Terrible Twos or Teething?

Whoops, it's been close to a month since I last had any good Abby updates or stories! Bad mommy! So I'll give you the download on this past weekend's events which caused me to wonder: is Abby going through the Terrible Two's or Teething (or both)??

Friday afternoon, we went to Abby's cousin Matthew's 3rd birthday party and then to a BBQ at his house. That evening, Abby was in a good mood but we came home and discovered she was running a low fever - around 99/100. We gave her some Motrin and sent her to bed, only to be woken at 1:30 am as she was throwing up in her crib. We dreaded a stomach virus - the last one was not exactly pleasant and getting her to eat or drink anything was a challenge. The next morning, she woke up with a fever but insisted on drinking her milk, which is a big no-no for an upset stomach. We took our chances and she gulped down 6 ozs and it stayed down - whew. The rest of the day was pretty low-key - she napped for 4 hours, had a fever on and off and was pretty tired and cranky.

The next day, Sunday, she woke up without a fever and ate and drank normally. I couldn't believe that this "virus" was so short-lived. After an unusual early morning nap, Abby woke up and was beyond cranky. She whined or cried at the drop of a hat, and was only happy the few minutes she was on the swing at the park, eating ice cream or in the pool that day. I figured she was just being a good ol' "terrible toddler" and chalked it up to a bad day and I went to bed early.

Monday rolled around and she felt and acted much better, though was still cranky. It finally crossed my mind that perhaps the fever/throwing up/crankiness (and a slightly runny nose, by the way) were all a result of teething, since a virus usually lasts much longer. She still had her top two molars which had not come through yet, so perhaps they were the culprits of her behavior over the weekend. Low and behold, Tuesday night as I was brushing her teeth, I saw one of her top molars poking through.

While Abby is generally a very easy-going child, I realize it is normal at her age to have tantrums and breakdowns, but I am relieved to know that this one, at least, had a good reason and now she only has ONE more tooth to pop through until she has all 20 baby teeth!