Please help me figure out my son's constitutional _{Page 17 of 32}

I have no doubt that you irritate every single person you talk to on this forum, not just 'sepia mums'. I've been involved in a lot of forums over the years and there's one of you in every forum. Your response just proves that you know nothing about me and that you haven't read my thread at all. You call yourself a homeopath, but I don't see how you could be when you have such appalling people skills. Please leave this thread alone.

Sameer, please tell me if you think I have been remiss in providing you with any important details. I had thought myself to have been quite thorough, but if there's anything further you would like to know, or instructions you may have for me to help clarify the case, please let me know.

Ok Sameer. I will do that over the next couple of days and then post. :)

Hi Sameer. You will probably laugh when you see how long this is. It was hard to know when to stop, there is just SO much accumulated information.

Anyway, here it all is:

Child’s medical history
• Born with blocked tear duct (LHS). It was not relieved with any of the natural methods and became quite infected at three months. Prescribed antibiotic drops for two weeks and it finally went away.
• Diagnosed with silent (acid) reflux at 3 weeks old. Diagnosis was made from presentation of symptoms and good response to prescribed medication. Took ranatidine from 3 weeks old until around 14 months old, when we weaned him off it to find that the problem no longer existed. Symptoms were: general unsettledness, frequently demanding breastfeeds (sometimes every hour), waking screaming (as if in pain) shortly after going to sleep and within a short period of being fed, fussy feeder (constantly pulling off, crying, arching back).
• Received standard immunisations at 2 months (hep B, DTP, hib, polio and pneumoccal), 4 months (same + rotavirus) and 6 months (same as 2 months). No significant/adverse reactions. After 2 month immunisations, he was very drowsy and irritable for 24 hours. Has not received 12 month or 18 month immunisations.
• Very rapid weight gains in first month, particularly head size, which then slowed to average. Now he is just below average height, weight and head size).
• Always a fussy breastfeeder. Very hungry newborn, generally needed 2-3 hourly feeds day and night for the first few months. Caused no end of dramas from poor attachment, erratic demand (which caused mastitis in mother twice at two months and four months old, both times treated with antibiotics), feeds that were too short, screaming during feeds, outright breast strikes, and bitten nipples. He started receiving sacral-cranial therapy (osteopathy) at around 5 months to help with feeding problems. There was a huge improvement, and further improvements a little later once solid food was established. Always fed terribly during the day, but very well at night time. Still fed regularly during the night up until 7 or 8 months old when we tried to wean him from night feeds due to total exhaustion. Self weaned completely at 14 months. Never seemed to be emotionally attached to breastfeeding.
• Teething started at 6 months (earlier than average), but after first two, stopped for several months due to the illness. Teething was always slow and painful for him, although some seemed to come through with little fuss. Molars were the worst and caused pain, agitation, clinginess, nasty cough, runny nose, awful BM and nappy rash. Treated effectively with chamomilla 30c and 200c.
• Treated with cranial-osteopathy several times from 5 months until around 14 months. It was noted he had cranial compression on left side of back of head, which could have been responsible for fussy feeding, poor drainage from Eustachian tubes, digestive problems, etc.
• Never had a cold or viral illness until he was 7 months old (and was a very happy, easy baby) when he got his first ear infection. Presented to doctor without fever, but was irritable/unhappy and waking throughout the night in distress/pain. Cold-like symptoms came a few days after infection diagnosed. First ear infection co-incided with 6 month vaccinations (two weeks prior), the start of swimming lessons (five days prior), his first two teeth (one month prior and a few days prior) and the start of commando crawling. He was given oral antibiotics for a week, and although his outward symptoms cleared up and he 'seemed' well, he continued to have disturbed sleep.
• Returned to the doctor after a few more weeks with no improvements. It was unclear whether his reflux had worsened or his ears were still hurting because visual diagnosis didn’t confirm an acute infection, only a mild irritation. Thus began our journey, and the problem had become chronic by the time he was 9 months old. During this time, he saw other doctors and a paediatrician who were all sceptical about diagnosis. Many thought he just had a sleeping problem and we weren’t tough enough parents. On presentation, his ears were not always inflamed, and he always seemed happy, although pain/distress during the night was always present.
