Thursday, January 3, 2013

Is there a Banshee in my house?

Terrible twos...filled with crying, screaming, time outs, and most of all frustration.

Well, I think my daughter has exceeded what I have learned to be the norm for terrible twos. The past 2 weeks have been hell...yup I said it. Although, if you have children, you already have come to this conclusion. I'm not saying my daughter was a saint before this sudden onslaught. Oh no, she definitely knew how to throw a good fit, BUT they have gotten painfully worse. Interesting choice of words right? Let me tell you why I chose to phrase it that way. Ready?

My beautiful little girl is usually quite happy and energetic, curious about everything, and ready to go go go! All of a sudden, she wakes up crying, which then turns to screaming. You might think, "That's totally normal." Well yeah I though so too for the first hour. Then one hour turned to two and two to three and so on up to about four hours of inconsolable screaming and crying. On this particular day she stopped long enough to eat four waffles and go down for a nap before waking up and starting the process all over again until bed. She had no fever, no physical signs of illness, she wasn't even crying because she wanted something. I had friends say its normal and its a phase, and I almost believed then until one day turned to two weeks. The smallest triggers get it started and sometimes its nothing at all. She does fine at daycare but the moment she walks in the door, its like Banshee in my home. I totally feel like something is off. I went to school for a year and a half for early childhood ed. I've tried the holding her until she calms down approach, discipline, talking, putting feelings into word for her, all to no avail. Nothing is helping. Her father and I literally held each other crying one day because we were so lost and hurting for her. We were supposed to take her to the doctor on Monday, but we had a small break in the tantrums and were hopeful that is was just the crazy schedule of Christmas...we hoped, but were back to square one.

Tomorrow, I will schedule a doctor appointment and try and rule out any creeping sickness or infections. Then I will request a blood and skin allergy test to rule out food allergies as well. Some people, I am sure are balking at the idea of putting a toddler through such uncomfortable tests for something they think is a phase. Well, I am her mother, I have studied the development of infant through toddler years and I know in my heart, its not just a phase.

Hopefully, we get some answers soon. Until then, were praying and taking deep breaths while she is at daycare. I'm thinking tequila wouldn't hurt either...kidding...but seriously!