Saturday, March 28, 2009

Questions Google Can't Answer for Me

What is going on with my poor baby? She hasn't been "right" since before she went to the hospital. She isn't sleeping through the night. She cries and cries during the night. She coughs and coughs. She has had a runny nose nonstop for weeks--I am not exaggerating--and look at her eyes.....She is acting fine--actually she is acting great. We are going to an allergy and asthma specialist in about 2 weeks. She has started taking Singulair every night which helps with allergies and asthma (supposedly...haven't seen any improvement yet). She has an inhaler and a nebulizer to be used as needed. But seriously. How many times can you wipe snot off a kid's nose before you start wanting some answers?
And how many times can one mother wake up in the night, night after night, after night to the sound of her "baby" crying? And why is the 3-year old waking up and crying twice as much as the 6-month old? TWICE AS MUCH. She is up and crying as much as 6 times a night some nights. I have no idea why. Neither does she. When I go in there she says "I'm not tired." Sometimes she says, "I'm thirsty." Or sometimes she says, "I want to go HOME."


One of the possible side effects of Singulair is difficulty sleeping. Jesus. This is NOT an acceptable side effect for me. However, she wasn't sleeping well before she started it. In fact, the first night of Singulair she slept through the night and I did a happy dance. Then the next night happened and she was up all night again.

She is also in a major "Fear Period" right now and is scared of everything. So is this a nightmare thing? Or, is she having asthma symptoms--which is another main cause of nightime waking in kids? Or forming a habit of getting Mommy in there? How am I supposed to know these things?I am guessing she has some kind of allergies and also some kind of asthma thing that flares up when she has respiratory stuff going on (viruses, allergies, you name it). Either that, or she has a virus that is NEVER-FUCKING-ENDING. The black eyes are either from the respiratory problems (there is such a thing as "allergic shiners") or they are from NOT SLEEPING. I think I have the same effect going on myself.

I wish I knew what to do for her. I wish I could figure out what is going on. Do I ignore the nighttime crying? Sometimes. Do I go in there and yell at her to stop? Yes. Do I run in there and ask what is wrong? Sometimes. Do I threaten to close her door all the way if she cries again? Yes. Do I feel horribly conflicted and guilty about it all? Definitely.

I wish I could fix this for her. I wish I knew what I should do. I wish I could stop worrying about it.

11 comments:

Lost in Space said...

Danger, Will Robinson

Tracy said...

I hope you see GREAT results with the specialist..

Deborah said...

HI Katie,

Not sure if you remember me or not! We crossed paths briefly in Korea. My husband was also a '97 grad. I started reading your blog when you were pregannt with Andrew. I had our 4th boy about a month before your baby. Anyhow, I really enjoy reeading your blog. I have wanted to comment before and just didn't for no good reason. I do want to tell you that I was on allergy shots as a kid, and my mom swears I was rarely sick as a result of the shots. I can't beleive everything you have been through with Becca. I think you are doing the right thing by taking her to an allergist. By the way, I love your choice in names. I have a Wesley (8) and Andrew(4.5). My other two are Ryan(2.5) and Mark(7 months).

Deborah

Ann said...

I just sent you an email. Hope it helps.

Unknown said...

We have Braden on Zyrtec in the a.m. and Cingulaire in the p.m. since he had a runny nose/cough for several months. Went through several doctor appts but never had the severity of symptoms you all have been having. They gave us a nebulizer/steroids/mega antibiotics, etc. To no avail until we got on the current meds. My only other suggestion is possibly seeing a sleep doctor. A very good friend (also named Katie) went through some similar issues as you all, went to a sleep doc, were pescribed melatonin and she's like a new kid. E-mail if you want to talk to her directly. Hang in there and don't be afraid to get in the doctor's face or cry. Sadly, seems that's the only way to be truly heard sometimes. Love and hugs to your darling girl!

Swistle said...

Ack, sorry, sorry! We have some similar respiratory crap in our family and WTH is up with it? ACK.

lisa said...

Nathan got sick the week before Thanksgiving, and it never went away. He literally had a snotty nose or a cough or congestion....well until about 3 weeks ago. So, part of me says 'tis the season and its just one snot-nose-germ after another. However, somewhere along the line we picked up allergies ourselves and he too has had the allergy eyes and stuffed up nose (which has then landed us with several ear infections). The Dr. gave us Claritin and you can imagine how thrilled I was to start giving him that every day. So I didn't. And now, just a few weeks after we put the dog to sleep he is miraculously getting better..... Anyway, *CLEARLY* my rambling is an indication that I need to go to bed. My (long winded) point was that I feel your pain with the child that canNOT just be healthy. Hang in there. Would it help if I told you you have my full permission to go to Starbucks everyday, twice if necessary?

The Quinn Report said...

Okay girl, Salem does the SAME SHIT EVERY SINGLE NIGHT for the past 6 months or so. She gets up (on average) 2-4 times a night! She's never crying, but simply walks into our room and has me just walk her straight back to tuck her in (and sometimes lay with her for a few minutes.) Tavin is (and has been) sleeping through the night and I wish I could figure out what to do for her to get her to stay the heck in her room. I've asked for the clock you recommended for her birthday to see if she would respond to that. Have you received yours?

Erin said...

Oh man. That really is awful. The worry, the not sleeping, the snot. All of it.

I really hope you get some answers soon too.

Jen said...

Not that this will help you at all, but I had pneumonia when I was 4 or 5, and I still remember the nightmares. I'm pretty sure my mom slept in the same room with me to try to help, but I would wake up FREAKED OUT that she was stuck clinging to the light fixture on the ceiling. I know. Crazy. But I was So Scared for whatever reason. The dreams finally went away, but I wonder if it's a side-effect of the meds or the pneumonia itself to have nightmares?

I hope she'll be back to her normal self soon, and then you can get more sleep.

Anonymous said...

It sounds as if Becca is still processing the experience of being in the hospital("I want to go home"). Maybe being sick or having a stuffy nose makes her afraid she'll have to go back to the hospital (and away from her mom and dad). Three is a good age for magical thinking. So, waking up (maybe from a bad dream), she wants the reassurance that you're still there. That said, I can't advise on how to get her to sleep through the night. Rational explanations and assurances have a limited effect at that age and have to be repeated frequently. That may also explain why she behaves differently when Daddy is home -- she's never quite sure that he's really coming back, and a week seems like halfway to eternity for a three-year-old. You're right to suspect drug side effects or interactions. They can be hard to predict, especially with really young children.Hope the allergy specialist can help,
Love,
(Great) Aunt Linda