The Wonder Weeks

Have you often wondered what's going on inside that tiny head of your baby? I know I have (especially when NOTHING seems to please her!) That's why I've visited the Wonder Weeks website often since Claire was born. I'm fascinated by the authors' contention that babies reach mental milestones at predictable ages that change the way they perceive the world. Who wouldn't want such a wonderful window into the world of babies? After all, babies do a lot of communicating, but what they are actually saying  often remains a big mystery.

The book's authors outline 10 stages of a baby's development called mental leaps. Each stage is often proceeded by a period of fussiness, as a baby learns to process her world in a new way.  At eight weeks, they contend that a baby starts to understand simple patterns such as "the way light displays shadows on the wall", or at 46 weeks, a baby begins to understand that there's an order in which things are done to reach a goal.

The Wonder Weeks book

My daughter, Claire, is just past the 75 week milestone, a time when the authors suggest that toddlers begin to recognize they're part of a family, distinct from others.

This mental leap is clearly evident at our house. Claire is obsessed with family right now. She will point at us, back and forth, "mama, papa, mama, papa", over and over. Her friend Archie and his mother Elaine are referred to as the one-word contraction, "ArchiElaine". Of course, as with anything toddler, she tends to overgeneralize. She points to all kinds of images throughout the day, and calls them mama.

She calls me some things that are sweet.  Some of the things named "mama" truly make me wonder. I don't wonder what week it is, but, rather, what planet my daughter is from. Here's a sampling of the random things she has called "mama" from the last few days:

Adorable Mama:

Classical Mama:

Holy Mother of God Mama (my personal favorite):

Sex Change Mama (huh?):

"Really? Should I be insulted? What's she thinking?" Mama

(On second thought, I am rather frazzled. Maybe, my daughter -- and the Wonder Weeks-- is on to something.)

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