The Wonder Weeks

A few weeks ago I heard about this book called "The Wonder Weeks" by Hetty Vamderijt. It talks about how babies go through 8 developmental "leaps" throughout the first year or so of life (Weeks 4, 8, 12, 19, 25, etc). After each developmental "leap", babies view the world much differently, therefore they need a new set of skills to be able to adjust to their new world. During this time, the baby can be very fussy, as they are working to master a new set of skills.

Well, let me tell you. These Wonder Weeks, they aren't so WonderFUL. Apparently the leap at Week 19 is one of the most intense leaps, and the fussy period can begin as early as week 14. Escher turned 16 weeks today, and I believe he is in his developmental leap fussy stage. These are some of his "symptoms", all which the book say are completely normal:

• super fussy, about anything and everything. He's not just hungry, he's STARVING. and he's not just wet, he is DRENCHED.


• very clingy. this is very unusual, because usually Escher likes to play independently. Our best friend right now is the baby bjorn, because he can "help" me vacuum, cook dinner, etc.


• needs to be entertained. another new one, because he usually keeps himself busy. it seems like all the toys we have just don't interest him anymore. I'm trying to find random stuff around the house to please him.


• sleep problems- he has been sleeping until about 4 or 5 am, then he eats, but he has woken up at random times during the night the past few nights. naps are getting hard too, he won't stay down for more than 30-40 minutes, which i think makes his fussiness worse
  

I'm so glad that I found this book, because now I know what is going on. And, after reading the first few chapters, I went to the calendar and realized that the few times that Escher has been really difficult have coincided with a leap. So that makes me feel better too, its not something that I was doing wrong!

I am actually really looking forward to this leap being over, not just because of the obvious reasons above, but because it means that he will be able to do so much more, and we can really start "playing". I found some infant lesson planning books from where I used to work, and I am really looking forward to being able to try some of those fun activities with him. Today I thought he might like a change of scenery, so I pulled out his high chair and set him in it in the kitchen while I cleaned up. I think he really liked being high up, as well as sitting up! He did really well for about 15 minutes, then his diaper was wet, so all h-e-double hockey sticks broke loose :)

Here is a link to the website about WonderWeeks. We got the book from the library, and I am slowly making my way through it. It is pretty fascinating stuff!

http://www.livingcontrolsystems.com/wonder_weeks/content_ww.html