Saturday, November 24, 2012

Developmental Growth Spurt (15-16 weeks)

As the Blueberry approaches his 4-month birthday I worry about falling too behind on recording those key developmental moments, especially as they seem to be happening faster and faster. Before I know it, he'll be sitting up, rolling over, walking, talking and going off to college. Okay, I exaggerate but you get my point.

A few weeks ago, the Blueberry started what's been termed the "4th month sleep regression." He was sleeping great. Not through the night, of course, but more or less from 930 p.m. - 6:30 a.m. with at least two naps during the day. Then it all went to hell. He began cluster feeding at night like it was a growth spurt but not in the ravenous manner of his 3-month spurt. It was clearly comfort nursing and he seemed almost afraid to sleep. This went on for several days running (though it seemed much longer at the time) and then was his usual self again. As it turns out, there are developmental "growth" spurts as well as physical ones. During these stages, baby learns a new skill. Depending upon how novel the new skill, it may scare the hell out of him as his whole world becomes upended. According to a book called The Wonder Weeks, there are 10 fussy stages which correspond to a child's development. The big upcoming boom is at 19 weeks, but the fussy stage that accompanies it begins somewhere between 14 and 17 weeks. At 15-16 weeks, the Blueberry clearly had already begun to work on these new skills.

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He's able to grab objects much better than before--even those with strange shapes and unusual textures like Sophie the Giraffe.

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He even swings things about.

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He likes soft things like blankets and luvies and often appears to examine them. Yes, his mouth is often an integral part in the examination process.

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He's still working on sucking his thumb--often shoving other fingers in his mouth or poking himself in the eye instead, but he's working on it.

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He explores our faces, especially our noses and mouths.

Though his hand-eye coordination is still definitely a work in progress, he's definitely improving a little more each day.

Stay tuned...

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