Painfully obvious

Emma has not been sleeping well for the past week or so, particularly when she naps. And her nap schedule is way off. It sometimes seems like she wants to sleep in the mornings instead of the afternoons. Plus she has been really cranky and unhappy, which is really not like her. Her right ear was also seeming sensitive to touch, and she was chewing on her fingers like they were flavored with something yummy. (My paternal grandfather used to ask me if my thumb tasted like chocolate; I so wanted that to be true!) Anyway, I finally called the doc yesterday and took her in this morning.

You will all be happy to know that she is fine! Not a thing wrong with her. Except for the tiny spot of a yeast infection in her diaper-area. Really, it is such a small spot compared with the flaming, wide-spread rashes of her early months that it is almost not worth mentioning. That has an easy fix, too; we still have left over topical cream. The real trouble that is nothing beyond the normal for her age is this: she is cutting a molar! Duh! I suspected that she could have been teething, but she was lacking the copious amounts of drool for one thing. And she has not had a fever for another. Chalk it all up to being a new parent I guess. :)

The doc was pretty non-committal about Emma's sleep pattern (or lack thereof), "Every body is different." (Thanks. Super helpful, aren't you?) She suggested that Emma might want 2 naps (again) or a late morning nap instead of early afternoon or that her behavior might be affecting things or day-light savings or blah blah blah. Those were all things that I could have (and did) tell myself. I wanted someone to give me a more concrete decision about WHAT TO DO. Isn't that what people say is the hardest thing about being a parent? Not knowing what to do? Seriously, there should be a manual that comes with each individual child. :) But, would that be any fun?

At home I cracked open her baby book that has the teeth diagram for marking the dates each tooth appears. It also lists the "normal" age for when each tooth usually appears. Emma has been way late from the very beginning (she didn't get her first tooth until 9-10 months), but for some reason I was thinking that all the molars were last. Nope! At least not according to the chart. She should have her front teeth and incisors and then should get the first molars. That's all well and good, but she still doesn't have the last incisor! The fourth, and final incisor also doesn't look like it will be appearing any time soon. Emma certainly likes to do things her own way!

I dosed her up with some Tylenol before her nap so we'll see if she is able to sleep any better. I just want our happy little girl back. Not that crabby, swollen-lipped little wanna-be-Emma. :) Did you wonder about the swollen lip reference? No, I didn't bruise her trying to see inside her mouth. Right before we were going upstairs to brush our teeth and get ready for the day, Emma tripped on some winter hats and scarves and fell right into the bench. I came running and saw her grasping the very edge of the bench that leaped up and bit her. We headed to the freezer, and I tried to convince her to chew on the frozen teething toys. She reluctantly did, and thankfully it seemed to alleviate her pain. And yay, no blood. That really makes me want to wrap her in a bubble. :) A little piece of me aches with every bump, bruise and bleeding wound!