Rough patch again

Andy is having a rough patch again, so it is hard for the whole family. He wakes up absolutely pissed off. He is screaming and scratching and whaling and moaning. He won't eat a whole lot. Every time it is meal time, he protests like crazy. I've spoken to his doctor about it. I guess we also need to revisit the dentist. He is out of control.

My daughter says he is ruining her life. She hates to hear him cry, we all do. It causes so much tension and absolute hopeless feelings about everything. The tension creeps up between my husband and I. His constant crying is so annoying, we can hardly stand it. I put him back into his bed every time, telling him he needs to calm down.

A lot of times, I will bite the bullet, and recognize he needs to get out of the house. Usually, I just put him in the van with a dvd, and we drive around. Today, I couldn't even do that, because the garage door seems to be frozen shut. So, I gave him some Tylenol, turned off the lights in his room, and told him you are just going to have to rest and wake up in a better mood.  After two attempts at feeding him breakfast and him screaming and arching and scratching, he just had to go back to bed.

Then my daughter comes home from a sleepover and hears him crying and immediately starts up. "You're ruining my life, I don't want to live here anymore. It's no fun here." So, I put her in a bath, and sent her back to bed as well.  I want to tear out of here, but the garage is frozen. I could take my husbands huge truck, but its a pain in the butt. On second thought, maybe I'll just go back to bed too.

Oh, the constant crying and screaming

My son screams and cries a lot. When we are in the car, he does it 80% of the time. Today, driving home from Costco, I had to listen to him scream the whole ten minute ride home. Therapy is the worst, because it is 20-30 minutes depending on traffic. The DVD player only gets him to stop crying some of the time. Usually by the time we get home he's so inconsolable, I feel my only option is to put him in his crib. He usually cools down or falls asleep within 10 minutes.

My four-year old daughter told me today, "mom, I hate when Andy screams all the time!" "Why did you have to have another baby!" I told her that nobody likes it, but we have to deal with it. Not really sure how to answer that one. I've also told her that he can't talk, so his only way to tell us things is by screaming and crying.

We are thinking of going on a trip without Andy, it must sound awful. Our family understands though, and have offered to watch him if we want to get away for a few days. I've tried brushing and compressions, music and singing, DVDs, and having toys in the car. Andy is just Andy. Screaming and crying most of the time to try and get his point across.

Sometimes I think he cries more around me. When either one of his grandmothers watch him, they tell me "oh he was so good, and didn't cry". He must just need a change of scenery more often. I also prefer going shopping without him, because it is SO stressful. I was singing songs to him the whole time we were in Costco to keep him quiet. Other times I just let him cry and try to get my shopping done as fast as I can, and get all kind of stares and disgusted looks from everyone.

Can't wait for this phase to be over. We're long overdue for a break from all the crying.