• We gave pain relief most nights (paracetamol) and ibuprofen (nurofen) when paracetamol didn’t work. Also occasionally gave decongestant for a couple of nights in a row so we could all get some sleep. This all on advice of paediatrician.
• Began seeing local homeopath around 9 months who treated us unprofessionally (as noted in this thread) and only with ferr-p in various potencies. Mild improvements were made at times, but didn’t hold, and over the 4 months we saw him, there was no overall improvement and probable worsening of problem.
• While undergoing this homeopathic treatment, he was diagnosed with bacterial infection on his penis (balanitis) at 10 months for which he took oral antibiotics. From that point onwards he was on 4 different courses of antibiotics in a row (including one 6 week low grade course from the paediatrician). His ears remained chronically red and bulging with obvious fluid build up.
• Contracted some kind of gastro virus at 13 months and had to be hospitalised for dehydration. Vomited for two days, but no diarrhoea. Also had red rash on arms and legs. Took final course of antibiotics after that event.
• At 14 months we stopped all antibiotics, went onto a dairy free diet, and gave probiotics (as recommended by osteopath). His sleep disturbances were improved by this stage, as if the last course of antibiotics had temporarily fixed the problem.
• Commenced treatment under SV. Gave puls 30C, following which ears flared up quite badly as did penis inflammation. After a few days had to treat penis with mild anti-fungal (no steroids). Ears remained bad for about 10 days and then his overall condition improved greatly. Not long after osteo also said that his cranial compression was pretty much gone and he should be doing really well. Finally saw ENT who said there was no sign of scarring from all the infections and he was doing really well. 2 days later, he came down with a bad flu and inflamed eyes. We treated with belladonna 30C, and he responded very well, but he still had to be treated allopathically for conjunctivitis. After his recovery, he was left with a cough (but no ear infection!) and his cry had changed (less angry, more piteous). Gave puls 200C, and a few days later his behaviour deteriorated again but with discharges from eyes. Began teething again.
• At 15 months he continued to improve from puls. Cough remained. We began cutting down on his reflux meds..
• At 16 months we stopped all reflux meds. He deteriorated again due to teething. Cham 6C (helped, but didn’t last long), cham 30C began to show big improvements after a week, Presented new symptom of sweating in sleep from head and back accompanied by musty smell and heat rash on back of neck. Deteriorated again after short time, so gave cham 200C. Began to slowly reintroduce dairy to his diet.
• At 17 months he was responding well, but then deteriorated again: very distressed at night, runny nose, coughing became very acute (like an allergy). Appetite deteriorated to the worst it had ever been. He was diagnosed with another ear infection and inflamed throat. Gave rhus-t 30C, and after a few days his behaviour improved but cough worsened. Gave rhus-t 200C which aggravated and then improved with discharges. We were then returned to the state we were at 14 months (bulging red eardrums) with the addition of irritated cough. Gave puls 6C and had some good improvements (cough almost gone). Around this time we noticed him becoming aggravated by thunderstorms.
• At 18 months, gave puls 12C, which didn’t really help with sleep or ears, but his appetite improved and he began eating much more fruit and vegetables. Began puls LM1 doses. First dose had a positive reaction, next two were ok, but by the 4th, he was aggravated. Progress stopped, and after one more dose 5 days later he had a very extreme aggravation. Over next few days we saw mild improvement and discharges, but then progress stopped again. Stuck at same state we were at 14 months and 17 months. Foreskin became inflamed again. Gave double dilution of LM1 which had immediate positive reaction but didn’t hold.
• At 19 months was diagnosed with balanitis again and given antibiotics. Antibiotics temporarily fixed ears and balanitis. Went on holiday to seaside which appeared to aggravate while we were there and ameliorate once we went home. Was happy and sleeping well for about 6 days. New symptom is that BM are all over the place now (more unpredictable than ever) and often in the middle of the night.

