Is a quiet baby a good baby?

Yup. Definitely. So is the baby that sleeps through the night, has long daytime naps, feeds on schedule, falls asleep unassisted and is content to play alone quietly in a confined area.

So, what do you call a baby who needs help falling asleep, nurses at least once in the night, tries to catch the attention of ANYBODY by calling out loudly and refuses to be confined to a single play area?

A High Need Baby.

This is the term coined by Dr William Sears to describe a set of babies who are much more challenging to parents. They are extremely alert, intense, sensitive and basically demanding in every sense. In a nutshell, they know what they want and they will do whatever it takes to get it. In an adult, this trait would be called 'determination', but these poor babies are sometimes labelled 'spoilt'. 'Thank You', Dr Sears, for giving us the alternative description of 'High Need'. If you feel the urge to scoff at this term, please visit the Dr Sears Website for further details and descriptions.

So back to my original question/answer. Yes, a quiet baby is a good baby. But my extremely rambunctious little Aaron is a Super Alert and FABULOUS BABY. All parents of high need babies out there will understand why I need this little boast about my child. You definitely need thick skin to parent one of these babies :)

Here he is trying to escape his afternoon nap.