The Wonder Weeks

Okay people, know something. Know that I've read A LOT about parenting. While I can't say reading volumes has made me any better of a mother I will say I've learned how to sift the crap from the crap, so to speak. A lot of books about parenting say the same thing over and over again while the others make you feel inadequate if your child doesn't fit the mold. I learned pretty much from the moment I had Henry that all of these books need to be taken with a grain of salt. Having said all that please know it takes quite a bit for me to get excited about a parenting book.

In my frustration with Henry's sleep habits I've been talking with many of my mom friends, commiserating, venting, complaining. Right around the time Henry turned 4 months a friend mentioned the words "sleep regression" -- almost like a whisper, a murmur of some sinister thing that people just don't talk about. Then it came up with another friend, The Mean Mommy said, "You won't find it any book. Google it."

I'm starting to believe.

I hit Google so fast it would make your head spin and sure enough people are talking about these regressions and they are real! It was almost like a funny validation to find these posts and discussions online. Reading them felt like someone took me by the hand and said, "Don't you worry dear, there is a reason for all this but it will get better."

Sleep regressions refer to the deteriorating sleep patterns you can see just before or during a neurological growth spurt. The demand placed on a child just as he or she is going to acquire a new skill is enough to throw them completely off kilter and thus make them not find deep sleep. The book that I'm drooling over lately is this: The Wonder Weeks: How to Turn Your Baby's 8 Great Fussy Phases into Magical Leaps Forward

Tragically, its out of print and thus ridiculously expensive to purchase. If you are lucky enough to have a copy at your local library I highly suggest you go and get your hands on it and renew it repetitively. I, myself, was able to obtain a copy at my library but some other obsessed parent has requested it so sadly soon they are going to attempt to pry it off me. Jerks.

But the dork in me had taken this book, chapter by chapter and summarized it. I did it for my own benefit, but the humanitarian in me is willing to share. If you email me I will send you my notes, no strings attached (just be sure to put the words "Wonder Weeks" in the subject line of your email.) At the time of this posting I still have a few chapters to cover, but if you are patient I promise it will be better than 90% of the parenting "literature" out there.