Current complaints (20 months old)
• Sleep disturbances. Some nights he will sleep for 11-12 hours undisturbed. Some nights he will wake once for a drink of water and sleep well the rest of the night. Some nights he will wake several times throughout the night and it's unclear why. Some nights he will wake once, go back to sleep easily and then wake again 15 minutes later and this will go on for 1-3 hours and it's unclear why. When the latter happens, we assume he is in some sort of discomfort and usually give him paracetamol after about the 3rd or 4th time inside an hour. He also wakes crying.
• Moodiness/irritability. Behaves in a very cham or puls fashion: wanting to be held, changing his mind about things, general clinginess and dissatisfaction, needs constant attention. Disobedient and attention seeking. Whinging and crying for no apparent reason. Mostly happens in the afternoons, after his nap (he wakes very upset and it’s all downhill from there). Much worse when he's not well or in some kind of discomfort. Often goes hand in hand with bad appetite. Not a daily occurrence, but will happen a few times a week, most weeks.
• Unpredictable bowel movements/possible digestive disturbances. Sometimes he doesn't go for 2 or 3 days, sometimes it's every day or even twice a day. Consistency varies from pale and mushy to dark and hard. Offensiveness varies wildly, as does the quantity. Time of day is variable. Lately it has been happening a LOT just after he goes to bed at night-time. If he hasn’t had a BM for 2 days, his irritability increases, he eats less, he wakes more frequently at night time and seems bothered by passing wind.
• Erratic/unpredictable eating habits. Sometimes he is unhappy with everything he eats, and will often whinge the whole way through his meal. It usually co-incides with more disturbed sleep and irritability. Eg, if he’s having a bad day, I can be sure he won’t eat much for lunch or dinner and will probably have a bad night’s sleep.

Character and behaviour
• Independent and self sufficient. Plays on his own easily and makes his own entertainment. People often comment on how easy going he is.
• Very chatty. Likes to talk to himself and to others, even though his language development is still primitive. He began to say proper words a little later than average, but he now has a very big vocabulary for his age. He loves to babble away in his own language all day long. He really enjoys certain words and sounds and gets great pleasure from repeating them over and over.
• Very sociable. Enjoys interacting with people of all ages and appearances. Sometimes he is wary at first contact, but sometimes not (I think he is very receptive to 'vibes' and therefore is more comfortable with some people than others). He always seems as though he really wants to engage with people. He is not scared of making strong eye contact.
• Gets excited easily and will run around squealing and babbling loudly. Loves expressing himself physically and verbally. Sometimes he can't contain himself and will bite me (and sometimes his dad).
• Loves books and pictures. Will spend hours looking at books, pointing out things in pictures and gets very excited about certain pictures. Very 'visually' oriented.
• Loves music, singing and dancing. Has the ability to recognise tunes very quickly. Is moved by certain songs and tunes and will dance straightaway. Being sung to is one of his favourite things in the world and will instantly cheer him up if he's unhappy.
• Is very good at drawing for such a young age. Quickly worked out how to hold a pencil correctly and even attempts to copy simple drawings that we do for him.
• Has a furious intensity about him when he is learning new things. Gets obsessive. Will repeat the same word over and over again. Will bring the same book to me or his dad and point to the same picture over and over again.
• Likes to do things himself, rather than have them done for him, but gets quickly irritated when he can't work it out (impatient) and will move onto something else (easily distractible). Only certain activities hold his attention for more than a couple of minutes: watching TV, drawing, looking at books, and repetitive activities like shovelling sand into a bucket. He will do other activities for long periods of time too, but not independently. Other activities he enjoys are: vigorous physical play with me or his dad, walking/running around and exploring outside, having a bath, singing and dancing and listening to musical instruments being played.
• He likes to be near one of us, even when he’s doing things by himself. Eg, he will put his book on my lap, and read it there, and gets cross if I try and move it or put it on the floor. He likes us to be passive participants in his activities.
• Loves to be naked. Loves fresh air and being outside.
• Loves water (and likes it being poured over his head). Has on two occasions developed strong (irrational) fear of the shower, but only lasted a few days. When he first had swimming lessons (at 7 months until 10 months and never since), he used to go into a trance in the water, almost as if he was asleep, but he had his eyes open. Is scared of the ocean (probably the sound).
• Generally obedient and well behaved, however he has an insatiable curiosity and is easily tempted by things he knows he shouldn't do/touch. He seems to enjoy testing the boundaries (and probably likes the attention it brings). Chastisement doesn't usually bother him because he can easily tell when the matter is 'serious' or not. He will cry and refuse to look at me when he has done something especially naughty or dangerous and is being disciplined for it.
• Generally compliant and passive. Very rarely throws a tantrum, and if he does, it only lasts for 5 seconds.
• Loves physical contact. Likes to just sit on my lap or just nearby so he's touching me, but doesn't have to interact. Likes to be rocked, patted, stroked gently. Very ticklish.
• Not a risk taker, therefore we haven't had to deal with any serious accidents (yet!).
• Doesn't have a strong sense of initiative (eg, has never pushed a chair across the room and used it to climb on something, has never tried to climb out of his cot).
• Very sensitive emotionally and physically. Gets very upset when he hurts himself or is ill. Very sensuous. Loves the sensation of textures on his skin, loves being touched and touching things.
• Sucks the middle two fingers on his right hand for comfort. Has been doing this since around 5 months old.
• Has very good hearing and is sensitive to noise, particularly mechanical/electrical noises. Sometimes he gets quite scared by noises like the blender or hairdryer (even if they're familiar), and other times he gets excited.
• He is a careful child and can be a bit wary sometimes. He doesn't rush into any situation, whether it's new or not. He establishes himself and his surroundings first. That said, he is not a timid/shy child and once he's feeling ok (which may only take a minute) he is happy to try new things, explore and make friends.
• Loves animals, although he has been scared of them at times too.

