Okay, I'm exhausted. My son is a little more than four months old, and although I'm nowhere near as tired as I was earlier in his life, the past few weeks have been challenging. I alternate between being thrilled at all the new things he is learning and completely frustrated at how they are wreaking havoc on his sleep, his appetite, and his schedule. Thankfully, I've discovered why he's having such a hard time.
A couple of months ago I learned about the "wonder weeks." Wonder weeks are age-linked stages of mental development — leaps — that can last for weeks at a time and are marked by increased crying, clinginess and crankiness. At the end of each leap your child will begin to roll out a slew of new skills, some of which won't appear until months later.
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Abel is currently in the midst of his third leap, and the one that has hit him the hardest — it's also a leap that can last up to five weeks. Thankfully, I learned about the leaps and was already capable of recognizing the signs prior to the start of this one.
My formerly care-free go-with-the-flow baby boy has gone through unprecedented bouts of fussiness, restlessness and clinginess, and combined with the start of teething and my return to work, our household has been a bit out of sorts. Not to say I haven't shed a few tears, but it's been comforting to know that there's a sound explanation for the changes in his behavior, to know that this will pass and that I'll have my happy little guy back in a couple of weeks. And of course, I've been saved countless trips to the pediatrician.
For now, we're waiting it out and doing out best to revel in all of his new abilities — rolling both ways, grasping items (including his feet), throwing, choosing which toys to play with, scooting. It honestly seems as if there's something new every day. So even though he's distracted and needy and not sleeping all that well, I kinda get it. If I was attempting to master so many new skills at once, I'd probably be a little out of it too.
Look for the Wonder Weeks app for iPhone and Android, $1.64-$1.99.
Image via Thinkstock
