Friday, September 19, 2008

My House in the middle of the night

Wednesday night was pretty awful at our house. Mandy was up screaming most of the night and I had no idea what was wrong with her. As a mom, I think undiagnosed illnesses are the hardest to bare. If she's hungry, feed her. If she has a belly ache, give her some Mylicon. If she is in pain, give her Tylenol. But I had no idea. She continued to be fussy all day Thursday as well. So, here are the symptoms and I'll let you give your best shot of Mommy MD (if you don't have a child, imagine the frustration of being up all night and tired and not having a clue and give you best guess). This is sort of like that medical drama, House, where the main guy needs the joy of the Lord in the worst way.
  • Intermittent mad crying and restless occasional sleep only while held by mommy
  • When the lights were on, she was less cranky and wanted to play
  • Alone in her bed she was mad and screamed the hardest
  • Seemed comforted when I rubbed her belly
  • She wasn't hungry and shoved the bottle away
  • Runny nose
Thursday night she woke up at 4 am, but went right back to sleep after a bottle and rocking her. She still has the runny nose and is CRANKY today.

7 comments:

Kari said...

I'm going to say gas. I have found gas to be an intermittent issue as their bellies get more and more bacteria in them. In our house it happens around 3. I call it the 3 year old tummy..constant tummy aches.
good luck and I hope you get rest soon.

Cooking with Big E said...

Teething? I smell another round of that in our house...Ethan started biting me again.

Or my non-medical answer...perhaps separation anxiety. I noticed a similar pattern with my daughter that started when she was around one where she would wake up screaming in the middle of the night and would be absolutely fine so long as I was in the room with her. I think the reason it manifested itself at night is because I was home all day with her and the only time we were really apart was at night...hence the completely awful nighttime separation anxiety.

Peters Family Farms said...

I would have her ears looked at if she has a runny nose. Jake had similar symtoms when his eardrum errupted.

Lindsay said...

I have no idea!! Initially I would say teething, but all four ideas sound like possiblities to me. The one thing I would mention is that I could usually tell ear infection by the way my kids looked. Wyatt's eyes would always look sick, like reddish and sunken a little. Sounds kinda weird, I know, but mommies can tell a lot by just looking at their kiddos :) How is she feeling today??

Sara said...

It is truly one of the worst things about parenting to have a child that is upset but you can't figure out what the problem is. My best guesses are teething or separation anxiety. Although Kelly has more experience with the ear infections and I found it interesting that she saw a link between the runny nose and a possible ear infection. I usually chalk up unknown problems to teething, but Abby has a lot of teeth and they always bother her as they come in. Good luck with the diagnosis! I am emphathizing with you! Hope you can get some better sleep soon!

Grandma Sherri said...

We expected her to fuss from the over excitement Tuesday and she didn't, so maybe it was a delayed reaction and missing Grandma and Grandpa!! Hope she is a happy girl today!

Marci said...

Well, as I've been checking out the blogs and updating my own, I was watching (listening) to the latest episode of "House" which we had recorded, so you'd think I might have some fresh insight! Actually probably more likely from having had 4 children, but the only advise I can give is a possible treatment if you don't think a doctor's visit is necessary. Jessi had colic really bad when she was a baby. After a few sleepless nights we tried the vacuum cleaner running next to the crib trick. It worked! She'd still lay there with her eyes wide open, but silent. If we turned it off she would start to wail again. Turn if back on and imediate silence. Amazing! The hair dryer can do the trick when a vacuum cleaner isn't available. Hope all works out soon!