Physicality
• Just below average weight and height.
• Solid looking body, but not chubby.
• Big cheeks, dimples and a very full forehead.
• Slightly longer torso and shorter legs.
• Fine, fluffy, curly fair hair. Taken a long time to grow and it's still never been cut. Several cowlicks through his hair.
• Vascular purplish birthmark on his throat.
• Small light brown spot (perhaps a mole?) on one calf.
• Very flat fingernails that seem to curl upwards at the ends.
• Toenails are the same, but also very hard and brittle.
• Fair skin and blue eyes. Tendency to get flushed cheeks.
• Slightly effeminate looking.

Eating habits
• He is not usually a big eater. He does not LOVE food. He will pick out the things he likes and refuse to touch anything else.
• He gets very annoyed when he's hungry and it seems to happen quite suddenly. Woe betide if you haven't gotten dinner ready when he decides he's ready for it! But despite acting as though he's starving, he will often not eat very much at all.
• Some days he will love something, and the day after he will hate that very same thing. It is completely unpredictable. However, he does consistently like banana, chicken, most red meats, ham, yoghurt, soft processed cheese, milk, plain cookies, freshly squeezed orange juice and rice crackers.
• Currently, he seems mostly happy with melon, sliced cheese, grapes, apple, pear and fish. Currently, he is unpredictable with his reaction to cooked vegetables of any kind, eggs, bread, pasta, breakfast cereal, avocado, dried fruit and nuts.
• Although we try to only give him home cooked foods and very little processed food, he has very occasionally had chocolate (likes), candy (unpredictable), savoury snacks (likes), deep fried foods (likes) and icecream (is interested, but doesn't like the sensation of cold).
• He HATES tomato and green leafy vegetables (lettuce etc).
• Erratic fluid intake. Some days he will drink a whole bottle of water, other days hardly anything. He quite often drinks a lot of water when he wakes at night time. He always finishes drinking as if he's out of breath and almost gasps to regain his composure.
• He has a bottle of milk before bed and he often coughs and splutters during drinking. He has always done this and he used to do it even more when he was breastfeeding.

Sleeping habits
• Since the recent antibiotics his ears have been pain free, and so his sleeping habits are improved.
• Sleeps on his tummy with knees pulled under him and face buried in pillow OR on his side (mostly right) with hand tucked under the pillow. Increasingly lately I see him also sleeping on his back with arms and legs splayed out. He HATES being covered with blankets. We stopped using sleeping bags about a month ago and we think he is having trouble adjusting, and that sometimes lately he has woken because he's irritated by the blanket on him. Whenever I check on him he is completely uncovered.
• He shifts positions frequently during sleep, but doesn't turn around. He usually keeps his head on the pillow.
• His state on waking is also unpredictable. Sometimes he wakes very cranky and will grizzle for quite some time after waking up. This is more common after his afternoon nap. He is more likely to wake in a good mood first thing in the morning.
• Lately he has taken to playing in his cot for quite some time before going to sleep.
• Sometimes he calls out in his sleep (either a shout, a word, a cry or a whimper).
• His head gets hot when he's asleep and if it's warm in his room/outside, he will sweat profusely around the back of his head/neck.
• In very hot weather he has a constant heat rash around the back of his neck. It doesn't seem to bother him.

