Mental leap 6
Last couple of days have been a bit difficult. Nothing extreme, but Adelaide has been more unhappy and fussy, and LOUD than normally..
Which is interesting, it changed really quickly, as I particularly remember, that like 4 days ago I exactly was thinking, how happy and calm my baby is! :D Spending so much time playing on her own..
Well, suddenly she is not a happy baby at all. Actually.. she just needs a lot of attention. If we are seriously getting on the floor with her and sitting there, while she plays, and just spending some one on one time with her, she is perfectly fine.
Problem is, that I had gotten used to, that I can actually get some things "done" around the house, simple things like some cooking and cleaning. Suddenly they became quite impossible, or possible only with a background noise of a screaming baby, who is hanging in my legs.
Another thing, she is more strongly and more loudly than ever expressing her will and wishes. To some extent it was already before.. But not as crazy as now. If she gets hold of something that she is "not allowed" to have (of course, we have tried to remove all such items from her reach, but she still manages to find something..), it is the most interesting thing for her (and she immediately understands that it is something of the forbidden kind, I'm not sure, either from the tone of our voice or what..), and once it's taken away from her, she screams bloody murder.
Distracting her with another item is working sometimes, but not always, as you must find something at lest equally interesting within seconds.
She is playing with food, not eating it (her appetite is bad lately, I'm not sure why, but she is often not very interested in eating, no matter what and how I offer), and this can get a bit frustrating. For all of us.
(P.S. She is healthy, there is nothing wrong with her, and I also don't think it's teething, because it seems that her teeth are coming out without any problems.)
We managed to get already tired and a bit frustrated, but then something was pointed out to me.. She is going through a Mental Leap!
It comes from a book The Wonder Weeks - it describes mental leaps that all the babies go through. Each leap comes with new abilities, but with some crankiness as well. Many have said, that it's sometimes unbelievable, but true - you're wondering, what is suddenly wrong with your baby, why is he or she so cranky.. But then it turns out, he is going through a mental developmental leap, with all the signs described!
I actually didn't order the book, I wasn't sure if there is point.. (There is some minimal information on the homepage as well.) But now I wish I had. It would be interesting to read some more.
I looked it up last night, and really - she has everything going on, that is described about the Mental Leap 6, which should occur anywhere between 36 and 40 weeks (she is going to be full 40 weeks on Monday), such as:
...you may notice your baby attempting to do new things. At this age, a baby’s explorations can often seem very methodical. For example, you may notice your little tyke picking up specks from the floor and examining them studiously between his thumb and forefinger.
Or a budding little chef may rearrange the food on his plate by testing the way a banana squashes or spinach squishes through tiny fingers. He will assume the most serious, absorbed expression while carrying out these investigations. In fact, that is just what they are—investigations that will help the little researcher begin to categorize his world.
I found also a blog, describing their experience with this leap, and these things fit for us too:
...Shows that knows some words
...Imitates adults
...Exaggerates his moods by being excessively happy or sad/mad
...Claps hands and opens and closes fists to show others that he wants something
...Started standing by himself for brief periods
...Nightmares
Which is interesting, it changed really quickly, as I particularly remember, that like 4 days ago I exactly was thinking, how happy and calm my baby is! :D Spending so much time playing on her own..
Well, suddenly she is not a happy baby at all. Actually.. she just needs a lot of attention. If we are seriously getting on the floor with her and sitting there, while she plays, and just spending some one on one time with her, she is perfectly fine.
Problem is, that I had gotten used to, that I can actually get some things "done" around the house, simple things like some cooking and cleaning. Suddenly they became quite impossible, or possible only with a background noise of a screaming baby, who is hanging in my legs.
Another thing, she is more strongly and more loudly than ever expressing her will and wishes. To some extent it was already before.. But not as crazy as now. If she gets hold of something that she is "not allowed" to have (of course, we have tried to remove all such items from her reach, but she still manages to find something..), it is the most interesting thing for her (and she immediately understands that it is something of the forbidden kind, I'm not sure, either from the tone of our voice or what..), and once it's taken away from her, she screams bloody murder.
Distracting her with another item is working sometimes, but not always, as you must find something at lest equally interesting within seconds.
She is playing with food, not eating it (her appetite is bad lately, I'm not sure why, but she is often not very interested in eating, no matter what and how I offer), and this can get a bit frustrating. For all of us.
(P.S. She is healthy, there is nothing wrong with her, and I also don't think it's teething, because it seems that her teeth are coming out without any problems.)
We managed to get already tired and a bit frustrated, but then something was pointed out to me.. She is going through a Mental Leap!
It comes from a book The Wonder Weeks - it describes mental leaps that all the babies go through. Each leap comes with new abilities, but with some crankiness as well. Many have said, that it's sometimes unbelievable, but true - you're wondering, what is suddenly wrong with your baby, why is he or she so cranky.. But then it turns out, he is going through a mental developmental leap, with all the signs described!
I actually didn't order the book, I wasn't sure if there is point.. (There is some minimal information on the homepage as well.) But now I wish I had. It would be interesting to read some more.
I looked it up last night, and really - she has everything going on, that is described about the Mental Leap 6, which should occur anywhere between 36 and 40 weeks (she is going to be full 40 weeks on Monday), such as:
...you may notice your baby attempting to do new things. At this age, a baby’s explorations can often seem very methodical. For example, you may notice your little tyke picking up specks from the floor and examining them studiously between his thumb and forefinger.
Or a budding little chef may rearrange the food on his plate by testing the way a banana squashes or spinach squishes through tiny fingers. He will assume the most serious, absorbed expression while carrying out these investigations. In fact, that is just what they are—investigations that will help the little researcher begin to categorize his world.
I found also a blog, describing their experience with this leap, and these things fit for us too:
...Shows that knows some words
...Imitates adults
...Exaggerates his moods by being excessively happy or sad/mad
...Claps hands and opens and closes fists to show others that he wants something
...Started standing by himself for brief periods
...Nightmares
...Extreme moods
It's all true, she is sleeping very restlessly, even crying and laughing in her sleep, rolling and crawling in sleep. And mostly.. yes, shouting.
But right away, realizing this - that our baby is going through something, and it's completely normal and right, she is supposed to do it and there is nothing wrong with her, and she is not doing it to annoy us.. ;) Which we all, of course, knew before, but its good to be reminded.
It helps to realize, that just have to tune in more.. Really, get down with her, give her a 100% attention, Then she is happy, everyone is happy. ;) And everything else can wait.
It's all true, she is sleeping very restlessly, even crying and laughing in her sleep, rolling and crawling in sleep. And mostly.. yes, shouting.
But right away, realizing this - that our baby is going through something, and it's completely normal and right, she is supposed to do it and there is nothing wrong with her, and she is not doing it to annoy us.. ;) Which we all, of course, knew before, but its good to be reminded.
It helps to realize, that just have to tune in more.. Really, get down with her, give her a 100% attention, Then she is happy, everyone is happy. ;) And everything else can wait.
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