Wonder Week?

Last week, my friend Wee Mason’s Mom blogged about Wonder Weeks. Mommy and I had never heard of Wonder Weeks before, but that post had good timing, because I think now I am smack dab in the middle of one.

Last Tuesday night, I woke up with a fever of 101.4, which went down with ibuprofen, but mostly stuck with me until Friday morning. (Mommy called Dr. Andy on Wednesday, but he wasn’t too worried given my lack of other symptoms. He said to make sure I got plenty of fluids and to call again if my fever went up or was still around on Saturday.) Mommy thought I *might* be teething, but that really makes no sense because I already HAVE 12 teeth – and that’s all of them except my 2-year molars and my incisors – and I really can’t be getting those yet, can I?

So along with the mystery fever, I’ve also hit a pretty serious sleep regression. I’m always worried I might miss something, so I don’t like to sleep for more than, say, 6 hours at a stretch, but I usually go right back to sleep after waking once at night – and can then be counted on to sleep to the late hour of approximately 6AM. Not this week.

8:30 bedtime? Not so much. Let’s scream our heads off until 11:00 instead. Waking once a night? Try 3 or 4 times. Go right back to sleep? Are you kidding? Mommy feels like we’ve time warped to last September.

According to Wee Mason’s Mom’s post, there are several symptoms of a Wonder Week:

• Cries more and is bad-tempered, cranky, or whiny more often Check. Plus.
• wants you to keep him busy Mommy? Mommy? Mommy? Hi.
• wants more physical contact It’s snuggle time! But not in a nice, cuddly way – in a clingy, I’ll-shriek-my-head-0ff-if-you-dare-put-me-down kind of way.
• sleeps poorly Seriously.
• loses appetite I’m not nearly as interested in my bedtime bottle.
• doesn’t want to be changed This one doesn’t seem to affect me so much.
• is shier with strangers than he use to be Not really.
• is quieter, less vocal You mean aside from the eardrum-piercing screaming?
• might have nightmares Not sure. Could be why I *won’t* go to sleep.
• is less lively Maybe.
• reaches for a cuddly toy, or does so more than before Does Mommy count as a cuddly toy?

I have enough of the signs for Mommy to consult Dr. Google and Nurse Twitter, and apparently, there *is* a wonder week that hits at approximately week 55. (I’m 55 weeks TODAY.) (And actually? Wonder “week” may be something of a misnomer – they can last anywhere from three weeks to A MONTH AND A HALF.) It seems like I might be making some developmental leap involving the ability to process “programs” – simple routines. Or something – Mommy’s sleep deprived and not really positive *her* processing is at its finest.

Whatever the cause, I’m not my pleasant, cheerful self (severe understatement), and Mommy is *wondering* if she’ll make it through to the end of this phase. Send help. Or tranquilizers. (That? is a joke. Mommy wouldn’t give me sedatives, she promises. At least not yet. (Another joke.))

Here are a few names that we think would be more accurate portrayals of this charming stage of my development:

• Misery Month
• Wonder-When-It-Will-End Week
• Wonder-How-Much-Wine-Mommy-Will-Need-To-Make-It-Through Week