Friday, August 14, 2015

Why I am Thankful for Midnight Screams

It has been a long week. Monday night Kinley was up 11-2:30am. She just screamed and would not go back in her bed. I felt so awful I did not know what was wrong. She didn't have a fever and no other symptoms besides being upset. I know she has 2 teeth cutting and possibly her 2 year old molars as well so finally at 2:30am I gave her Tylenol and put her in my bed.

I really really don't like her sleeping in my bed. I have never been a fan of co-sleeping especially when she was little and now that she is a little older she moves so much and I hardly get any sleep when she is in bed with me. I really don't get how people co-sleep. It just isn't for me. If it works for you then by all means go for it!


She was up early on Tuesday, I think 530-6ish, geez I can't remember. But we did get a nap in before I had to go to work. She seemed ok but I was concerned she was up screaming so much so I made a Dr appointment. Matt took her in and the Dr said she was fine just figured she was teething.

Tuesday night she slept like a baby...hehe!!! I really don't know where that phrase comes from since most babies are up every 2 hours! Especially mine in the younger days. Read more about our struggles here. Maybe because they look so peaceful while sleeping. Anyways she slept 7pm-730am. Wednesday wasn't a bad day for her but she wasn't herself. My mother in law said she barely ate any food through out the day. I guess her teeth were really bothering her, so I thought. When she was younger she always ran a slight fever while teething but no fever as of Tuesday.

Wednesday night I worked until 10:00pm like I do every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I came home, brushed my teeth, got in to bed and started reading my book. I was pretty exhausted from the night before. So I turned the lights out about 11:15.

12:05am I hear Kinley screaming. I get up and look at the monitor and she is laying there screaming. I have to admit I was feeling a little frustrated we were going to go through another night of endless screaming with no answers. I gave her a few minutes and went in. I touch her and my heart sinks. She is burning up. My stomach drops and I am consumed by guilt for feeling the slightest bit of frustration 5 minutes earlier. I knew I needed to get a temperature on her and some medicine in her. Her temp was 102.6. I felt so bad for her! Something was really wrong....she has ran a fever that high maybe once when she had strep when she was much younger. I put her back to sleep in my bed because I was too terrified to put her in her crib alone with a fever that high.


We had a restless night but at least she got some sleep, me not so much. We got up about 6 and she was still burning up. 104.3. The emergency room crossed my mind but I thought I would call the on-call nurse first. Poor girl was miserable. The on-call nurse said manage the fever and call the Dr when they open. So that is what I did.

We took her in later that afternoon and what do you know. She has strep and Fifths Disease (which is basically a rash on her face and arms). She has been so miserable all day. I have to admit, I have enjoyed all the cuddles! She is usually not much of a cuddlier so it's been amazing! She got some antibiotics and hopefully will start to feel better at some point today. This is the 3rd time she has had strep and I have no clue where she gets it from. Though it really could be anywhere!




As frustrating as those midnight screams are sometimes you gotta step back and be thankful. They don't know how to ask for help at this age, or tell you what is wrong. They scream....that is their way to communicate. And it is heartbreaking! There is nothing worse than watching your child be miserable and there is nothing I can do but hold her. So next time she screams at midnight I am going to remind myself that she needs something, she is screaming for reason. Maybe it is just for a drink of water, or a cuddle, but it is something, and that is how she communicates.

A lot can happen with high fevers so I am so thankful for that midnight scream! I would not have had it any other way. She needed to be in my arms and held by her mommy. I'm so very thankful! The days are long but the years are short. Sometimes it is hard to embrace the frustrating times but taking a step back and remembering that is important!

Wish us luck! We are going to look at more houses this afternoon!

30 comments:

  1. My daughter is 7 months old, and I completely get where you're coming from. Ginny's screams are for all different things- she's finding her voice. She screams for excitement, she screams when something is funny, she screams just to hear her voice and because she can! She screams when she's hurting, she screams when she's upset about something, she screams to communicate. We have to remind ourselves of that.

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    1. We really do Lindsay! They want to be heard too! Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. It's so true. Ah! But when you combine days of too little sleep (as a parent) with middle of the night screaming, it's so wearing. You have a great attitude about it though! And yes, it's a little perplexing that babies are the example given for the epitome of sleeping soundly...

