My Miserable Little Girl

That little girl was the most desperate, miserable little baby I have ever seen tonight. Part of me wished I could provide her comfort, the other part wanted to pass this off as possibly the onset of the terrible twos. Scott and I were unable to put her down for a nap until closer to 3:00pm. On it's own, that should not have been enough for the meltdown that ensued. She woke herself up around 5pm. At the time she woke up I considered that a plus. Penelope is a much crankier baby when she is woken up by an external source. Scott brought her downstairs and we both took turns trying to calm her down. Scott went to make dinner and I cuddled with her on the couch. Any move I made elicited screams and cries from that little girl.

Then dinner time came. Typically, when Penny sees the highchair, we get big smiles out of her. However tonight there was only a lukewarm reception. I was able to buckle her in without resistance. Then. The food was served. I do not believe I have ever heard her scream and cry as loudly and for as long as tonight. Every attempt to feed her brought more screaming. I took her out of the highchair and had her sit in my lap a bit. She calmed down, but just. I admit I was a little tired of her behavior so I put her on the floor. There. She had such an awesome temper tantrum. She rolled around on the ground. She sreamed; she flailed around; she breathed in and out so fast I thought she was hyperventilating. I tried to ignore her and go back to my dinner. After I said, "Welcome to the terrible twos," Nathaniel was a little amused since he knew she was still only one year old. Of course he had to correct me.

We tried to put her back in the high chair and feed her yogurt to replace the offending spaghetti and sauce I had attempted to poison her with earlier (any one who has ever fed my daughter knows that marina sauce can never do wrong, she would eat absolutely anything if it has tomato sauce on it.) Even the yogurt upset her so badly. In between bites we couln't tell if she was holding her mouth in agony or trying to sign "eat," but we kind of gathered it was the former. Oh the horror!!

Scott and I finally blamed her very unusual behavior to her molars that may be coming in. Being a little tired and cranky would possibly be enough to put her over the edge when the severe mouth pain began to come in. Penny had been grabbing at her ears and her mouth all weekend, and I have been wondering about the 2 year molars. So we gave her some Tylenol and put her to bed with a bottle. I do hope that she feels better tomorrow. Poor baby!!!