14 weeks and our first visit to the doctor's.

First of all, let me say that it is not as dramatic as the title sounds. Nevertheless, I did take Hugo to the Dr.'s this morning in an attempt to eliminate the possibility of medical issues with respect to a pattern he has developed over the last few weeks.

Hugo is a happy and contented baby 90% of the time. Once in a while, and typically when he is getting visibly tired, he gives me the impression that he is hungry but as I position him to feed, he starts jerking away from me and starts crying. Soon enough, he is screaming his head off and working himself into a frenzy. Eventually, without quite understanding how or why, he calms down a little and accepts to feed. His eyes start rolling back almost instantly and before long, he is in a deep sleep - probably due to a combination of the initial tiredness and the intense crying which inevitably follows.

The first time this happened, a few weeks ago, seemed totally out of the blue and since, it has happened once or twice a day. I realise that some crying probably doesn't hurt him, but it is the fact that it happens so suddenly and intensely that had me worried. Since I couldn't notice any other symptoms besides being tired, my instinct told me that he simply has trouble switching off.

This morning, the intensity of his crying was probably the highest he has had yet and in a moment of "not knowing what else to do," I dialled the number of our medical practice and booked him in for an appointment straight away. Mostly, I wanted to eliminate the possibility of an ear infection but also, I just wanted some reassurance.

The dr. who saw us was a lovely woman with plenty of baby experience. She took me seriously and I thanked her for it. Whether it was good luck or just unfortunate, Hugo demonstrated the problem during the consultation. She checked for a number of medical problems but without finding anything, like me, she came to the conclusion that he was a very alert and interested baby who had trouble dozing off into slumber. I left the consultation feeling reassured and with a few tips up my sleeve. I'll go back in a few days for a follow up.

Despite how stressful it can become in the heat of the moment, I feel grateful for having such a healthy baby boy who is just too interested in the world to fall asleep. I am grateful that a stranger listened to me and didn't brush me off within a few minutes and I am grateful that most likely, "this, too, shall pass". Meanwhile, I'll just keep enjoying all the bits in between...