Rough Day? Need a Remote?

Last night was rough as well as today. My youngest son was bit by some type of insect and had an allergic reaction to it so that was one trip to the ER. Last night he barely slept. He would sleep for about 20 minutes then scream for an hour. It was heartbreaking and tiresome. I couldn't really get mad at him for crying all night because he's a baby. It's his way of communicating that something's wrong. This morning was the second trip to the ER. He refused to eat, was constipated, pale, running a fever, still crying and screaming, and was literally inconsolable. They did a chest and stomach x-ray, talked to me and his dad, took his temp under the arm and rectally, and pushed all over his little belly. The result: his metabolism isn't fast enough to digest the protein from whole milk therefore it builds up and causes painful constipation. He has to drink soy milk now and we have to watch his diet. Basically not too much protein until his metabolism builds up more. My little man looks so pitiful. One minute he's crying, then he has a burst of energy, then he's back to crying and cringing in pain. As a mother, I feel helpless because I can only do so much. Medication only does so much. With him being a baby there's not a lot he can be given. He has literally been passed between his dad, great-grandmother, and myself. When one has given all they can he gets passed to the next one in line. We're doing everything we can to keep him comfortable and help with his pain. I hope it's not something further than constipation because this has been going on since he got off formula and on whole milk. The doctor said he's not lactose intolerant though. I'm hoping it'll clear up and he'll be back to his normal energized smiling self.

My oldest boy has been on the rampage today. Everything has apparently been pissing him off. He's been snappy, impatient, moody, and a little aggressive. It's 10 pm and I have yet to get him to lay down. When it comes to bedtime he used to be so easy to make go to sleep. Now I'm lucky to get him to sleep by 11. He makes every excuse to get up. "I need something to drink." "I'm hungry." "I need to watch TV." "I need to go potty." It never fails...come 3 AM he's coming to my room wanting to sleep in my bed. I wish raising children was easy. They need to come with a remote and a manual.

That would be nice...but too easy.