Weird Scary Behavior

Last night was not a good night in the Sabin home.

About 4:30 pm, Mary started acting up. She was fussy and crying. She wouldn't let you hold her or put her down. Her hands, arms, and legs were jerking around a lot (but not in a seizure sort of way). Mary was pulling on her hands and feet. Even though she slept through her lunch, she wouldn't really eat either. In other words, nothing seemed to make her happy or comfortable. We described her behavior as manic, like she was having an episode.

Around 8 pm, after trying to put her to bed without luck, I took her for a drive. She always falls asleep in the van. 30 minutes later, she was still screaming. While driving, I remembered that a bottle of shoe cleaner had broke while I was cleaning earlier and I began to worry that she had gotten into it. So to google we went.

Eventually, we ended up at the emergency room. (Side note: If you live in Lakeland, drive to the ER in Orlando. It will be quicker.) They drew blood. They put in a catheter to take a urine sample. Every thing came back clear. She had not ingested the cleaner. Nothing could explain her strange behavior. She had been screaming and crying since 4:30 pm. It was overwhelming for Bruce and I to handle.

I'm sure that the nurses and doctors couldn't figure out why we were there. But they don't know Mary. She is typically a chill baby. She goes with the flow. Crying only happens when she is hungry or tired. And it quickly disappears once she is fed or put to bed. The only thing that calmed her down was emptying and refilling her diaper bag. She sat on the hospital room floor and did this for over an hour.

Take the diapers out. Take the wipes out. Take the cream and drinks out. Put the drinks back in. Put the diaper in. Put the wipes in. Over and over and over again.

We finally got home about 4 am. She did not fall asleep until around 9 am. It was a long night. She slept until about 2 pm and now seems to be acting normal. Though her voice is a little froggy from all the screaming.

I'm sharing this for two reasons. First, I don't want to forget the details when we follow up with her regular pediatrician. Second, I thought there might be someone out there reading this who could explain why my 15-month old daughter would suddenly act like a manic,crazed person.

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