The Wonder Weeks

There is a book called, "The Wonder Weeks: How to Turn Your Baby's 8 Great Fussy Phases into Magical Leaps Forward," which I, of course, have never actually read.

However, on Amazon.com, you can flip through the pages of this book and see when your baby is destined to have a "fussy phase" and when he/she will have a "sunny phase." I swear, the authors (shout out to you, Hetty Vanderjit and Frans Plooij!) know what they are talking about.

The book claims that right before a baby is about to leap forward, he/she will have a rapid change within their brains/within their nervous system, thus resulting in a fussy phase.

One of these fussy phases is between 33.5 and 37.5 weeks old. And, I can honestly say that this was true in our house! Especially between 36 and 37.5 weeks, this was my daughter 24-7:







For the last two weeks or so, Brenna has been so clingy. She has wanted me (and only me) to hold her at all times, she has had "VERY FUSSY" written on the top of her daycare sheets, and she has been crying a lot. We joked that she was having 8.5 month colic.

It got so bad last week, that Jamie took her to the doctor to rule out an ear infection. The doctor said her ears were fine, but her strength far surpassed her age when Brenna would not allow her to examine her. I honestly was a little disappointed to hear that there was no real reason for her miserableness, and feared it was permanent.

I googled The Wonder Weeks, which I remembered from her early screaming-her-head-off-first-2.5-months, and like those early days of motherhood-desperation, the authors didn't disappoint.

The book (or the stolen pages of the book on Amazon) reminded me that clingyness, crankiness and crying simply mean she is growing. These "three C's" are telltale signs that the child is making a major leap forward in development.

And then, amazingly, on Thursday, all of a sudden Brenna woke up with what we call her Sh*! Eating Grin, and the smile has not left her face since (five days strong!). Our child, at 38 weeks, is the happiest baby in the world. It's amazing.

Where are Hetty and Frans? I want to kiss them! I think everyone should read their book, or at least parts of it for free!