Ever wonder why one week your baby seems as content as can be, and then all of a sudden, all hell breaks loose?
That’s why word of mouth is leading many Chicago moms to The Wonder Weeks, a book and related app that explains the developmental changes and regression periods all babies go through the first 20 months of their lives.
For 35 years, authors Hetty van de Rijt and Frans Plooii researched baby development and out of it established 10 predictable weeks where babies will have fussy phases.
According to the book’s theory, all normal, healthy babies appear to be fussier at practically the same ages and regression periods. They also will sleep less. These “cloudy” periods precede “magical leaps” forward where babies experience developmental changes.
Elana Porat, a Chicago mom of one, learned about the book from the new moms group she joined after her son was born.
“In the beginning, my son’s ‘cloudy’ weeks matched those outlined in the book and helped give me a better view into why he was acting certain ways,” Porat says.
