Screw You, Wonder Week 55!

I'm If you're wondering why I haven't posted much in the last week, I present to you exhibit A:



Rory is about one week away from her first birthday, which means she is in the midst of her fussy period before her next developmental leap, occurring around week 55. I've posted about The Wonder Weeks before and how helpful it is when Rory seems to be regressing or extremely fussy because it helps me realize that there is a biological reason behind the craziness. Whenever I notice her exhibiting the three C's: crying, clinging, and crankiness, I do a quick google search, and without fail, she is in the middle of one of the fussy, "stormy" periods that signal the next big mental leap. There have been a few fussy periods that have made me want to pull her my hair out, but nothing like this one. It makes sense that this is the worst one. It is signaling the end of the baby stage and the beginning of the toddler one. She is beginning to walk, talk, and really notice how things work. Her brain is hard at work. But even though I know there's a logical reason for the way she's acting, I still want to curl up into a ball and sleep until this fussy period is over.

My mellow, good-natured baby has turned into a crying, clinging mess. She wakes up crying, goes to bed crying, and often sobs in between bites at meal times. (This is not an exaggeration.) She needs to be entertained and distracted constantly, and even when we're in the middle of a very engaging game of stack the blocks or throw the puzzle pieces, she randomly bursts into tears and throws her arms around my neck. It's all very Britney Spears circa 2007. (Minus the shaved head.)

In case that analogy didn't quite paint a picture for you, this morning, the only thing that made her happy content not cry was holding her dirty diaper.* I'm not kidding. She insisted on sitting in front of the TV and just holding her soiled diaper. And not even throwing it or trying to unsnap it...just holding it. I know, it's beyond ridiculous, but not as ridiculous as the fact that I LET HER. After my first attempt of prying the diaper out of her hands resulted in her throwing herself on the floor and writhing around like she was being exorcised, I let it go. The phrase "choose your battles" has a whole new meaning for me.

I feel like I have a small insight into the world of an abused housewife. Marcos and I have been walking around on eggshells these past few days. Any little thing can set her off and there's absolutely no warning. Yesterday I actually tiptoed behind her to go upstairs and brush my teeth once she was finally occupied with her board books. When I reached about the fourth step, it occurred to me that I'm terrified of my daughter. (Also, our stairs are squeaky.) On Saturday she threw a book in my face, but then became irrationally angry when I began to read it. I put it down and she cried harder. And then...out of nowhere she started laughing this deep belly laugh. It was psychotic.

The only thing keeping me going is knowing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and once she's made it through this fussy period, I will be rewarded with a smarter, happier baby.

The 8th mental leap is known as the "World of Programs" this means that babies are beginning to understand activities that depend on what just happened, rather than patterns that repeat predictably. (Like the 7th mental leap, "World of Sequences".) This is definitely Rory right now. Her new favorite activity is dropping things down the stairs and watching them fall. She loves watching me do things around the house and has begun mimicking everything, from putting on my shoes to cleaning the floor with the dish towel.

According to "The Wonder Weeks" by Rijt and Plooij ...

Signs of week 55 include: 

Spontaneous temper tantrums (Check)

Needs to be entertained more often (Check)

Cries more, and is cranky, moody, and grumpy (Triple check)

Loss of appetite (The only thing this kid will eat are veggie sticks. And don't let the name fool you, these things have zero nutritional value.)

Difficulty sleeping
May reach for a comfort object more often
Baby may be more mischievous (She threw my shoe down the stairs yesterday, so I gave her my best stern look and told her "no". She laughed in my face.)

New abilities after the leap include: 

Comes to you with jacket because he wants to go out

Tries to dress herself

Pretends to bathe a doll or drive a car

(I understand her mind as at work and is making important connections, but that seems like a lot of crap to go through just for her to attempt putting on her own pants. Just saying.)

So, if you were wondering why I haven't been posting, or if you see my picture on a missing persons poster, you know why.

*It was just wet.