this day, they rarely even talk back to us.)
They remained picky about food until about three years ago. Now I’d say they’re actually a pretty adventurous/worldly eater.
They prefer both parents equally now. Ha. But the mom-stage also lasted several years.
OH! AND! They were always into traditionally “boy” things, even from toddlerhood. Truthfully, I was not surprised they came out as NB.
Post by estrellita on Feb 10, 2023 21:09:06 GMT -5
Mine flip flopped.
E was an easy baby. Slept through the night early, hit every milestone pretty much exactly on time, slept well, generally chill baby. About 2.5, things went downhill. That's when he stopped napping at home and it got harder and harder to get him to bed. That's also probably when some of his ADHD issues started coming up, though most of it was just his age. He's almost 8 now and is much less easygoing. He gets upset easily, has an extremely hard time not getting his way, is a germaphobe, and barely sleeps. The things he did keep are his humor (more deadpan sort of humor) and his love for books.
A was the opposite. She was NOT an easy baby. Barely slept, fussy, all over the place with her milestones, etc. Looking back, it was likely her food allergies upsetting her tummy a lot - she never had a noticeable reaction to my milk, but she got hives after eating milk and garlic. It likely explained her fussiness and eczema. She's 5 now and minus the PTing issues, she's pretty easygoing now. She'll actually admit to being tired unlike E, and sleeps pretty well. She gets upset of course, but can get over it much faster. The things that are the same are her determination/fearlessness (she wanted to try all the roller coasters at Disney but she was too short!), and her silliness.
Post by mainelyfoolish on Feb 10, 2023 21:20:54 GMT -5
Nope. The kid who was the easier baby ended up being the kid with more pronounced ADHD symptoms, anxiety, and ARFID. The other kid, who would barely eat or sleep as an infant, also has ADHD, but less severely than his sibling, he sleeps ok, and is slightly picky about his food but is well within the range of normal.
Mine was a very angry baby. She cried constantly and wanted to be held at all times. Even being held, she was rarely content. She slept in 45 minute increments until about 4 yrs. She was always a really good eater (both nursing and regular food), but has progressively become more limited, though she’s still more flexible with food than a lot of kids. Starting at around 1ish, she became quite smiley, and had generally been a happy kid since then. She is strong-willed and can be dramatic, but she’s comparatively quite even-keeled and doesn’t give us too much grief. Yet. She’s only 7, so there’s plenty of time!
DS was a challenging baby - poor sleeper, clingy, fussy with food, delayed milestones to the point of seeking evaluations and therapy. Somewhere around age 3 it flipped. He's a fantastic sleeper, independent, adventurous with food, and advanced with milestones. He's almost 9 now and so chill. I keep waiting for new stage to kick in where I'm hanging onto my hat again, but so far it hasn't.
DS was an amazing sleeper, super chill easy baby that never cried. His sleep isn’t terrible but he definitely fights it now and is no where as mellow as he was lol.
DD was an awful baby, didn’t sleep through the night till 14 months, until then she was up 4-6 times a night. Really fussy, always cried. Now she’s so easy. Sleeps 12 hours and naps 2-3 hours daily, super chill and easy to keep entertained.
Post by Velar Fricative on Feb 11, 2023 10:02:05 GMT -5
They’re more like how they were when they were toddlers.
DD1 (age 9) - Fussy, non-sleeping baby until around 6 months, chill ever since. Gets along with everyone but also hasn’t really developed close friendships, if that makes sense. She’s a strong people-pleaser and gets very emotional at the slightest hint that she did something wrong.
DD2 (age 5) - Chillest newborn ever, was born knowing how to sleep. Became very strong-willed as a toddler and that’s her ever since. Way more of a social butterfly than DD1 ever was, but that comes with headaches too (like dealing with friend drama).
I would say mostly yes. DS1 was the best first baby. He was super chill, easy to take everywhere, super happy. Quick to talk. Also our best eater in terms of variety of food (but has always, always been a super slow eater, even as a newborn).
DS2 had bad reflux, so it’s hard to say if some of the newborn difficulties were due to that or his personality. He wasn’t as good of a sleeper, was a huge risk taker as a toddler, and has never been as good of a listener. He also needed speech and OT as a toddler and didn’t start eating much in terms of real food until he was 4/5. He was diagnosed with ADHD - inattentive type at 7yo, and a lot of things made sense, lol.
DS3 has stayed very similar to how he was as a newborn. He’s always been the go with the flow type, but makes sure he’s heard. That kid has always been loud, but in a way that makes him stand out with 2 older brothers. He has always been very quick to smile and laugh.
Post by luckystar2 on Feb 11, 2023 10:46:11 GMT -5
Yes! My Dd has been a cranky high maintenance kid since week 1. She got upset at everything as a baby and she still is like that. She was an emotional and strong willed toddler, child and now teenager (almost 15).
The only thing that changed was she was a horrible sleeper as a baby but we did Ferber when she was old enough and since then she has STTN.
Post by pinkplasticdoll on Feb 11, 2023 12:23:26 GMT -5
yes! My oldest was a child who observed everything and took it all in, she was super chill, easy to get to sleep and overall a joy. Still true for her as a 5 year old. My second was busy kicking, making noise with any toy she could and would intentionally roll over to her sisters stuff and knock it over. She would fall asleep easy but pretty early on was down to 1 long nap and she still has those traits as an almost 3 year old.
DS really sucked at being a baby. He was colicky. He didn't sleep much. And he howled if put down. The older he got, the easier he got to live with. There was one rough patch in late middle school and his freshman year where we butted heads constantly, but otherwise he's been delightful since toddlerhood.
DD used to wake up screaming, like she was saying "come get me immediately." She still wakes up super mad and cranky at the world, I've been working on this with her forever it feels like. She used to puke everything as an infant with reflux; still has vomiting tendencies and gets car sick if we're not careful. She was born a preemie and I think she still is struggling with deficiencies from not being born a fully grown baby such as with speech therapy now at age 9. As a toddler she would gravitate to the books at her preschool, and she is still very into reading.
DS used to wake up and babble to himself. He's still generally more amenable when he wakes up. He was born technically full term and to me, the difference in their development seemed huge in my two babies. He's just a nice kid, very full of energy. Has his preferences but still somewhat adaptable. Same when he was a baby.
They both were sleep haters as babies and still are. DD gave us horrid STTN challenges until almost 3. DS gave me extreme nap challenges from just 6 months. He used to give them a very hard time with napping at daycare and in the toddler rooms. Both still seem to function on less sleep than what's "recommended." They never seem to get tired when the other kids are passed out, and they've never had any issues staying up to make sure they didn't miss the fun.
My 2.5 year old slept like a champ as a baby, with the occasional hiccups from leaps and whatnot. Nowadays she goes through even bigger periods of struggle with sleep, and I'd say she's a worse sleeper. So I'd say there's been a (NOT GOOD) change there.
In the absence of colic I'd say the newborn stage is the honeymoon period. Toddlers are just bad, bad, bad. 😂
My oldest just turned 16. He gave me a very hard time with nursing (had to EP) and right now we have to be on top of him reminding him to eat. He was a very easy baby otherwise. Right now he’s easy and reserved.
My second one ate well but didn’t sleep through the night until 18 mos. While introverted outside the house, she’s always has had a big personality at home. Right now she’s 13. Enough said. :-)