Pregnancy and birth
• Four months prior to his conception, mother had miscarriage.
• No medication taken during pregnancy, but was taking pregnancy vitamin supplement.
• First trimester: nausea, exhaustion, loss of taste, hypoglacaemia.
• Second trimester: emotionally very well (better than ever felt in life before), round ligament pain (unable to do anything phsyical for a few weeks), intense tailbone pain, sacro-iliac joint pain. Experienced early practice contractions (possible irritable uterus).
• Third trimester: low blood pressure (characterised by frequent fainting spells - always managed to prevent fainting, but felt that it would happen often).
• Did not gain a lot of weight during pregnancy. Unable to exercise during pregnancy due to physical issues as described above. This was a big change from life prior.
• Baby turned into breech position at 37 weeks after being partially engaged for several weeks. Turned back one week later. No explanation.
• Went into spontaneous labour 3 days overdue. Labour would not properly establish for two days. Body refused to co-operate and after approx 45 hours of painful and exhausting pre-labour and about 5 hours of established labour, waters were broken artificially in order to stimulate progress. It was noted that there was meconium in the water, but must have been from quite some time ago (maybe weeks? Maybe related to turning breech, but no specific event could be remembered by mother or father). Later mother was put on a syntocin drip and then given an epidural (by choice) as body was still not cooperating. Also received gas during labour. Was on IV antibiotics during labour after testing positive to Strep B. Baby was born after 12 hours established labour. At no point did the baby go into distress. Mother also not distressed, just very, very tired. Mother received stitches for minor tear. Baby had high apgar score, and cried incessently (and intensely) for almost a full hour, despite immediate skin to skin contact.
• Born at 3.7kg (just over 8lb), big, solid looking baby with a big head and big hands and feet.
• Developed red newborn rash on face within first 24 hours which lasted several days.
• Received Hep B and vitamin K injections at birth.
• Breastfeeding was a huge challenge right from the start. From day two, baby screamed for most of the night, every night.

Family medical history
• Mother’s side: paternal grandmother had breast cancer (but recovered) and asthma, maternal grandfather died of leukaemia. Paternal grandfather had angina, high cholesterol and undiagnosed mental/emotional problems. Maternal grandmother died of pancreatitis. Mother’s father has high cholesterol. Mother suffered from digestive problems and depression in past.
• Father’s side: father’s mother and two of her siblings have Barrett’s Oesophagus and associated problems, also diabetes, mild asthma and depression. Father’s parents are both smokers. Father has chronic sinusitis, acid reflux and basal carcinoma.

Ha ha, I know. It's fine, take your time Sameer. Thanks a million for everything.

Hi Sameer.

I think we might be starting to see something emerging at the moment. Whether it is new or not, I don't know.

In the last few weeks I have had the feeling that he has a stomach ache when he is waking at night time. He has been a little tense, and straining a bit, as if needing to pass wind or having an irritable intestine. Sometimes is passing a lot of wind during these wakings, which has then calmed him.

I suspect there are some foods that might be upsetting him, and I have suspected this before, in the past. It is very, very hard to tell what it is though. Again, it comes back to him being changeable, and it is hard to see a distinct pattern.

Last night he woke up at around 10.30 and we were up with him for about three hours. He had bouts of intense screaming, and then was quiet and relaxed for a time. Having suffered from digestive problems myself I know that the pain can come in intense bursts, so it makes sense that might be his problem, but I have no real proof. Just looking for answers/reasons, as usual. ;-) (By that I do not mean I expect YOU to have the answers, by the way!) It is just my eternal quest that one day we will lead a normal life and not be constantly plagued by sleep deprivation.

I said to you in the earlier post that he HATES tomatoes. Well, he is tasting them more (we grow them, so he picks them all the time, tastes them and spits them out), well, yesterday he ate a couple of little ones, and my husband is now convinced that it is what upset his tummy. He may be right, I don't know. Perhaps his tummy wasn't upset at all, but if it wasn't, it makes me wonder what on earth WAS wrong, because it was quite intense, and paracetamol did not work at all.

We had another disturbed night a few days ago (not quite like last night) after he had eaten a fairly rich dinner with lots of cheese and milky sauce. We thought similarly, that he had a stomach ache, and he certainly had some gas.

He did used to have the acid reflux. This could be related, but I tend to think it is more to do with his lower intestines. Just a guess though.

As a small child, he always seemed bothered by passing gas. He has always been a gassy baby.

Something else I thought to mention but didn't include in my list is his total inability to go to sleep when he's at daycare. At daycare we have a different child. He is very content in the environment (lots of kids, lots of carers, lots of activities and toys all day long). He eats well, he never gets upset or moody, he plays independendently, he is very easy to look after. EXCEPT when it comes to nap time. They have trouble getting him to go to bed, and he only stays asleep for short time. At home he will sleep 1.5-2 hours in the afternoon. At daycare he will only sleep 40 minutes most days. He has been going to daycare for 10 months now - same room, same beds, same carers, and is totally comfortable there, (he now goes three days a week) so it's not that. It's just such a strange reversal of some of the behaviours we see at home, I thought it was worth mentioning.