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    1. It so is Brooke! I am trying to do my best but like you said it is wearing at times! Thanks for reading!

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  3. I love her shirt! So cute and I love love baby snuggles! They're the absolute best. I am sorry she isn't feeling well. I hope she starts to feel better soon!

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    1. Baby snuggles really are the best! Though I am ready for a full night sleep without her in my bed :)

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  4. Oh man! My little guy is growing up so fast and I do have to be grateful for so many things that won't last forever!

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    1. It is crazy Britney!! I seriously can't believe I will have a 2 year old in a few months.

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  5. Katie, it's possible she's not entirely kicking the strep each time. My middle one - who admittedly had a lot of other health issues that complicated the diagnosis -did that. It would seem like the strep was gone and then bam it was back and we couldn't work out why it was happening. Then our GP wondered if in fact all that was happening was it was being pushed to a level, Lij's system could cope with and as soon as he got tired (or started teething or whatever) it was enough to push it back up. He gave him an extended course of antibugs and we finally got on top of it. Make sure you take some time for you too - to look after that lil cutie you have to look after you too. Hang in there xx.

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    1. That is good to know!! Her dr did mention testing for it when she is healthy to see if she still has it. Now that you mention it she is about to cut two bottom teeth. I never correlated the two together but it makes sense. I will definitely be having her tested when she is healthy to see if she got rid of it! Thanks so much for the info!!

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  6. It can be so crazy frustrating. But you do need to step back and put yourself in their shoes. I love the saying "your child isn't being a problem, they're having a problem". Can be hard to do some days though! I hope your bub gets well soon. X

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  7. She's so cute! I agree with the co sleeping comment. At first I was too nervous and now my daughter keeps me up all night rolling around!

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    1. Amen sister! Oh my gosh she moves so much!! I love the cuddles but sleeping with her is awful!

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  8. I hope she is feeling so much better!
    Cynthia @craftoflaughter

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    1. Thanks Cynthia! It's a slow process but slowly she is getting better!

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  9. She is super cute. Most of my girlfriends really swear by co-sleeping - in fact one of my friends feels like she did the wrong thing by not co-sleeping sooner! Great post!

    Lottie xx

    www.lottielamour.co.uk

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    1. Interesting! Like I said it works for some people. Definitely not us though! Thanks for stopping by!

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  10. Oh goodness, I hope she is feeling better soon! I also had to laugh at your comment about the phrase "sleeping like a baby" - it isn't really fitting at all!

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  11. Aw, she's only a month younger than my daughter. =) That poor thing! Teething is no fun.

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    1. Isn't this a fun age Jaime? Besides the teething and sicknesses!

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  12. She's adorable! Teething is no fun and neither is Fifth Disease, which by the way sounds scary as heck and should be called something else! I still remember the late night screams when my kids were younger and teething. My kids were pretty mellow babies so when they screamed...I knew there was a problem.

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    1. Thank you Yanique!! I was thinking the same thing about the name. Why in the heck is it such a scary name when it is basically a rash. Way to freak a mom out!

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  13. I hope your little lady is feeling better! I always wondered who pinned the phrase, "sleeping like a baby" because that is nothing like the real thing!

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    1. Thank you Pellerini! I think whoever pinned that phrase only looked at babies and never had one themselves LOL.

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  14. My son is not a cuddle, and it's probably my fault because we sleep trained him to sleep in his crib, so I could work (from home) and watch him. Whenever he screams at night I *try* to be grateful for the extra cuddles I'm getting but it's hard to be happy when you've woken from a dead sleep. Good for you for recognizing this!

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    1. Oh I totally agree Rebekah. I really try to be thankful for the cuddles but it is frustrating at times! That is great you get to work from home!

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  15. What a cutie! I hope she's feeling better! I agree with you on the co-sleeping thing.. I know it's great for a lot of families, but I just cannot get on board. I have to have my own space when I'm sleeping. The hubby and I have found ourselves feeling grateful for cries when our little man was sick too... it told us something was wrong way before we could tell he was not feeling good. :o/

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    1. Most definitely! I love my space while I sleep! My hubby and I even have our own blankets because I don't like to share mine :)

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