I think every parents should read the book "Oje, ich wachse" from van de Rijt, Brams and Plooij (don't know the english title). Otherwise the last week would have been a disaster.
It was a really tough week! Charlotte cried a lot and always wanted to eat. Normally she has a frequency of 2 to 4 hours but this week it was different (and maybe still is): She falls asleep after eating but 10 minutes later she cries again and nothing can stop her than nursing her again.
This can drive you crazy because you don't know what's wrong with your child, with yourself, with the mother's milk,... Besides you read the mentioned book!
According to the book there are 8 "jumps" in the mental development of your child up to the age of 14 months. And the first one appears around the 6th week. So, all I described is totally normal and if you know that, then you feel a lot better. You still can't change anything but you can let your baby crying better at least for a few minutes and you don't fear to nurse it very, very often.
The reason why the babies cry so much is that something changes for them. They see, feel and experience the world in another way than before and that's of course confusing for them in the beginning.
On the other hand it's also the good thing about these "jumps" at the same time. Because your baby begins to do other things than before:
- Charlotte now pedals a lot more than before, she's starting to use her arms and legs.
- She also can see farther, for example she starts to recognize the mobile hanging above the changing table.
- She starts to make sounds in different pitches. It's not just crying but also gurgling when she's happy or just without any reason.
- In addition to the crying there are now also tears appearing sometimes.
- And last but not least Marlene and me, we both believe that Charlotte sometimes already smiles at us :-)
You see, the result of the last week is pretty good but I'm happy if the first jump is over. Nevertheless I am not yet sure. And the next one is already coming in 2 weeks...