Teething and Wonder Week 26

Visit my baby blog for more on Wonder Weeks

Teething

This past week Cooper was extra fussy. A couple of times he would go from smiling and completely content to totally undone with tears and screaming. The first time this happened I was visiting some family friends. In a matter of seconds my content and happy son was inconsolable. I went through all the possible culprits but could not figure it out. Everyone was trying their best to make him happy but nothing seemed to help. This happened several other times until just this past Saturday I saw a white speck coming up through his gums– he was cutting his first tooth! No wonder he was so cranky and fussy! Poor guy! Once I had that figured out, I knew how to help him feel more comfortable. The tooth has finally broke through the skin and the tears and screaming outbursts have subsided.

Wonder Week 26

At the same time that Cooper is cutting his first tooth, we are at the peek of his developmental leap, “Wonder Week 26.” He has not been acting like himself. For the past 3 days he has barely eaten or drank anything. Cooper is a BIG eater. He loves eating so much that he does not know when to stop! I thought his refusal to nurse and eat might be because his gums were bothering him from teething, but when I talked to a neighbor she said her son nursed around the clock when we was cutting teeth. So maybe the teething has nothing to do with his refusal to eat and drink. I was looking through the book “The Wonder Weeks” and found that during wonder week 26 babies usually exhibit some of the following symptoms during this developmental leap, “wonder week 26”. I have marked next to each symptom if Cooper exhibited any of the wonder week signs.

• Cries more and is bad-tempered, cranky, or whiny more often (YES!!)
• wants you to keep him busy (yes)
• wants more physical contact (kind of)
• sleeps poorly (YES!!!)
• loses appetite (YES!!)
• doesn’t want to be changed (he always squirms when changed so that is not different)
• is shier with strangers than he use to be (no)
• is quieter, less vocal (at times)
• is less lively (at times)
• reaches for a cuddly toy, or does so more than before (YES!!!)

Cooper is 26 weeks (6 months) this week! Hopefully next week will prove easier to manage. I will say that today looks promising. He slept better last night and he eat well for breakfast! He even seemed a little less fussy! So there is hope!

Visit my baby blog for more on Wonder Weeks