Wonder Weeks

I haven't posted about Wonder Weeks before. Probably because it's only on my mind when Jacob is going through one, which means I'm literally keeping him from meltdown status every minute of the day and consuming large quantities of wine once he's asleep. Therefore, I have no time to blog about it.

He's going through one now, his 2nd to last one to be exact, and I realized I hadn't ever mentioned it on my blog! Wowza! Thus, I am posting about it. Because honestly, this has played a HUGE role in Jacob's moods for the entire first year of his life and it continues to. Obviously. Because today he only napped for an hour and 15 minutes, hardly ate and was a total cranky mess all day.

Anywayss.... I've already finished my first glass of wine, so I'll try not to ramble...

Wonder Weeks are pre-determined weeks of a baby's life when they are most likely to go through major mental development. Dr Frans Plooij has spent nearly 40 years researching this and has put it all in his book- The Wonder Weeks.

I read about this during Jacob's first Wonder Week, when I literally thought my baby turned into satan. Turns out he was just learning something new, and his whole world was changing around him and he was totally freaked out. I immediately downloaded the Wonder Week app (go do this now), and have been following this very closely ever since.

It's based on a child's gestational age (or due date), not delivery date, and every child starts them at slightly different times. I know that Jacob always starts his a few days before he's "supposed to" per the app.

Every child is affected differently as well. Jacob is suuuuuper sensitive to every "leap", but I have friends whose kids aren't phased by it.

I really love the iPhone app because it has a really nifty chart that shows you all the weeks in the first 15 months, and when they will be fussy, happy and normal.

They also list all the Wonder Weeks and what new skills they are learning, what symptoms/signs to expect and how to help them through the WW easier.

I literally put these on our household calendar because we ALL need to be aware of it. But truthfully, we've gone through so many now, that I can tell the day he starts a new WW. He's a completely different baby.  He doesn't sleep, eat and isn't content with anything except being held. It's so overwhelming for a stay at home mom and I find it easier when you're mentally prepared and can anticipate it.

I'm praying the next few weeks go by quickly and we all survive. I also hope this has helped someone out there, because I know the first website I read about this certainly helped me!

Good luck, mamas!