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The world of programs

Leap 8

Hip, hip, hooray! During this leap, your baby will celebrate its first birthday. Your baby will not only make a leap in their mental development but will also turn from a baby into a toddler! Around 51 weeks on, your baby may take a leap into the world of programs. Welcome to leap 8! They learn that an end goal can be achieved in different ways. Washing dishes, setting the table, having lunch and getting dressed are all examples of programs that your baby is beginning to understand better. Step by step! Learn everything you need to know about leap 8 in The Wonder Weeks app.

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The fussy phase of leap 8

The fussy phase of leap 8

Leap 8 starts around 51 weeks. A new world is opening up for your baby. A world in which they have to let go of the old, familiar ways for a moment and begin to explore again. Your baby may be more inclined to cry or cling and be more cranky than you would normally expect. This is how you will know that leap 8 has started! Many parents recognize the same characteristics in the fussy phase as in the previous leap. In our app you will find a list of signals for the fussy phase by which you can recognize this leap!

The skills phase of leap 8

The skills phase of leap 8

Shortly after their first birthday, at around 54 weeks, you will notice that your toddler has acquired a new skill. The ability to observe and perform various programs! You will notice that they are a little less clingy and that they acquire skills that you have not seen before. Visit our app to see all the skills you can discover during this leap!

The skills of leap 8

Leap 8: sleep regression and more

During the fussy phase of leap 8, your baby may experience some sleep regression. On top of that, most babies are shy, do not want to break body contact, want to be kept busy more often, are more jealous than usual, have a strikingly changing mood and have (more often) nightmares. This difficult phase lasts four or five weeks for most babies but can also last three to six weeks.

Signs of leap 8

During leap 8, your baby acquires a lot of new skills. Your baby becomes a toddler and is now able to perceive a whole sequence of actions as one thing. They now recognize that putting a dirty plate in the water, moving the brush over it and placing it in the rack for the water to drip off is “washing dishes”. They love to help you with these kinds of chores. And of course it takes a lot of soapy water!

Your baby is now about to change from being a baby to becoming a toddler. You can notice and feel it. The tiny, helpless part of your baby has disappeared, and your child is entering a whole new phase. A phase that will undoubtedly bring you lots of joy!

 

Understanding the many ways babies develop

No baby is the same and every baby develops differently. Some little ones are all about that motor skill action during a leap, while others are more focused on their talking skills and are chatting all day. Every baby decides for themselves which skills they want to develop at the moment. Our app allows you to easily monitor and track all the progress and skills of your baby. Alongside you’ll find tips and advice to support your baby along the way.

Baby leap chart

During our research into mental leaps, we discovered that this phase in which your baby cries more frequently and shows a different behavior than normally, can actually be predicted quite accurately almost up to the very week based on the due date. Discover the leaps of your baby on our website, using our baby leap chart.

More about leaps
Leap 1
WEEK 4 - SENSATIONS
From week 4, your baby enters leap 1, the world of sensations. The first signals of your baby’s first leap will appear between weeks 4 to 6 after the due date.
More about leap 1
Leap 2
WEEK 7 - PATTERNS
From week 7, your baby enters leap 2: the world of patterns. Your baby could show the first signals of leap 2 between week 7 to week 10 after the due date.
More about leap 2
Leap 3
WEEK 11 - SMOOTH TRANSITIONS
Around 11 weeks, you may see signs of the next leap approaching: leap 3, the world of smooth transitions. Your baby is acquiring yet another new skill!
More about leap 3
Leap 4
WEEK 14 - EVENTS
From week 14, leap 4 starts! The first signals of leap 4 will appear between weeks 14 to 20 after the due date. During leap 3, your baby learned to see several smooth transitions, patterns, or sensations without seeing any connection.
More about leap 4
Leap 5
WEEK 22 - RELATIONSHIPS
From 22 weeks, your baby enters the world of relationships. Welcome to leap 5! Leap 5 is no small leap. This is a giant leap! Why? This leap enables your baby to perceive the relationships between all the earlier leaps.
More about leap 5
Leap 6
WEEK 33 - CATEGORIES
From week 33, the world of categories will be knocking at your door, leap 6. The first signals of leap 6 will appear during weeks 33 to 38. Once your baby can perceive “categories”, they will realize that they can divide the world into groups.
More about leap 6
Leap 7
WEEK 41 - SEQUENCES
Around 41 weeks, the world of sequences is just around the corner. Welcome to leap 7! Between 41 and 47 leap 7 will start. While your baby mainly studied things by taking or tearing them apart during the previous leap, they will now be rather “constructive” after this leap.
More about leap 7
Leap 8
WEEK 51 - PROGRAMS
(You are here)
Hip, hip, hooray! During this leap, your baby will celebrate its first birthday. Your baby will not only make a leap in their mental development but will also turn form a baby into a toddler!
More about leap 8
Leap 9
WEEK 59 - PRINCIPLES
Around 59 weeks, you may see signs of the next leap: leap 9. Welcome to the world of principles. If your toddler has taken the leap, you will notice that they are running all kinds of “programs” more smoothly, more naturally and more clearly.
More about leap 9
Leap 10
WEEK 70 - SYSTEMS
Around 70 weeks, your toddler is ready for a new leap into the world of systems: leap 10. The last leap, at least the last one we have recorded. In leap 10, you can now observe your toddler becoming aware of systems after making this leap!
More about leap 10

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