Growth spurt, wonder week, or disruptions?

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Cooper is 24 weeks old and just 2 weeks shy of 6 months old. Where has the time gone? I know that sounds so cliche, but really how did we get to this point already? Along the way we have had growth spurts, developmental leaps (wonder weeks), and disruptions due to travel and every day life. Just when you think all is calm in the Foley family one these lovely things occurs and sends Cooper off schedule and fussy.

Well this week was one of those weeks. Is it a growth spurt, a developmental leap (wonder week), or due to the disruption of traveling to Florida and back? WHO KNOWS!!! Really? I haven’t a clue! I would have to guess that it is all three this time. Here is why I think this.

First, Cooper has been DOWNING the milk and food. Yesterday he ate over 6 oz of food in the morning. Which is equivalent to 1.5 jars of stage 2 babyfood. I make all my own babyfood, but I know that each jar of stage 2 food contains 4oz. Stage 2 babyfood is intended for babies who are a little older than Coop. Then at dinner he downed at least 8oz, but I lost track when I had to keep going to the freezer to pull out more frozen babyfood cubes to heat up for him. The child was like the bottomless pit. If I did not feed it fast enough to him, he would scream and then scream louder. Wish I had a good pair of ear plugs! He was also waking early from his naps and would chug the milk and then devour his pureed food. Might I also add that two nights ago he woke up from 2am-7am looking for food. Can you say growth spurt!

Then while we were in Florida and traveling he experienced some disruptions to his schedule. He did not sleep his best. It was not terrible, but not his best. Cooper is sleeping 10-11 hours most nights now without waking for feedings! YIPPY!! But while in Florida, he would wake at least once a night. I know he was not hungry, but he was waking because he was in a strange place. He does not sleep his best unless he is in his room snug in his crib. But instead of letting him cry himself back to sleep, I would feed him and then put him back to bed (so he did not wake the whole house). He also only got one true nap a day- poor guy! We made sure he got his morning nap, but then we were out an about and he would miss his second nap of the day. Cooper is down to only having 2 two-hours naps plus a catnap (30-45min) a day. Needless to say, when we got back to Maryland it took him a few days to get back on schedule. The nighttime was the worst because he expected me to come in a feed him like I had done on vacation- thankfuly I think that we are safely back on schedule. He slept through the night last night- yea!

Finally, I think Cooper is in the middle of a developmental leap. According the the book The Wonder Weeks, Cooper is in the middle of wonder week 26. This developmental leap can last from week 23-26. Oh Joy! (do you sense my sarcasm?) During this time a child is more fussy, clingy, and cranky. This is true of Cooper. He has just been screaming is little head off. He does not like to lay on his back. He wants to sit up, but he cannot do it without support. So the entire time he is laying on his back, he is screaming. He is also screaming because I left the room or he’s screaming because he is hungry or wants more food…oh and he could just be plain screaming! AHHHHHH!!!! Makes me want to scream. This happened during the last developmenal leap that Cooper went through during wonder week 19. At least I know this is just a phase and he will grow out of it. If I hold Coop it seems to settle him for a short while, but I cannot hold him all day!

Which leads me to the conclusion that its all three: growth spurt, developmental leap (wonder week), and disruptions due to travel. Why do things always happen in threes?