Teething vs Earache

I would first like to thank everyone for the advice and suggestions we've received since yesterday's post. Due to the high volume of earache suggestions we have a doctor's appointment today at 4:20. I'm really hoping that it's not an earache mainly because I don't want my baby to be sick, but also because we're supposed to fly to California on the 15th. Wouldn't that be a bummer if Hana weren't able to go? I don't even want to think about that. I'm so looking forward to Josh and Angela getting to see her.

Last night was worse than the night before. Each night seems to get worse. Last Thursday she woke up at 5:30, Friday it was 4:45, Saturday 3:00, Sunday 1:00, and last night 12:15. The teething tablets don't seem to be helping so I've been giving her Tylenol. I really don't think it's an earache, but what do I know? Her gums appear a tad swollen, and as I mentioned yesterday, she's content when she's chewing on something during the day. Nighttime is a whole other story. But I spoke to a nurse at the doctor's office and she said it really could go either way so she suggested I bring her in. I tried to get her to go back to bed for over 3 hours last night before I gave up and, once again, brought her to bed with me. I let her scream her poor little head off for half an hour straight before I finally gave in. I kept singing to her and lying her back down over and over again. If she truly is in pain, then I feel the need to comfort her. What kind of a message is it sending her if she's hurting and I'm sitting there letting her cry? Mommies are supposed to comfort their babies, right? How am I being a good mommy by not comforting her because I don't want her to get in the habit of sleeping in my arms? But the other side of that is what if I am creating a horrible habit of her only wanting to sleep in my arms? How hard will that be to break? Man, this mommy stuff isn't easy! But I'll keep doing my best, that's all I can do. We'll go to the doctor and see what's going on and continue to take life on day at a time! On a happier note, I should find out her weight and maybe her height today! I'll keep you posted. (That's a play on blogger words. See, each entry is called a post. Get it? I'll have to add that to my dictionary of blogology along with blogcation.)