The Wonder Weeks: How to Stimulate Your Baby's Mental Development and Help Him Turn His 10 Predictable, Great, Fussy Phases into Magical Leaps Forward - Softcover

"This is a very practical and entertaining window into the baby's first year and a half. van de Rijt and Plooij have observed and found the vulnerable times in an infant's development that I independently came to in my book Touchpoints (Perseus). The authors' observations and practical suggestions are wonderful." (T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., professor emeritus, Harvard Medical School). ---"Anyone who deals with infants and young children will want to read 'The Wonder Weeks.' This book will open parents' eyes to aspects of their children's growth, development, changing behavior, and emotional responsiveness that they might otherwise not notice or find puzzling and distressing." (Catherine Snow, Ph.D., Shattuck Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education). ---"van de Rijt and Plooij's work on infant development has enormous value for clinical use and scientific application. Not only have they explained the periods of puzzling, difficult behavior in infancy which so worry parents, they have also shown how these behaviors mark developmental leaps and have described the stages in the infant's understanding. Together, this gives parents and professionals soundly based insight into babies' developing minds. What's more, van de Rijt and Plooij have described the play and communication that work best with babies at different ages and thus helped parents understand and connect sensitively with their babies. This parent-child connection is the major prerequisite for the development of secure, well-adjusted children. 'The Wonder Weeks' is essential reading for everyone who works with infants: pediatricians, social workers, psychologists, and, of course, parents." (John Richer, Ph.D., Dip. Clin. Psychol., consultant clinical psychologist and Head of Pediatric Psychology, Department of Pediatrics, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, England). ---"van de Rijt and Plooij will help you see the world the way an infant sees it. As the child grows, displays of emotion (such as crying) tell us the child is summoning reserves of energy and is calling out for help in finding new ways to perceive the changing world. Because van de Rijt and Plooij have discovered predictable stages in the widening of the infant's perceptions and skills, they can enable you, with their superb examples, to recognize the onset of these stressful episodes and to join your child in coping with them. So rich, indeed, are the implications of finding new perceptions and new skills in the midst of stress that whether or not you are a parent, it can never be too early or too late to profit from this book." (Philip J. Runkel, Ph.D., professor emeritus of psychology and education, University of Oregon). ---"'Terrible Twos' a Misnomer, According to Research; Extended Edition of International Bestseller Released, Helps Parents Weather Emotional Storms. Research shows that the so-called 'terrible twos' don't need to exist when it comes to child development. In fact, the behavior often associated with this stage - tantrums, moodiness, nagging and an affinity for the word 'no' - begins shortly after the first birthday. For parents, it is important to jump into action at this point so they can prevent the 'two's' from becoming terrible and turn them into something tremendous. A child doesn't need to act so 'terrible,' as long as you know what to do and, more important, why he is acting this way. By understanding these leaps you can make the transition into toddlerhood, and the subsequent stages including the 'terrible two's,' into the 'tremendous two's' and beyond. 'Tremendous,' says Dr. Plooij, 'because it is with these leaps that a huge part of socialization is set for life. And tremendous: because good values and norms start now. If you invest in your toddler in this time, it will pay off for lifetime and especially in puberty." (From the SFGate, home of the San Francisco Chronicle). "For those of us who love 'The Wonder Weeks' but wish it wasn't just about babies, your wish is granted. They've just released a new, expanded edition that goes up to 20 months and has more ideas about things you can do during the wonder week leaps to make the leaps more entertaining for you and, presumably, your baby. US$25 at Amazon, which makes it the perfect baby shower or new-parent or gift-giving-holiday-at-the-end-of-the-calendar-year gift." (AskMoxie.org). ---"Great News! 'The Wonder Weeks' have come out with their new, expanded edition up to 20 months old. I love this book, and highly recommend it for some fascinating reading on what is really happening in your little one's development. (Best Milk Bistro, via Facebook). ---" 'The Wonder Weeks' - a look at cognitive growth in the first year - why might the baby be fussy, and what can parents do." (via Carolyn Hax, The Washington Post Writers' Group, Facebook followers). ---" 'The Wonder Weeks' is a great book for new parents! It takes you step by step through the first two years of life and helps explain out those mysterious times in your child's life where you think your fabulously well behaved child has suddenly become possessed... I can't wait to get my hands on an updated copy of this book, because I think the insights will be invaluable in terms of being prepared and navigating the independence stage in a positive way!" (Heather, ActingBalanced.com). ---"We've found 'THE' must have gift for all parent's to be! 'The Wonder Weeks - How to stimulate your baby's mental development and help them turn their 10 predictable, great, fussy phases into magical leaps forward'!" (WHO Adelaide Chummy Mummy' and 'Tot Shop'). ---"Everything I know about when and what the actual developmental spurts are I learned from the book 'The Wonder Weeks.' One of the things I love about this book is that they don't tell you what to do, aside from suggesting games to play. They just tell you what's going on. I have a definite bias against books that tell you how to raise your kids, and I love that this book is just a roadmap of what's going on when." (AskMoxie.org). ---"If you want to be really prepared for the 'regressions,' I'd say borrow or buy 'the Wonder Weeks' book, read it, and pay attention to the signals your baby is giving you. Once you know what's going on, it becomes fasciating and annoying instead of worrisome and torturous." (AskMoxie.org). ---"You all know of my love for the book 'The Wonder Weeks.' I love it because it explains what developmental leaps happen when with your child, up through the first 15 months or so, so you know why your happy or sleeping baby is suddenly wigging out and/or not sleeping. By doing that, it revealed exactly why there's a hideous 4-month sleep regression as well as an equally-if-not-more-hideous 8-9-month sleep regression. It's a book that tells you what's going on, not what you're supposed to do. I can't count the number of times people have said to me, 'It let me have patience with my baby and realize I wasn't doing anything wrong.' Score." (AskMoxie.org). ---"So last week I was on Twitter and discovered that 'The Wonder Weeks' has a Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/thewonderweeks) and...an iPhone app. Which I think is just brilliant. Also, the iPhone app is only US$2 (yes, that's two dollars). Even more brilliant." (AskMoxie.org). ---"Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love this book, 'The Wonder Weeks,' to describe the age-linked changes (leaps) in development in a baby's first 14 mos. If you don't have this book, and you have a baby, GET IT! Fascinating read. And now they