I just got a call from our daycare lady asking that I please come pick up M2 because he won't stop screaming. Daycare lady (DL) seemed like she was about to start crying herself. While I definitely sympathize - listening to a kid shriek like he's being murdered does wear on a person - it seems odd to be asked to come and get him.

M2 started tentatively walking on Sunday and we think he's getting more teeth in. He threw a 45-minute screamfest on Monday night, but two hours is extreme even for him.

He's almost 13 months old. Is this the sort of thing that any of you guys have had to handle, or is this way out there in the realm of weird? Also, is this the sort of thing a daycare provider ought to be able to handle?

I thought I should mention that Mr. Terrierhead is on the way to pick up the guys because I was sick with some nasty tummy bug yesterday and am too weak to lift the dudes with confidence. Because when it rains, it pours.

2 hours? That does seem like a long time. Usually when my boys start teething, we give them that baby tylenol when they get grumpy, and that helps to settle them down.

I'm planning on dosing M2 with baby motrin as soon as I get home. I think there was some oragel in the baby bag, but DCL wasn't willing to look for it and just asked me to pick M2 up.

Hi terrierhead, sorry to hear this news all around. Regarding the screaming fits, I was once called because A was doing the same. I gave permission for the woman to administer a dose of Tempra and then told her to call me if she persisted beyond that. I was a bit annoyed to be called, but then I realized I'd rather I was kept informed of their wellbeing than to find out way after the fact that my child had had a terrible day or some serious illness and I wasn't informed.

Hope you all feel better soon.

I know that at centers they sometimes have stricter rules when a parent is called. For ours, it's fever or a situation like this where the child is unconsolable for a long period of time, because that means they are unable to care for the other kids. Sucks when it happens, I just try to remind myself that if the situation was reversed (if it was another kid at the center), then I would be upset that my child wasn't receiving the attention/care he needed...

wow, two hours does seem like a long time. poor little guy.

and on a side note, there was something in the news recently about tylenol being bad for babies... i can't remember the details of course... but anyway i would stick to motrin if you can.

I guess I would want to know. I guess I would also be curious how the daycare teachers were so ineffective at getting the kiddo to stop screaming.

We thought our 9 month old had turned into psycho teething baby, but it turned out he had an ear infection. Duh. It had probably been getting worse for a month. So we didn't feel bad about giving him antibiotics--and it's started to work, thank God.

In any type of care situation, if the ratios are up-ended (one kid needing more attention than the rest for an extended period of time), you will probably get a call.

Every kid has grumpy days, but two hours is a pretty long time.

But I would be glad because two hours of crying is excessive and probably indicates something going on -- teething pain, tummy ache, developing fever. And, if your child is not typically like this (and the lady doesn't call all the time) then I would think this is the symptom of something.

My son once had a crying fit for so long that I was about to lose it myself -- I literally put him in the car and took him to the ER. We both walked in crying. We checked in, sat down, and he literally fell asleep mid-scream from exhaustion. I snuck out and took him home.

Well, now we know what the problem was. Constipation. Poor little dude. He's doing much better now after some nice apple juice.

Happy poop!

Glad he's feeling better! Boo for screaming!

smarty - my guess is that people have a tendency to go gung ho on the Tylenol without realizing that too much acetaminophen can fry the holy hell out of your liver really easily, and it's really easy to give too much, and ibuprofen doesn't do that.

Yay for pooping. Seriously, I feel like shit (pun intended) when I can't go, I can't imagine what a little guy feels like. Glad he's feeling better.