Should I worry?

[Jules]

I had to take Gabe to see his Ped today. For about two weeks he has been walking strangely and then his ears started draining out onto his bedsheets when he is napping. I thought it might be the start of another ear infection. Add to that, that he hasn't been sleeping well, is grouchy, moody and combative, I thought for sure he had an ear infection. The ped said it could be allergies (nice call ladies) or it might be related to his CS. He said that the change in mood and the strange walk need to be addressed by the NS. Has anyone experienced this? We have always been told to look for vomitting, sleepiness and confusion as a sign that there was presure on his brain.

My question is this, is he sick or is he two? Today was pure hell. I spent an hour trying to negotiate him into his car seat. The kid had me in tears. I had to call my next door neighbor to help me get him in the car. When I got to work I had to shut myself in my office and cry. All of this because I wouldn't let him take his balloon to daycare. (For Gabe, balloons are like crack. He will loose his mind if he sees one and if he has one, it is the only thing that exisits.)

We always said we were blessed to have such an easy baby. No collic, no crying, sleeping through the night by 2 months. Is this my penance for being a smug mommy? (sorry, don't know how to spell) Sorry, just had to vent.

Thanks for listening.

Jules

[Matthews Mommy]

Try Talking to the NS about the concerns and if they feel they are signifigant they may send him to a neurologist. Problems with motion and walking, deal with sensory and equillibrium if it persists beyond an Ear Infection and the allergies then it should be checked into. Try not to go crazy I know where your coming from but wait for the allergies to pass and if the behavior persists then a neurologist or neurodevelopmental Specialist are the places to go. Good Luck...I will pray for you.

[Jennifer]

:hugg's-- it could be he's sick, it could be he's two....before having a two year old I would have never believed you would have to physically fight a toddler to get into the carseat- and that they could be on the winning end of the battle! They are strong when they want to be!!!!! (I've had that fight at least once w/ all three of mine)

Your comment on crack/balloons made me laugh out loud! So funny! (except when your dealing w/ it- then not so funny :lol)

I would call the NS- your gonna worry until you do. They may say bring him in, or they may say give it more time....it won't hurt to call! Let us know how it goes!

[Katie]

I agree to call the NS for peace of mind, but a combonation of an ear infection and being two can cause the same effects :hugg
Just the other day I spent an absurd amount of time struggling with Dillon to get him in a shopping cart. He was kicking, screaming, hitting, and fighting me all the way. Seriously, it was so bad we had an audience and I was almost in tears. My two year old over powered me. He can be a tough kid, but that extreme is unusual for him. The next morning he woke up all snotty and coughing so I think he was just feeling lousy.
Hopefully it's the same thing with Gabe. :hugg

I too had to laugh at the balloons and crack comment, Dillon is the same way with trains! Before his nap today he had to put away his trains and he was not happy about it (they have to be in his sight at all times). He was tired though, so he fell asleep very fast. The instant before he started snoring, I hear him go "whoooo whooooooooo". I think he was dreaming about trains :lol

Gabe will be OK! I'll bet that once he's feeling better he will be a much happier and cooperative guy. I feel your pain :hugg

[Mom2William]

I agree with the other ladies. Call the NS for peace of mind!

The other part sounds like being two years old to me. All three of mine have pulled the fight the car seat battle and I have left the grocery store more than once with a screaming toddler (wanting to scream myself). It is probably a combo of feeling yucky and being two and poor mom gets the worst of it! Sending you lots of hugs. I think we all have been in the same position.
My girls are teenagers and they still have two year old fits! LOL Not wanting to clean their rooms, their bathroom, etc. I just tell them that I do not want to do it either. I guess "us moms" will have to put up with this type of drama until the kids are adults. Kinda scary!! LOL

I hope he gets better soon! Keep us updated.

[plukids]

I agree two is hard!! That's why they call it the terrible twos right?? It is even more off kilter when they are not feeling well. I tell you I never knew anything as small as a two year old child could possess such stregnth! YIKES! I hope that Gabe is feeling better soon. His ear infection/allergies could definitely cause his equillibrium to be off and make him lose his sense of balance. Because he is a cranio kiddo I would definitely see the NS for a check up. It cannot hurt and it will ease your mind that your bases are covered. ((HUGS)) Jules!! In my mind when Sylvia fights me I silently say "love is patient, love is kind" over and over (meditating!!). Trying to remind myself I can do it. I also think "hey, I'm bigger than her!! I'm the Boss!!" LOL!!

[Jules]

Chris is convinced he is just a stubborn 2 year old. He did not eat or drink all day yesterday. When I picked him up, Becka was sure that he was getting sick. At the Doctor's office he was a mess but the Doctor couldn't find anything wrong. No ear infection, no sinus infection, no fever. That is why he went with the allergy diagnosis. When we got home he started acting ok. He was hungry, so I fed him. His blood sugar had dropped and he was shaking so bad. He just started eating everything he could get in his mouth. Five minutes later he burped and threw up all over everything. But he was still hungry. So I cleaned him and his chair up and we went for round two. He ate two plates of spagetti, 4 bread sticks and drank 4 glasses of milk. Chris thinks he was so ticked about our little stand -off, that he simply refused to eat and drink for the rest of the day.