are here on FB and Twitter @thewonderweeks, they also have an iPhone App." (Stacy Rodes Meyers, Founder, BestMilkBistro.com). ---"Ask Moxie is a HUGE proponent of your book, that's how most people probably learned of it. At least I did, almost 3 years ago and waited for it to be back in print. I LOVE it!" (Stacy Rodes Meyers, Founder, BestMilkBistro.com). ---"I highly recommend the book, 'The Wonder Weeks' as they all really do go through extra clingy phases when going through developmental changes. If I recall, around now give or take a couple weeks they go through a stage of separation anxiety as developmentally they've realized that you're capable of moving away from them and that the distance between you is out of their control. I'd love to go into it more but I'm sneaking in some online time while feeding the monkey in between packing for holidays!" (Petra, Boston, via BundleJungle.com). ---"I've got 'The Wonder Weeks' and refer to it constantly. It's not just the odd day though, or even the odd group of days, its been every single day since he was born, he will go to other people once he knows them, but I still have to be in eye sight, and the sleeping thing is crazy, I can't even nurse him off to sleep and then sneak out off the room, its like he feels the pressure change on the mattress and instantly wakes." (Moderator, BundleJungle.com). ---"Thanks so much! I LOVE the book!!!" (AnnMarie, Kentucky). ---"I LOVE your book and cannot stop suggesting it to friends!" (Janelle, California). ---"I have been using the info in this book since I first got some notes on the Dutch version (in English) WAAAAY back more than a decade ago. I still give this book as an essential book for new parents. It makes so much just plain sense, when otherwise, it seems random!" (Heather, Delaware). ---"This book is 'exactly' what every new parent wants: a guide that tells exactly why your baby is fine one week and freaking out the next. We all know about the physical growth spurts at 3 and 6 weeks and then 3 and 6 months, but there isn't anything else that tells you when developmental spurts are happening. Until now. As soon as I got this book, I went back and looked in my journal from when my son was a baby, and all his fussy weeks matched up with the ones in the book! If I'd had this book at the time, it would have been so much easier just to roll with it and not wonder what was 'wrong'." (IME). ---"The best thing about this book is that it doesn't tell you how to be a perfect parent, or give you some focacta plan you have to follow exactly to make your baby turn out the right way. Instead it just tells you why your baby is doing what s/he is doing, so you can have patience and not worry that there's something wrong with either you as a parent or your child." ---"I just ordered two more to give to new parents I know. This is my one constant shower gift. I can't believe this book hasn't gotten more press than it has, because it would really be a lifesaver for any parent with a baby under the age of 1." (AskMoxie.org). ---"I recently purchased 'The Wonder Weeks' to try to help understand why my 4 month old daughter was going through a horrible sleep regression. I found the book to be reassuring - knowing that some things are phases rather than the 'new her'. As expected, she went back to being more predictable after the new developments. It's helpful to know when the next developmental stage is coming and when it will be over." (Sarah Beck). ---"The woman who reviewed this book for the Library Journal has clearly never had an infant who acts fine one week and then crazy the next. If she had, she'd love this book as much as I did, and the 3 friends I've given this book as gifts too did. The reason the authors don't refer to other research studies is that they're the only ones who've specifically been studying this, and they use plenty of examples from their own research. Yes, it's true that it's not written in a really scientific way, but is that what you want to read when you're just trying to figure out why your child stopped sleeping and eating all of a sudden? Not me. I'd rather know what developmental leap is coming up so I know how long the cranky phase will last and what I can do to help my child through it. This book is so easily worth the money and time spent reading it, just because it gives you the patience to be able to wait out difficult periods when you know why they're happening and when they'll stop. No things you should and shouldn't do, just a sort of reference manual of what's going on and why. Buy the book and your life with your infant through 12-month-old will improve immensely." ---"I bought this book when my first baby was 8 weeks old and right in the middle of an extremely fussy stage. For a whole week he was crying everyday, had to be held, restless, not sleeping well and not eating well. After talking with his pediatrician who told me he's just fussy I wanted more answers. I searched online "very fussy 8 week old baby" and this book came up. I read lots of reviews and decided to buy it. Lots of the reviews say the book is repetitive. I loved the book. In my opinion when you are as sleep deprived as new parents are you forget things and the reminders - aka repetition - in each chapter from the chapters before are very helpful to me. I thought this book was excellent. It helped me realize that my baby was going through a wonderful transition and a special milestone and I was able to embrace it with confidence that there was nothing wrong with him or me. I highly recommend this book, it WILL give you a piece of mind and turn something scary and frustrating into something to celebrate." ---"My son is famous among parents of similar-age babies we know for being the most cheerful, non-fussy baby there ever was. But even he gets more Challenging during the wonder weeks. We're going through the week 46 one now (which actually starts earlier than that and can last several weeks) and it's the worst one yet. He normally falls asleep within 5 minutes with no fuss and now it takes him 30 minutes to 2 hours to fall asleep. And no, not because he's not tired. He's totally tired, in fact he's overtired due to his sleep troubles. He's regressed in some of his physical abilities too, wanting to just lay around and chew on things a lot of times. He's moody. All of this would have concerned me so much I'd have gone to the doctor if I didn't have this book a friend loaned me. I didn't read every word cover to cover, like others I think this book could be half the size, but it's been so helpful even just to know there's nothing wrong that I would encourage parents-to-be to get this book and be aware of what to expect before the baby arrives. If we'd had this book from the start we would not have been going so crazy during those first couple cognitive spurts when things went haywire." (Lulu McBride). ---"Every new parent should read this book. It gives remarkable insight on what is happening with your baby. My son has reached every 'wonder week' so far and exhibited the behaviors and emotions listed in this book. It has really helped save my sanity just knowing what is happening with him and why he suddenly cries more often, doesn't sleep through the night anymore, etc. Also, knowing it is just temporary is great. I have been able to relax and really enjoy watching the developmental progress going on through the changes in his behavior." (C. Breed). ---"Really want an iphone now so I can get the @TheWonderWeeks app. So much to learn!" (@dimplescfg). ---"Welcome to Twitter, @thewonderweeks! Their book saved our sanity during C's first year." (@krapsnart). ---"@thewonderweeks- these people saved my sanity my entire first year of being a parent!" (@ChristinaRTS)."

