Sydney woke up screaming and crying at 1 a.m. this morning, which is very unusual behavior for her. Mark and I bolted out of bed immediately assuming that something was hurting her. I tried undressing her to see if I could find any markings that would show me where she was in pain, but her cries intensified so I stopped. She was only consolable if I held her tightly to me, speaking softly. She remained asleep the entire time she was screaming and crying. At one point, I turned to Mark and demanded he do something to help me. Typcial of his way, he googled the possibilities. We decided once she had finally calmed down and had returned to sleep (only doing so if I held her tightly) that she'd had an infant night mare.
Given this and her behavior today and the last few days, I took her temperature tonight to see if she had a fever and might be getting sick. Her temperment is so calm and I figured something must be wrong in order for her to scream her head off for no reason.
Side note: I leanred that I hate the ear thermometer. I tried the ear thermomeer which is supposed to be quick and noninvasive. Plus, a friend of mine is married to a doctor and he says it's the most accurate way to take a temp. for a child. Basically, the ear thermometer sucks. I got a reading of 100.4 in one ear and 98.6 in the other.
With no success and inconsistent readings from the other methods (armpit and rectal)I called the nurses helpline for perspective. The nurse reassured me that calling was the right thing. She suggested we take a trip to the emergency room because of other symptoms she was having (sleeping more than being awake, not wanting to eat as often). After a thorough check-up the doctor diagnosed Sydney with colic.
We were surprised to get this diagnosis since she doesn't really seem to fit the profile; that's the fun thing with colic I guess, there is no profile really.