Teething? Sick? Investigating Your Cues

Sometimes I feel like we're investigating an unsolved mystery when we are trying to figure out how you're feeling.  If you aren't sleeping solidly - is it teeth or are you sick?  If you are sleeping more than normal - is it a growth spurt or are you tired?  If you cry - is it teeth or are you tired or are you hungry?

Starting last week you had a few changes that had us scratching our heads.  You wouldn't eat a darn thing we put in front of youYour eating habits started to change...more recently you have been trying pretty much anything we put in front of you - especially if it came from our plate/fork during a meal together.  Your favorite foods included bananas, bread, crackers, yogurt, berries, oranges- (oddly enough these were all things I ate a LOT of during pregnancy ;))  During your food strike you wouldn't even touch bread - we were shocked.  We didn't know if it was teething, sick, you nearing the threshold of toddlerhood?  I've been inspecting your gums regularly when we brush your teeth (which you still love) and haven't seen any new teeth.  Then on Monday after your bath I saw a new tooth, the bottom right lateral incisor had cut through.  I figured that must have been the cause of the changes as of late.  Mystery solved!

A few hours later...you were in your crib for the night and I heard you fussing.  I checked the monitor and all of a sudden you sat up and projectile vomited literally from one side of the crib to the other - I saw it shoot across the screen.  I ran to your bedroom, picked you up and you vomited again, all over me.  I ran to the bathroom with you and you vomited one more time.  It was just awful for all of us.  You were covered in vomit, terrified and exhausted.  I was completely panicked because I had never seen anything like it and hated seeing my baby so scared & upset!  I of course ran to call Grammy to ask "WHAT DO I DO??", we cleaned you up, I took off the 4 layers of sheets that your vomit managed to soak through (of course you aimed directly at the edge of the crib where the sheet liner doesn't reach, I will no longer be making your bed with 4 layers of sheets...).  Then Daddy sat with you for a bit in the rocker to keep you upright, though you fell back asleep pretty much immediately.  I think the experience was much more traumatic for us than you! I called the on-call doctor to find out how we should proceed in case you woke up to vomit again or if you slept through the night, should we give you formula in the morning??  The doctor's advice was to give you a teaspoon of Pedialyte every 15mins, 3x until it was clear you could hold it down.  Then increase to 2tsp every 15mins, 3x, etc.  You were none to pleased with this strategy...you LOVE your bottles in the morning, which are typically 5oz of warm/cozy fluids.  1tsp of cold Pedialyte was not cutting it.  We proceeded with the tiny amounts for 1.5hrs until I gave in and gave you 2oz (60ml) which you CHUGGED - it made me a little proud, I'm good at chugging too!  ;)  I gave you some cheerios which you happily chowed down, so I gave you a 1/2 piece of toast which you also chowed down.  I held off on anything else until the Dr's office opened and they gave me the green light to give you some formula. 

The rest of the day consisted of a lot of snuggling with Mom, two 2hr naps, some tiny bits of food here and there and a few smaller bottles.  After your 2nd nap, you looked like yourself again, I was so happy to see you and your pantless self (you don't like to let us finish dressing you after the diaper change struggle of late) :) 

So we're still not sure whether the Loose BMs of the prior week were teeth related or stomach bug related or toddlerhood changes.  You're still a little hesitant to chow down during every meal as you were before.  I'm sure you'll let us know when you're hungry and we'll try our best to follow your lead with patience...Happy to have our happy little boy back though!