The Wonder Weeks. How to stimulate your baby's mental development and help him turn his 10 predictable, great, fussy phases into magical leaps forward describes in easy-to-understand terms the incredible developmental changes that all babies go through during the first 20 months of their lives.

This is the extended, "fat" edition with 2 more chapters covering 2 more leaps in the mental development of your baby up to the end of the sensorimotor period.

The book is based on the discovery of a little known phenomenon: all normal, healthy babies appear to be more tearful, troublesome, demanding and clingy at very nearly the same ages.

These age-related fluctuations in need for body contact and attention are related to major and quite dramatic changes in the brains of the children. These changes enable a baby to enter a whole new perceptual world and, as a consequence, to learn many new skills. This should be a reason for celebration, but as far as the baby is concerned these changes are bewildering. He's taken aback -- everything has changed overnight. It is as if he has woken up on a strange planet.

The book includes:

·  Week-by-week guide to baby's behavior

·  An explanation of the markers for cranky, clingy, crying (the three C's) behavior and how to deal with them

·  A description from your baby's perspective of the world around him and how you can understand the changes he's going through

·  Fun games and gentle activities you can do with your child

The book offers parents:

·  Support in times of trouble

·  Self-confidence

·  Help in understanding their baby

·  Hints on how to help their baby play and learn

·  A unique account of their baby's development

For more detailed information about contents and the research behind the book, please visit www.thewonderweeks.com