very clingy, ear pulling, restless during the night

one of my LOs has been very clingy and has been night-waking for about 2 weeks. i feel like a horrible mom bc i give him motrin, thinking it's his teeth but im wondering if it could be his ear? he's been pulling on the same one all day. i know they do this when they are teething, too. he has no other signs of being 'sick' but im wondering if it could be a molar that's coming in (large lump on the bottom side gum...different side then the ear pulling) or if it could possible be an ear infection.

 

It could definitely be an ear infection or it could just be teeth... my kiddos were pulling on their ears a lot and the doctor took a look and said there was none. Voila.. 2 weeks later.. teeth! Molars cause a lot of pain in the face from what I can see, and I think that a lot of the pain they have comes a long time before you can even see evidence of teeth. I would still get him checked for ear infection though just to be sure!

And as for the motrin.. there's no reason to feel guilty for that at all.. I don't think it benefits them at all to feel pain, so if you give them something to relieve it you're doing the right thing.

 

thank you. i just feel like im giving him medication every night to keep him from waking up!
we bring him into bed with us and try to cuddle and get him to go back to sleep but he wont. he giggles and plays. LOL :headbang:

even during the day he has been SO WHINNY! VERY ANNOYING (i hate to say that).

 

My DS was a notorious ear puller when he was teething, especially with the molars. Those teeth are tough. If you do think it's an ear infection (and sometimes the symptoms are very similar) it could never hurt to have him checked out by the pedi. When my DS had an ear infection, he did not show the typical signs (ear pulling, difficulty laying down)...he just had a spikey high temp, was listless and did not want to eat. He did not even act like he was in pain.
Just to add, motrin was a big help when my two were hardcore teething, especially overnight. It takes a while for molars to come in sometimes. Hope he feels better soon!

 

I would get his ears checked just in case, because it could be ears or teeth. Liam never has typical ear infection symptoms, he's just very fussy, whiny, clingy, doesn't want to sleep at night. No ear pulling or temp.

I also dose with motrin for teething and ear infections, so don't feel bad about that! But I would definitely rule out the ear infections soon just in case it is one.

 

We have no experience with ear infections here, but I can tell you that my kids pull their ears all the time when they are teething. If you are concerned you could get their ears checked out.