If there’s one thing I’ve learned from being a parent, it’s that you can’t truly be prepared for anything. Your baby might wake up one morning and cry non-stop for no reason. Or at least it seems that way until she lets rip an enormous fart. Or maybe she’s super clingy and you don’t know why – it’s moments like those that I simply couldn’t live without my baby sling. However, there is a way to get a bit more insight into what’s going on.
You may or may not have noticed the pretty gray button on the right side of the page. That’s to show you that I’m a columnist over on Tums 2 Tots. My column each month is about an app that makes pregnancy or parenting easier, and you can check it out over here (and you really should – the site has gone through a rebranding and looks beautiful!). This month, I wrote about The Wonder Weeks app, and it truly is my lifesaver sometimes.
The app is actually based on a book of the same name. The book obviously gives way more detail, but I find the app to be the best interface for the information. The idea is pretty simple – babies/children go through predictable developmental growths as different points in their lives. So, at 4.5-5.5 weeks after due date, parents can expect certain things. With ten leaps in all, the researchers show what is going on and what to expect.
I understood it best in a certain way. Think of the way you see the world. You’re used to your field of vision, your degree of perception. Then imagine one day you could see ten times further, and a wider spectrum of color. I’d cry and cling to my loved ones, too. That’s what Wonder Weeks are like for babies – yes they gain new skills, but that doesn’t make it easy for them.
The app explains what’s going on, what symptoms you can expect, what skills your little one is learning and how you can help them through the period. You can even track multiple children, plot it all on a calendar and prepare for the tears in advance. Feel free to read more about it on my column. It’s definitely an app that I consult regularly, and one I’d highly recommend to any and every parent. Plus, for R38, it’s cheaper than the book and worth it for the warning push notifications so that you know when a growth spurt is upon you.
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