"Mommy, my brain hurts..."

During the Christmas holiday Hyat was battling a cold he just couldn't kick. We thought that once things settled back down and he got some rest that things would be looking up. Then one night he woke up crying. And not just crying but wailing "I want my mommy!" For our solid sleeper this was alarming and once it was apparent he was not going back to sleep I went in to check on him. I talked to him for a moment asking what was wrong, if needed anything, and finally if he wanted to go back to sleep. He said yes he wanted to go back to sleep and I tucked him wished him good night and headed back to bed. Maybe 20 minutes later it started again. This was Buck's turn so off Buck went also asking questions and getting him back to bed. Not half an hour later he was crying again. Heading in I asked if he was okay, if anything hurt, if he needed anything, etc. At this point, we were beginning to be concerned that it was a game because when you went in his room he would be sitting up and would start jabbering and be rather happy asking if it was time to wake up. Relying on the bedtime routine we got some warm milk, his blanket and read a story. Then again he wanted to go back to bed. And, well, this time he lasted about another half hour before I was back in there. I laid down with him for awhile (which is hard to do in a toddler bed) and again he was happy and he wanted to go back to sleep. So the next time he was up and Buck and I were realizing that we were not going to be getting any sleep that night despite the fact that our 5 month old was sound asleep, we thought we might have to let Hyat sort it out by himself. He did manage to get himself back to sleep and actually slept for over an hour. Morning came all to quickly and Hyat was up early. He was not his usual self (though he usually is a little slow to wake-up). We were asking questions and had determined he did not have fever. Then finally, pointing to his ear Hyat says "Mommy, my brain hurts." (When teching him his body parts we had taught him his brain was "in there" pointing in the ear).

And just like that it all becomes clear - we have a potential ear infection. Which, of course, explains the discomfort laying down and his much happier self when sitting up. Ahhh, if only we could have caught on sooner, it might have been a better night for all. So I played hookie from work for the morning and got Hyat to the Dr. We weren't able to see our usual pediatrician, but I did like the Dr. we saw. He was pleased to hear that this was Hyat's first ear infection (and it was mild at that). He took the time to discuss treatment options with me. In the end, we got Hyat some antibiotics (thank goodness for flavored medicine which Hyat took with delight throughout its course). Later that morning Hyat went out to my parent's house and managed to sleep for three hours before I headed out and woke him up for lunch. He still went down for his usual nap that afternoon too. I stayed home with him and Embrie the next day rather than sending him to school. But really, with a little medicine he was back to his old self in no time.

Though I would love it if noone in our family ever got sick, I really can't complain that our first trip to the Dr. for anything other than a well-check was after Hyat's 2nd birthday!