Wonder Weeks- An Overview
April 8, 2009 by suehaydon
In this book Vanderitjt and Plooij discuss 8 periods in an infants life between the ages of birth and 14 months(60 weeks). After extensive research the authors have concluded that babies experience 8 developmental leaps in their cognitive and motor
development, much like babies experience growth spurts. The nervous systems experiences rapid change and some physical change occurs as well.
Fussy Periods
The developmental periods are described as difficult periods because babies often exhibit the 3 C’s: crying, crankiness, and clinginess. The fussy or developmental periods usually occur at weeks 5, 8, 12, 15, 23, 34, 42, and 51. Although the author suggest that not every baby will hit this fussy period at the same time; it could vary by a week or two. These fussy periods can last a few days early in a infants development. But as an infant ages, the developmental periods become more complex and the fussy periods can last longer (1-6 weeks).
On page 12 of the book, there is an excellent chart that lays out the fussy periods and how long they typically last. Click on here to see the chart.
Calm Periods
After each leap these is a short periods of time when babies will be relatively calm and not as fussy. Enjoy these calm moments in your babies life because they don’t last long before the next developmental leap (fussy phase) will start up again. You will all notice that your baby has developed a new skill that she could not do before, such as reaching for objects or crawling.
What Can You Do During These Fussy Periods?
During this fussy phase, infants will need comfort and sercurity from you (the parents). You may need to hold and cuddle your baby a little more than usual. You may have to play with your baby more than she use to require. If she is trying to develop a skill such as rolling over or walking, you may have to spend some extra time helping your baby practice these skills.
More on Each Fussy Phase
I intend to write a post about each of the fussy phases individually. I will leave symptoms that indicate your child is in the midst of a developmental leap, ways to helps your child during this time, and other important information related to each phase.
Comments
Please feel free to leave comments that indicate your own personal experience during each of the phases. If you have any suggestions on how you were able to survive each of the phases, please leave them for others to benefit from.
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
I first found out about wonder weeks when my son was having a fussy period at 12 weeks old. We’ve now hit wonder week 23 and his schedule is all over the place again! I find comfort in knowing that he is going through a developmental leap and that he will acquire new skills at the end of it. It makes it so much easier to get up more often at night and deal with his fussiness! Like everything else, this is just phase and it too shall pass.
Hi Sharna, Thanks for leaving a comment. I am going to copy your comment and put it with my post on wonder week 26 that I just wrote. My son’s schedule was also off during wonder week 26 because his naps and nighttime sleep were poor. He is 29 weeks old and we are back on schedule now, but we are experiencing separation anxiety now. According to the book, that should be over soon (by the end of 30 weeks).
Hi Sue,
My son is almost 37 weeks and I’ve only just found out about the Wonder Weeks. Any chance you can give me some tips on what I should be doing to support him through this rough patch? I’m in Australia and it’s almost impossible to get hold of this book. Obviously we are a bit ahead of your wee champ so would appreciate a peek ahead!
Thanks and best wishes!
Sure Kiwimummy,
I will type out an over view of that wonder week 37 for you today! I hope that it helps!
I swore by this book, it is a fantastic book and helped me through many a difficult day. I think my dd has just hit another one at 60 weeks, though sadly my book doesn’t detail this fussy period so I am a little in the dark.
The book Touch Points is suppose to be similar to The Wonder Weeks book and discusses the “fussy” developmental periods beyond 14 months. It might be worth checking out. I have yet to read it, but it is on my list!
[...] will write more on Wonder week 46 later. In the meantime, here is an overview of the Wonder Weeks: http://blogginaboutbabies.wordpress.com/2009/04/08/wonder-weeks-an-overview/ I am very curious if anyone else is experiencing 9 month difficulties with sleeping, teething, and [...]
Hi everybody,
The book is available at Amazon! And there is a free ‘leap alarm’ at their website.
[...] anxiety. You can read snippets here: http://www.thewonderweeks.com/index….=64&Itemid=157 http://blogginaboutbabies.wordpress….s-an-overview/ http://www.livingcontrolsystems.com/…ontent_ww.html Stocked the fridge yesterday to start [...]
[...] http://blogginaboutbabies.wordpress.com/2009/04/08/wonder-weeks-an-overview/ Posted by lifeaulait Filed in Uncategorized Leave a Comment » [...]