He has never slept well at environments other than home, and always gotten upset when he's put to bed in a strange place, and we have always put that down to his sensitivity, but this is a bit different, because it's a familiar environment that he is happy in and used to in all other ways.

Gosh, I see the predicament. We have talked about calc being a strong possibility for a long time though, so I would be inclined to try that first. Or are there some other questions you can ask that haven't been covered, that might help confirm one remedy over another? Perhaps this possibility of indigestion or uncomfortable gas points to one of them?

Do his general character traits lead more in one direction than another? If I was to describe his personality in three words I would say SENSITIVE, INDEPENDENT and EXPRESSIVE. That is him in a nutshell. That is the type of child I see him growing into, and I think that is how he will be as an adult too.

Hi Sameer. I've been doing some research. You've really got it nailed with these three remedies (and possibly carc as well). I don't know how to decide. I thought if I read up on all of them and began to document the symptoms he has from each then it would become clearer, but it really hasn't! I can go through some of the notes I've made if you think it might help?

I'm sure you will be able to make a much better decision than me. I am stumped.

The one thing I would say with certainty, is that all these remedies while pointing towards many of the compliants he has had (from ears to nose to digestion etc) present a physical form that is different to my son. He is strong, muscular, and very robust. He could never be described as flabby or floppy or weak. He always appears very healthy and energetic, even when ill. He has calc';s big head, round face and protruding belly, and he has silica';s delicate features and fine hair. Would you like me to email a picture?

I just remember something that I had COMPLETELY forgotten about.

While I was breastfeeding, I took magnesium supplements for quite some time. I started when my son was around 2 months old. I was getting headaches from clenching my jaw and I was constipated and it helped both those things. I would guess that I took it for 2-3 months, but I really can't remember. Do you think this might be relevant at all?

Oh, AND, when he was about 7 months old, immediately before his first ear infection, I took zinc supplements for a few days because he had bitten my nipple really badly and it just wouldn't heal. The zinc fixed it very quickly.

Ok, I will do that. 3 doses spaced by 30-60 minutes ok? We will be going to the dispensary on the weekend to get bryonia alba for my husband and the lach 1M for me, so I will get silicea 6C for him too. If it has a good reaction, would you move to 12C or 30C next?--I'd rather buy a couple of things if I can to save another trip out there next week.

Hi Sameer.

I haven't actually given him the 6C yet. We've been very busy this past week and our schedule is all over the place.

I had planned to give it to him today, but I wanted to check a couple of things with you first.

He has been particularly difficult over the past few days. Crying very easily and waking more frequently at night. For the past three days he's been waking up around 5am and is almost impossible to get back to sleep. Consequentially, he's more tired than usual, which is probably contributing to his foul moods too.

We're pretty sure that he has four new teeth coming, and that is the reason for this deterioration.

Other symptoms we've noticed over the last week are that he is not eating as much meat as usual but seems a lot more into pasta and bread. He has also had a runny nose a couple of times, which tends to be a bit stuffy and dry sounding at night time, but we definitely don't think he has a virus.

What do you think? Should we still go ahead, or is it worth treating the teething first?

I don't think it's been slower than normal. But he does tend to be on the slow side naturally. It seems to take a long time from the time when the symptoms first appear to when the tooth begins to break through the gum. That said, I'm not sure what is 'normal'!

Usually once the tooth has begun to cut the gum, his symptoms begin to relieve.

There is no difference in salivation. He has never been a noticeably 'drooly' baby, even when teething.

Amelioration: ATTENTION!!! Vigorous activity with me and his dad - we have to be directly engaged with him for him to be happy. It is still easy to make him laugh. He wants us to read to him constantly.

Aggravation: Eating. 5am. Other than that it's hard to say. I think it is just some kind of pain or discomfort. He gets very upset if he's left by himself in the room. He doesn't want to be 'interfered' with - nappy changes and getting dressed, but that is normal for any time he is in a bad mood.

He is particularly enjoying having his head covered at the moment - likes to wear hats, even when there is no need.

Also, he has more smelly gas than normal, but his bowel habits are unchanged.

He seems to be aimlessly wandering around a lot whinging as if he wants something, but he doesn't really know what that thing is.