Growing Pains

And this isn't about the sitcom with Kirk Cameron.

You know how I get that mild anxiety about being alone with the girls alone for long periods of time? Well, I didn't seem to have it this time with Josh going away. The girls have gotten much easier, and I'm definitely not as fearful as I've been in the past with taking two toddlers out in public. My only worry is if something would happen to them or they get really sick while he's gone. For example, do you remember that time when I had that freak out with Olivia when Josh went to the store with Bea and I ran out in our neighborhood streets with just my slip on? So, that didn't happen while he was gone, but there was something else.

The girls and I had such the busy day yesterday. We went to Target, the dollar store, the park, the merry-go-round, we watched 101 Dalmations, and we made a cake for Josh's birthday. Activities galore. Both girls decided, that nope, they were not going to take a nap. So, 5:30 rolls around and Bea gets all weird, saying her legs hurt and can't get comfortable and is totally moody, but mostly grumpy (and whiney). Both girls were grumpy, but Bea wasn't having anything to do with anything. Normally with no nap the girl is fine until about 7ish with the grumps, so it just seemed odd. I decided at 6:15 or so that she definitely needed sleep. It seemed beyond ridiculous and my patience was running out.

I put both girls in the car and Bea just starts screaming and crying and saying that her legs hurt. I say, "well, i think that your legs are tired. You've done a lot today. I think they need to rest." When I look back on my actions now, I think I was a mean mom. But kids that need naps and don't take naps can sometimes say things to say things, so I just wasn't taking it seriously. She cried for a bit then suddenly she just fell asleep. I drove home and attempted to put her in bed. She, of course, wakes up and starts crying about her legs. She falls back asleep on her own.

An hour later she wakes up and starts screaming. Her legs. They still hurt. I put her in my bed and try to find out what exactly is going on. She just says her legs hurt. So I ask her if something else is wrong and she says "I don't know" through deep, deep sobs. And the sound of her saying that she didn't know what was wrong with her made me somewhat upset and thinking "damn it, what is wrong with her?? The powers that be, let me ask you, what have you done to my child this time to make me worry yet again???" I was a little mad. So, I held her. I told her she should take some tylenol to make her feel better. She wouldn't. Then I told her I was going to call the doctor and she said okay. And she just couldn't calm down. Her legs. They were hurting so much. But nothing else hurt. And no fever. It was straight up odd. She kept saying that she wanted her daddy, too, and that she missed him. And I started to think, well maybe she just misses Josh and is playing a game because she wanted him.

Finally, the doctor calls me back after 45 minutes. We run down everything that's happened with Bea. The doctor says that she seems normal and there wasn't anything that made her legs hurt, no injury or anything. And nope, more than likely she's not sick if she's only getting aches in her legs. And then I get my answer. During the time that a child turns three up until about ten, "growing pains" can come into play. Doctor, tell me more. The muscles in your child grow faster than the bones. When you have a very active child (my Bea as an example), the muscles can develop quicker than the bones, and cause a lot of pain in the calves and knee area. Interesting. Also, the onset of the pain mostly occurs when the child is tired and/or going to bed. The child can also wake up in the early hours of sleep with pain still. Um, yeah. So, Bea has growing pains. And this is probably not the last we've seen of it. Doctor, is there anything I can do to make this less painful on my end? Just tylenol, a warm compress or bath, and massage the area (MASSAGE DID NOT WORK. I TRIED THAT.) So it is nothing serious.

Bea woke up a few times after that, but her bouts of crying in pain were less everytime. She woke up around 10:30ish and said to me, "I miss daddy so much, mommy." And I said, "I know, honey. I miss him, too." And then I told her that he was on his way home and she says, "My legs don't hurt so much now." So I said, "that's good." Hmm...This daddy and leg thing go hand-in-hand? It was just weird. A few hours later she woke me up and said that her legs didn't hurt anymore, and she kind of continued to do that every other hour or so through the night. But, I'm glad she's okay, so I guess we will see if it happens tonight or some other night again in the future.

So, today is Josh's birthday. And we are gonna eat cake.