The concept of the Wonder Weeks was created by a Dutch psychologist and anthropologist in the 1990's. The book and research has been published and republished many times over the years. Many say the research has been "debunked", but the findings DO have some validity to the. Lots of mama's and parents cling to the App that was created to help them better understand their babies odd behavior.
In a nutshell, the Wonder Weeks explains that over the course of your young child's life (birth-18 months) they will go through developmental leaps. During these leaps, they will appear irritable and fussy. Appetite and sleep are affected; and just when you think you will never get your content baby back, it all goes back to normal.
What skills is your baby working on?
But now, your little one has learned a new skill; social smiles, crawling, object permanence, pulling up, the list goes on and on.
I consulted the App MANY times with my twins. It helped me relax some, but it also created additional #anxiety when it was needed. I could see a looming cloud on the calendar and could only speculate on what was going to happen. Sometimes my little girls were not themselves, and other times the leap passed with no disruption.
The worst leap for us was leap 10 (75 weeks after due date).
My Baby B literally cried for 6 weeks straight...literally. I thought I would lose my mind. But, during this time, I witnessed her exert her new independence and her cognitive learning soared. I guess it was worth it :-/
If everything seems on point with your child, like schedule, feedings and environment, but you still have an extremely fussy child, then check out the App to see if your baby is in a leap.
On the contrary, don't let the leaps be an excuse for poorly timed sleep and habits. This could be the difference in poor sleep lasting 2 weeks instead of 6!
When working with families, those are the things I consult about. Rarely do the leaps ever come up. Happy Sleeping!