Babies Make Four: Wonder Week 8

Today, Luke is 8 weeks old. It's hard to imagine that he's been with us that long and that he's almost 2 months old. It's gone by so fast. It also means I have 1 month (from Saturday) until I return to work. My heart is breaking at the thoughts of leaving him somewhere for the whole day for someone else to care for him. We've got our own communication down and I can't stand the thoughts of someone watching him who doesn't know what he's needing, who won't pick him up at the first sign of a fidget or who'll have to divide their time among him and 8 other babies. Ugh. This sucks. But I still have a month and am determined to make the most of this month of just us together.

Luke has been a little (what an understatement) fussy this week. Starting this weekend he started crying for no apparent reason. His diaper was clean, he had just ate and didn't seem to have any obvious issues. After doing a little research, I came across this book called The Wonder Weeks and it has helped us a great deal. Apparently, babies hit certain points of brain development at the same point of their lives and there's an 8 week wonder week. They develop new skills and it's just a little scary for them. After their fussy periods, they return to their calm self and have developed new ways to do things. During this time, he's learned to "stand" with the help of us, reach out to new things, make sense of large blocks of color, smile at us when we smile at him, and start to play with new toys. The book said sometimes their fussy times are brought on because they are bored with what's in front of them. I purchased Luke a little play mat with toys hanging down and he LOVES grabbing at the rattles and just rolling around on the floor. Whew, what a difference. I really recommend this book because it prepares you for the next wonder week and what to expect when it happens. It really helped me understand what was going on with him and not feel so frustrated.

Another nice thing about being on maternity leave is I don't have to wait for a weekend to visit with people. Today my mom and dad came down for a short visit since my dad is going out of town and wouldn't see the baby for awhile. We had a good lunch out and a nice visit here just holding, feeding and playing with the baby.

Next week is Luke's 2 months! Look for a picture soon documenting all of his likes in the past month! I just know you're all on pins and needles! :)