Imagine waking up in the morning to find that someone has repainted your bedroom, or your bed is now standing in the front yard, or discovering that those lumps that have been waving about in your area of vision all your life are in fact attached to you, and under your control.
These analogies are a hint at the confusion a baby feels as its brain and motor functions develop over the first 20 months of life. Approximately every 2-3 weeks a new stage of development occurs, and these changes promote fussiness, crying, and clingyness. Every baby has to go through these developmental stages, but the good news is they occur at reasonably predictable times. Just as a baby's development in the womb is measured from the moment of conception, so the baby's development outside the womb continues, counted from the moment of conception. That means that if your baby was early or late, you need to adjust the expected timings of these stages.
Right now Edward is coming out of his second post-birth developmental spurt. The first occurs at 5 weeks, the second at 8 weeks. He's now recognising our faces and smiling at us, getting better control of his limbs, and becoming aware of his body, both internally and externally.
To learn more, read the book "The Wonder Weeks".
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