We have been walking on eggshells since he woke up from his nap on Friday. He woke up SCREAMING at the top of his lungs. I had no idea what was wrong with him. No one warned us or said anything about this causing unusual behavior. Typically I can comfort him by picking him up and hugging him, or loving on him. That was not the case with this. Any kind of touch set him off even more. Any noise, including our voices made him crazy. It was almost like all of his senses were in overdrive.
He screamed for 3 hours straight! NO BREAK! My heart was breaking for him. His heart was racing, and I'm sure his blood pressure was through the roof. He was also in attack mode. He would attack anyone near him. If there was no one close, he would come after us- mostly me. Thank goodness he only knows how to hit. I can't imagine what it would have been like if we had already started preschool and he knew about all of the other aggressive behaviors that you can have!
It seemed like it was much worse after he woke up- in the mornings and from naps. He wouldn't drink anything, so after all the screaming, his little lips would be almost cracked from being so dry. The look in his eyes is what scared me the most. It was like he was looking through you, with all of this rage, but also like he was begging for help. He hardly used any words at all. It's like he forgot how to communicate. He didn't want to eat, and when he was calm enough to eat, it was a battle to get him to eat anything remotely healthy. (Rowan is a pretty good eater. He likes all kinds of fruits and veggies. Wouldn't touch them during this time). I called the ped that afternoon, and they said, "If you can't deal with the behaviors, give him some Benadryl." Are you kidding me???? The last thing I am going to do is put MORE medicine in my child! And just to vent, I wasn't calling because I couldn't deal with the behavior, I was calling because I wanted to know if it was normal or if I should be concerned. I don't think they understood what the extent of his rage was.
Saturday morning we thought we might have to take him to the ER. Again, he was screaming and crying for hours. I couldn't get him to drink or eat. His heart was beating through his chest. There was NOTHING we could do to calm him down. All we could do was wait for him to wear himself out to the point of exhaustion. And he did. That was our life until Sunday night.
I am so blessed to have a daughter that is so chill and relaxed about everything. She is amazing at entertaining herself. However, after a week and a half of being so focused on Rowan, I felt like I was failing at being there for her too. She has a new tooth coming in, and I didn't even know it until it broke through! She's a great sleeper, and has slept through the night since I stopped waking her to eat, so I should have known something was up when she woke up fussy a couple of nights in a row. However, my only thought was, oh no! I have to get her back down before it's time for Rowan's meds again, or before he starts crying again. I pray that she doesn't have PFAPA too. I don't know how families, with more than one child going through this, deal with it.
Sunday night, after we put the baby down, Rowan finally sat on the couch with us. Oh the joy in my heart can not be put into words. He even put his hand on my leg and snuggled up to me. With tears streaming down my face, I thanked God. We watched a movie- I don't even know what it was because I was looking at him the whole time.
Monday morning- again the rage. Much less this time, but still there. It only lasted about half of the morning, and then again after his nap and a couple more melt downs throughout the day. Warning- TMI: After Rowan finally had a BM (it had been almost a week), his behavior started changing. I don't know if the meds were being absorbed over and over because he wasn't drinking anything (only 3 wet diapers in 24 hours- and that's pushing it), but I was thrilled. He sat in my lap! That night, again he snuggled up in my lap and we watched part of a movie. Monday he slept A LOT. He slept until almost 10:00, and then took a nap from 2-5:45, then went to bed at 8:00. If he hadn't seemed so exhausted at 8:00, I probably would have kept him in my lap for the rest of the night.
This morning he did well. No screaming or crying, and easily distracted when he would start. He wanted to play with his sister again, which was so heartwarming. She missed him so much. My sweet, polite boy is coming back. I am so thankful. The Dr. called yesterday (Monday) and said that his throat culture came back negative, so to stop giving him the antibiotics. I know that the blood work showed that he had a bacterial infection, so I decided to continue to give it to him to be safe. So when I gave it to him today, this is what happened!
For now, my sweet guy is back- play and loving on all of us. (With a few typical two year old testings here and there!)
Oh Jen, I had no idea you are dealing with this. It breaks my heart to hear that Rowan is experiencing this. My heart goes out to your sweet family. You are such a pillar of strength and a loving and devoted mommy! I think it is awesome that you are documenting this to help other families who may be struggling with this as well. I will keep Rowan in my prayers and I pray the week continues to become more peaceful for all of you. I also pray you find a great new Ped. It infuriates me to read how your ped practice has treated you - not acceptable! Please squeeze your little loves for me. XOXO!
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