The Wonder Weeks Publisher: Kiddy World Promotions B.V.

Even if you don't believe in being able to understand week-to-week of your baby's progress, reading a chapter of this book once a month to coincide with your child's age is enough to make anyone feel calmer, reassured and even more loving and nurturing towards their baby. I struggled with breastfeeding at around 6 months and this book helped me to continue, and any times my daughter has been particularly unsettled or behaving unusually, I can usually refer to this book and find solace. It may at times feel like reading a horoscope (that it can relate to any child of any age and isn't quite specific enough), but I have always found it helped me to focus on what my daughter might be trying to learn, and be able to encourage her to do so.At times, it just stopped me pulling my hair out when she was screaming at 4am, because it had at least more of an explanation for it than I did! I'd say this book has allowed me to understand my daughter better than I could have done had I not read it, as it brings a whole new perspective on what is going on in her world.

I got this book as I had heard all sorts of wonderful things about what to expect from your baby at various stages and was a little sceptical at first, but when I finally got to read it, it seems to make a lot of sense. Babies are unpredictable at the best of times (especially for first time parents) and this is a book, primarily about how babies develop, not only physically, but intellectually and why they are sometimes pretty cranky.The book is divided up into developmental stages, which are based on gestational age (not birth age), so basically if your child was born a week late, he/she will be a week ahead of his age. If your child was born a couple of weeks early, their developmental milestones will be expected to be a couple of weeks later than his age, which makes sense. Of course there are some tolerances to these dates, which the author gives, but generally, babies will have similar developmental stages that are classified. At the onset of each developmental milestone will be periods of crankiness (which again, can range from a few days to a few weeks, depending on the type of milestone and the personality of your child).The book is very perceptive in explaining why a child might suddenly appear to have a bit of a personality switch. Your lovely happy go lucky three month old might suddenly go all moody and refuse feeds or refuses to sleep This is all explained by the types of brain/physical developments that are taking place The world is a very new, exciting and sometimes very scary place and a baby has a lot of learning to do, and sometimes, these cognitive developments might overwhelm a child, and it takes patience and understanding to steer the child through a phase.The book can be a bit repetitive at times, reminding you that when your child is in his 'stormy days', that yes, parents will feel tired and have their patience tested, and it is pretty normal. If nothing more, this book provides reassurance when you think you have worked out what your child wants or why he/she might be behaving the way they are - and not everything is 'just a colicky phase'. Or to sum up the book, be prepared, babies have huge leaps in development, physically, mentally and emotionally and in between there are some quieter, sweeter periods.

Can really help put your mind at ease when your little one is screaming for no apparent reason. I also have the app which compliments the book and will easily track your baby's development. So far my little one has gone through all the phases at the weeks suggested. It's great being able to predict and prepare for his next grumpy period. Written in an easy to read format, broken down week by week, with quotes from real parents going through these tough developmental stages. It is backed up with years of study and when you begin to see these changes and notice them happening it can be quite enlightening, particularly as the book tells you what new things baby will be learning so you can keep an eye out for these changes. I've bought a few books about raising small babies, and about child psychology, but this was definitely the best. Highly recommended, particularly for anxious parents of little screamers.

This is a wonderful book! I bought it before my daughter was born and then I bought the kindle edition to read during late night feeds. She is now nearing 1 and I can't emphasise how spot on this book was. It has enhanced my time with her, giving me new insight into the cognitive developments that are happening. This book is unique though, not just another development book. It is sensible and discursive, not a checklist of what the child 'should' do, but recognition that all children have preferences, but work within the same framework of cognitive development.I have been able to watch my daughters play change, with real insight into why it is developing in this way, and what I can do with her to make that even more enjoyable.

Ok. Some interesting points which can attribute to the development of the child. However, there is no scientific evidence whatsoever of the authors own. Quotes from personal diarys are used as factual when in fact they are opinions. This, from what I have been told, was part of a PhD thesis and as someone who is published, I can find many issues with this. It can be quite repetitive and assumes that any premature baby will not develop at their own rate, be on par with full term babies or perhaps skip a leap e.g. my little one is teething at 12 weeks.according to the author, he should be entering a happy period which isn't the case. I think it has potential and is growing and gathering evidence via their website and online chat services.it definitely has merit based on mass observations but I think some mums religiously follow the advice given which can be misleading.