The concept of ‘wonder weeks’ was introduced by Hetty van de Ritj and Frans Plooij.  It is based on 35 years of research studying on the development of babies and the way mothers and other care-givers respond to their changes.  A wonder week is said to announce a “leap forward” in a child’s mental development and focuses on ten major leaps that every baby takes in their first 20 months of life.  It allows you as parent to be able to understand the baby’s world and mentally prepare yourself to assist with such developments during these major leaps.  For more information on The Wonder Weeks, click here

I discovered the wonder weeks website by chance during my last trimester of pregnancy.  I couldn’t recall what I was researching for but I took the initiative to read the book and mentally prepare myself prior to Harvey’s arrival.  After Harvey was born, I signed up the for “leap alerts” to notify both Jaz & I prior to each of Harvey’s new leap.  I have also installed “The Wonder Weeks” App on my mobile as my go-to resource which summarises each leap.

According to the research of when to expect wonder weeks, it is recommended to utilise the baby’s expected due date, rather than the actual day of the birth.  The reason being is babies born early or late may experience leaps at slightly different times.  We have chosen to go by Harvey’s actual birth date with a “+2 weeks” discrepancy since Harvey was born 2 weeks earlier than his due date.

Click Here for our own summary of Harvey’s mental developments after each leap