week 19 wonder week

twoitalians

I noticed someone mention something about the next wonder week. I have the kindle book and get reminder emails about it. It says it could start between 14 and 17 weeks though usually around week 19. Characteristic signs of the fussy period are things like trouble sleeping (4 month wakeful?), refusing to nurse/ losing appetite, shyness around strangers, demanding more attention, moody, to name a few. As I read the chapter in the book, it sounded a lot like the 4 month wakeful thing that everyone is going through. I find it helpful to note the new skills they start learning and try to focus on helping ease DS through using the new skills. At least it helps keep some of the fussy to a minimum. HTH!

Here's the email:

The perceptual world your baby enters after the next leap is the world of 'events.' Until your baby has gone through this leap, he can only perceive smooth transitions. After he has gone through this leap, he is able to perceive a short, familiar series of 'smooth transitions' with all his senses ? seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, and tasting ? and also when it comes to interactions with those around him. Examples include the perception of a bouncing ball, or grasping something with a hand. Your baby will enjoy the classic nursery rhymes with gestures, such as "Itsy Bitsy Spider..."

Tip: If your baby is 'fussy,' be sure to observe if he is mastering new skills already, or attempting to do so.

After this leap, your baby's skills will have expanded and you may notice he:

• Is suddenly very active: one moment he is taking a rest, the next moment suddenly everything about him moves;
• Hardly misses when he grasps something;
• Puts mother's hand in his mouth;
• Pulls a cloth away from his own face (first still slow);
• 'Hits' the table with a toy;
• Is busy with an "activity center";
• Searches to see where mom or dad are;
• Reacts to his mirror image;
• Responds to his name;
• Uses consonants;
• Pushes the breast away when he has enough;
• Grumbles when he is impatient.

 

Amjones52

Good to know, thanks!

twoitalians

Saltylove:

Thanks for this. We are in the thick of the 4 month wakeful, and DD is definitely demonstrating some of these new skills. Lately she has had complete meltdowns at unfamiliar faces. She has even done it with close friends, FIL, and my dad, who she hasn't seen in a few weeks. All it takes is for them to look at her and she starts absolutely screaming. Poor monkey! One question: do babies hit these phases early if they were born overdue? DD was almost 2 weeks over, and I swear we started the 4 month wakeful at 3.5 months, maybe even a bit earlier. She'll be 4 months on Saturday, and I'm hoping it gets better soon.

 

Yeah, they calculate these from the EDD not when they were born, so if they were born early, they'll hit them late and if they were born late, hit them early.

Manda-Kay

Thanks for posting! DS is starting to acquire those skills!

kokokat

DS has been showing these signs for weeks now, but in the last week or so, has gotten super accurate with grabbing stuff and bringing it directly to his mouth.  Every toy he got for Christmas was mouth tested immediately!