William entered Wonder Week 8 (Leap 2) just as expected…based on his birth date (not due date as the book indicates). Read more about birth date versus due date in this update on leap 1.
The changes we noticed in him during and after this leap were a bit more subtle than in leap 1.
He wasn’t suddenly checking off a bunch of physical milestones.
I probably wouldn’t have noticed “changes” had I not known about this leap. I would have noticed the fussiness, however…
The Second Wonder Week
The second wonder week, is called “Wonder Week 8”. It occurs sometime around the 8 week mark for your baby.
Since it is the second wonder week, it is referred to as “Leap 2”.
This leap is “The World of Patterns”.
“He will become able to recognize simple patterns in the world around him and his own body.”
The Wonder Weeks (van de Rijt and Plooij), page 56
The biggest things I noticed during this leap were his ability to recognize nap time, his alertness, and his overall fussiness during wake times.
He knew the patterns and routines well enough, that just walking towards his room for nap time, he was starting to complain about it.
I used to be able to set him down in his crib and just walk away.
Now, he was fussy and crying before I could even lay him down.
He was and is still very aware of when it is nap time, and when we leave.
He’s required more help in getting to sleep (whether that be a pacifier, or bouncing/tapping in the crib).
He’s crazy alert. His head hits the mattress and his eyes are as wide as can be.
He’s fussy during wake time. He seems to want to be doing more, yet isn’t interested in what we are doing with him, and isn’t capable of doing much.
It’s hard to keep him happy during wake times right now, which is a challenge, because his wake times have increased.
See his week 10 schedule for the increased wake times.
Wonder Weeks Chart
Page 68 in The Wonder Weeks book outlines a checklist of new skills that your baby might be learning.
For more detailed information, check out the book on amazon, and our book review here! Here is our experience with each of the skills:
“He will choose what he considers the most appealing. Some babies will try to learn a variety of new skills, using one or more of their senses. Some will seem particularly interested in exploring this new world with their eyes. Some will prefer to try out their talking and listening skills. Others will become more adept with their bodies.”
The Wonder Weeks (van de Rijt and Plooij), page 71
William focused on a couple of main areas for sure, instead of doing a broad sampling of the things listed in the checklist…
Body Control
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- Holding head upright when he’s interested and alert
- He’s starting to turn his head when he finds something interesting
- Rolls from side to stomach and side to back easily
- He’s one step further and rolls from belly to back fully
- Kicks legs and waves arms- ALL THE TIME (he never stops)!
- Allows us to put him in a sitting position and standing position
- Lifts his head when lying face down
- He’s able to look left and right when on his belly
- He’s just barely making some faces
- There are even more things with the “body” skills that William did NOT accomplish this leap. Check out the book for the full list of what is possible this leap!
Get the Wonder Week Book at Amazon:
Hand Control
- Not interested in swiping at toys
- Not interested in grabbing objects
- There are even more things with the “hand control” skills that William did NOT accomplish this leap. Check out the book for the full list of what is possible this leap!
Get the Wonder Week Book at Amazon:
Looking and Seeing
- Watches people moving
- Fascinated by children (big sis) playing close by
- Enjoys watching TV
- Watches pets when close by
- Likes to look at lights and outside
- Enjoys watching people
- Hasn’t really discovered his hands, feet, knees, etc. (although he’s good at sucking on his hands at naps and night)
- There are even more things with the “looking and seeing” skills that William did NOT accomplish this leap. Check out the book for the full list of what is possible this leap!
Get the Wonder Week Book at Amazon:
Listening and Chatting
- Enjoys listening to voices
- Makes short bursts of sounds
- Makes eh sounds to attract attention
- Does not repeat sounds
- Does not interrupt others talking, he just listens
- There are even more things with the “listening and chatting” skills that William did NOT accomplish this leap. Check out the book for the full list of what is possible this leap!
Get the Wonder Week Book at Amazon:
I’m actually surprised as I went through the list just now- He’s doing more than I would have thought. Most of this, however, he’s been doing for quite some time- long before the leap!
Signs and Fussiness
William is wide awake. Wide awake when it’s time to sleep. Wide awake when we’re out. Wide awake all the time! LOL
He’s just super interested in the world around him right now.
He can be yawning and obviously tired, but if I take him up to his crib, he tries to fake me out with the widest eyes ever.
Naps are not easy right now. It’s hard for him going down for naps and staying asleep. There are days I feel like I’m constantly helping him get back to sleep.
Bedtime is much better than it used to be. I think this is largely in part due to his new schedule and earlier bedtime.
He’s eating at 4 pm, then going down for a nap from 5:30-6:30. He then gets up and has awake time until 7. At 7 pm I feed him and put him to bed.
Many nights he’s asleep before 8, and pretty much is always asleep by 8:30. This is a HUGE improvement!
He’s very aware of nap time. He knows his routine, and he knows that when we go to his room, it’s time.
As soon as I walk in his room and he’s fussy about a nap already and telling me he doesn’t need it.
He’s taking much more assistance to fall asleep now for naps only.
He also knows when we leave and enter the room. We can be as quiet as a mouse- he knows and lets us know he knows!
Wake time has also been really hard. He’s crying even during wake times and seems to only want mama.
I feel like he needs new things to look at, but then at the same time he’s just not interested in much.
We go outside, and he got his first walk in the stroller during this leap. He’s enjoying bath time and naked time so much.
Those are my defaults when I can’t get anything else to work!
I have been thinking about getting a water mat for him to look at:
And maybe a mat like this or something with a mirror:
At the same time, he’s not grabbing at things yet, so his interest is to come.
But, that’s why I came up with some of the tummy time ideas above.
Caroline was an early sitter (4 months), and I loved it. I loved that she could see and do so much more. I have a feeling he’s not going to be a sitter based on his current lack of interest in it!
He is rolling and trying to scoot along on his belly already, however! His legs are super active. I think he might be my early crawler!
Leaps and Development Page you’ll want to check out:
Head to the Leaps and Development page to see every single post about the Wonder Weeks, along with information on Preemie Development, basic Milestones to expect including speech and physical milestones.
Leap 2 is the second leap in a baby’s development. It occurs during week 8 of your baby’s life. So, leap 2 is the leap that occurs during week 8, and is called “wonder week 8”.
There are many skills that can be learned, but MOST of them focus on body and head control. Baby can start to roll from side to belly, and side to back, and start really holding his/her head up much better. (See post for a full list of skills)