Boston was a far cry from what anyone would call an “easy” baby. He always demanded quite a lot of attention and time, never happy to play by himself, he wouldn’t fall asleep on the boob instead needing to be swaddled and rocked, oh and then there was the whole born with a rare genetic syndrome that added a little more “hard” to the basket. Lets face it, there is no wonder our baby son really needed us. Ruby, however, is different.

Ruby is this joyful little soul who will beam a smile out at anyone who cares to glance her way. She will fall asleep on the boob, in the car, in a carrier, on a plane…you get the point. If you have arms that hug you will probably be able to keep her happy. Sometimes she is so peaceful I actually forget that she is there (worse mother award to Nell).

But here is the problem with an “easy” baby. Sometimes we forget that the world is still a huge, frightening and completely bizarre place. We forget to pay attention to the misshapen schedules, to the new places, to the different arms they are passed between. We don’t realise it has been a day with too few sleeps and too many distracted feeds. And those wonder weeks people swear by, well gosh we just don’t even think to look.

Our “easy” baby swallows it all in and has little time to express they are feeling  overwhelmed. But the fact is that the unease within them does need to be released. Maybe it won’t come out straight away, maybe it will but in subtle signs only those closest could detect.

Now, when every few weeks I am awoken by Ruby through the night, on the hour (every crazy hour), for nothing more then a quick feed and cuddle, I remind myself that she too has emotions that need extra connection. Because of my little ray of Ruby sunshine I have learnt that it is so important to honour our “easy” babies and allow them to have the unsettled times they so deserve.