I have made the call to the NS. I know how this conversation is going to go. He is going to tell me not to worry, nothing is wrong, he's just 2. I'm so glad I am not alone in this. I was starting to feel like the world's biggest idiot when I couldn't get him in his seat. My 37 year old brain kept telling me, he is 2, when he gets cold, he'll get in his seat. Fortyfive minutes later he was still sitting on the floor of my car screaming his head off. Thanks guys. I so needed this. You are all the best!

Jules

[craniomommynbaby]

I just wanted to chime in on the toddler tantrums. Simon has been throwing doozies lately. He goes from 0 to meltdown in less than 2 seconds. Half the time, we have no clue what is wrong. The other half the time, he is furious that we told him "no" to something. We try to ignore him and not give him attention, but he starts violently flinging himself around the room. He will keep throwing himself down on his bottom, and then he will start bashing his head on the floor or on the wall. He will not calm down, and I usually pick him up and remove him from the area to keep him safe. I thought it might be triggered by a lack of routine lately. With daddy out of a job and mommy getting over foot surgery, the routine he had 6 weeks ago has been totally changed. After reading these posts, I guess I just need to face the fact that I have a full-blown toddler on my hands. I share your pain!

[Jules]

Gabe is scheduled for an MRI tomorrow. I am trying not to freak out but Dr. Handler's nurse called my office 5 times today and then demanded that I be interupted while i was in a meeting with my boss. She said she moved heaven and earth to get us this appointment. The rest is a blur but it has something to do with his brain and the sagittal suture and him walking funny. I have been auto pilot since that call. I have been dealing with a work related nightmare so I haven't really had the time to process what is going on. Has anyone heard of this?

We go in at 11:45, he has to go under and then they will do the MRI at 12:45. From there we go up to the NS office and they will review the MRI with us. I just don't know what to think? I am usually the one freaking out and my mellow husband is telling me things are going to be ok. Now it is the other way around. It's like freaky friday. Chris is a bit of a mess, it a calm on the outside, screaming on the inside kind of way.

I so hate the way some doctors give you just enough info to make you crazy but not enough to make you an informed parent.

[saraweise]

Good luck with the MRI. I think you did the right thing...he may be coming down with something that is simple but when dealing with their heads I always worry. And now Gabe is getting his doctor's attention.

The sedation part and the MRI is tough...I will be thinking good thoughts about you and Gabe through this. :hugg Keep us updated.

[Jennifer]

:hugg's Good luck tomorrow. Sorry you didn't get a ton of info- but way to go on your NS's part for getting you right in and not fooling around with the 'wait and see' game. I'm sure all will work out. Better to be over cautious right? :hugg's to you and Gabe.

[snickers9246]

I hope all goes well today. I just read this post and I too burst out laughing at the crack comment only cause my Doodles is the same. Jay bought 2 helium foil balloons for her for Christmas and tied them to the tree "nnnths" (that's what she calls them) and all she did all day was walk around holding the balloons! :rofl We've never had the car seat struggle yet, but I'm sure it's on it's way. And not sure about you guys but up here they have to be in the seats (some kind of seat) until they are about 8 years old! I'm definately sure I will get my turn! LOL!!

Please let us know right away how his MRI went!! Good luck! :huggs

[Matthews Mommy]

Good Luck with the MRI, I too hate when they give you enough info to make you freak but not enough to understand. I have turned into that mom that carries around the planner and Journal so that I get every single question answered now!:giggle .
I will pray for you :hugg .

[Jules]

The MRI came back a-ok! We are so happy. But, I don't want to ever put him through that again. We were in the room when they started to put him under. Gabe fought it every step of the way. I didn't cry, but I wanted to. When he came out, the nurse started trying to wake him up, which was a bad idea. Gabe came to but was still under the influence of the anesthesia. He was so out of it and frightened that he screamed and flailed around for an hour. Chris and three nurses could not control him. You could hear him all over radiology, which I am sure scared other parents and children waiting for MRIs. That is when I had my break down, there on the floor in radiology. When we met with our NS's Nurse Practioner we found out that it is better to let them sleep for awhile and bring them out of it slowly. If the folks in radiology only knew what the folks in nuerosurgery know.

Gabe's MRI looked great. They finally admitted that they were looking for a tumor. Everything is normal, even his skull is looking great.

:thankyou to everyone here for your concern and support! I can explain what we went through to my friends and family but at the end of the day, I know it is everyone here who will truely understand. Thanks again. You are all the best!

Jules

[Jennifer]

:cheer I'm glad everything looked good. Poor little guy....Sounds a bit traumatic for all. I'm sorry that didn't go so well- but thrilled that everything looks great! :cheer

[saraweise]

Yeah! Good news!

Such trauma to get there. I feel for you and Gabe. Watching them hurt is so tough.

Congrats on the piece of mind!

[Matthews Mommy]

<a href="http://plugin.smileycentral.com/http%253A%252F%252Fwww.smileycentral.com%252F%253F partner%253DZSzeb008%255FZSYYYYYYYYUS%2526i%253D4% 252F4%255F1%255F112%2526feat%253Dprof/page.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_1_112.gif" alt="SmileyCentral.com" border="0"><img border="0" src="http://plugin.smileycentral.com/http%253A%252F%252Fimgfarm%252Ecom%252Fimages%252F nocache%252Ftr%252Ffw%252Fsmiley%252Fsocial%252Egi f%253Fi%253D4%252F4_1_112/image.gif"></a> That's Great news I am so happy it turned out OK.