Wonder Week- 37

Wonder Week 37 is known as “the world of categories”. Your child is now able to understand that particular things, animals, objects, sensations, and people belong together. The book gives this example, “a banana looks, feels, and tastes different than spinach, but they are both food.” Your baby will also be learning more about his emotions and other people. Her language skills continue to develop. She may not be talking yet, but she understand a lot more of what you say to her. She might also be trying to master a new skill. All these changes can be overwhelming for a baby and cause them to be fussy. The fussy period can begin around 34 week, but could begin around 32 weeks and last until 37 weeks. This fussy period usually lasts 4 weeks, but it could last anywhere from 3-6 weeks.

Signs to be on the look out for…

• cling to your cloths and hold on tight to you
• shy
• demand more attention
• have nightmares
• act unusually sweet
• refuse to have diaper changed
• seem more babyish
• lose appetite
• cries more often/ cranky
• sleeps poorly
• babbles less
• less lively
• sometimes sits quietly, looks like he is daydreaming
• sucks thumb or does so more often than before
• reaches for a cuddly toy

New skills your baby is acquiring… (may do some, but not all)

• Classify world into groups (Understand the category horses despite what they look like: spotted horses, brown horses, white horses)
• begin to under stand what makes something…big, small, heavy, light, soft, sticky, happy, mean, etc.
• understands names of animals or objects. When you ask, “where’s ______?” she will look for it.
• shows that she thinks something is funny by making a special sound or movement
• may be able to repeat words after you
• imitate and mimic what you do
• relates more to other people with sounds and gestures
• recognizes people, even in a unrelated situation
• makes silly faces at his mirror image and might laugh
• might become jealous if mom or dad are giving attention to another child
• may start crying when another baby or child cries
• might exaggerate his mood to let everyone else know how he is feeling
• may ask you to play with him- get your attention to do so

What you can do to help…

• If your baby is interested in shapes, give her blocks that come in different shapes and sizes (Like These)
• Take your baby around the house and allow her to touch and hold different house hold objects. Tell her what it is. “This is a small frame, but this is a big frame)
• Give them different fabrics to touch (wool, silk, etc.) of books that have fabric that you can touch (Like This)
• let your baby demolish things such as knocking down a stack of magazines of blocks. Pull apart a connected link like this. You can also let him take rings off a toy like this
• Let your baby stack a ring toy or stack and pull apart cups or boxes (like this)
• Teach your baby that some things are fragile and to be gentle with them
• Give your baby similar object that are of different weights so she can learn the difference between heavy and light
• Allow your baby to crawl on, through, on top of, next to objects. This will help you baby learn about relationships in space. A tunnel toy can be fun for this activity (like this)
• Take your baby outside for a walk, to play in the grass, or play in a park. The outside is a great place for baby to discover things.

More games to play…

• play with bells and switches (door bells, elevator buttons, light switches, ped. crossing button). Explain to him what these various bells and switches will cause
• dress your baby in front of a mirror so he can watch
• name objects in books, home, and outside (etc)
• say, “Give me ______” and have your child hand you the object you as asking for.
• Play “pat a cake”
• chase your baby as she crawls or even walks about
• hide and seek

More Toys…

• anything that opens and closes (doors, drawers)
• pans and lids
• alarm clocks
• magazines/ newspapers to tear
• plastic plates, cups, etc.
• large cardboard box
• contains of all sizes and shapes
• balls of all sizes
• dolls
• blocks
• swings
• picture books
• baby pool
• toy cars

After the leap…

Between week 40-45 your baby should be out of the fussy phase. This can last 1-3 weeks. They should be cheerful and happy. Babys will show more interest in different object and a greater awareness of their environment. They may also be more independent and do not require as much help from you.

Personal Experience

My son went though this wonder week, but it was not as bad as other wonder weeks like wonder week 19 or wonder week 26. He was more clingy and he started to cry before we put him down for his naps and nighttime sleep again. He has stopped doing that, but the crying returned. We were in the middle of moving so I think all the commotion from moving and the inconsistencies caused him to be more irritable and fussy than usual. He also did not nurse well during this time period. I had to nurse him in the complete dark with no sound if I wanted him to get a full feeding. He did not cut any teeth during this wonder week and he had not learned to crawl yet. I think that is the reason he was not as fussy, because developmentally, he had no real new physical developments occur.