Randomly for the past week or so, my DD will say she's "not feelin' good." When I ask her what's wrong, she always answers differently -- once, her tummy hurt (but after she ate, she said she was feeling better, so I think she was just hungry), once it was her nose, this morning it was her big toe. Yesterday morning, she was jumping around and suddenly started crying and saying her neck hurt. After some snuggles and kisses, she seemed fine but it still freaked me out. The consulting nurse at her doctor's office seems to think DD is just learning how to express herself and what gets attention, and said she might have slept funny and that's why she was complaining about her neck. I don't necessarily disagree -- I do think DD realized she gets extra attention when she says she isn't feeling well. Plus, she's definitely learning to fib for attention; she keeps telling us her body parts are "stuck" (but they're not really stuck-- she puts her foot between the slats of the crib, her finger inside a book, her hand between the couch cushions). So I'm not 100% inclined to believe her, but the mommy in me still worries that there's something more going on... She has a lingering cough from a cold she caught recently but last time we went in the doctor said her lungs were clear and just wait it out. But she hasn't complained about anything cough-related (chest, throat, etc). I don't know, I really have nothing tangible to base this on except the cough and I know if I take her in again, the doctor will think I'm a total hypochondriac. I just don't like it when I hear her say she doesn't feel well. Am I crazy? Is this just part of her being 2? Did anyone else's toddler do something like this?
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I'm the same as you and would be worrying too. BUT would at the same time realize that it's likely just her learning what gets attention. My toddler went through a phase where she did this. Actually now that I think about it, she's doing it again with her mouth. She will point to different parts of her gums and say it hurts, and I always check to make sure there's nothing really there. So it makes me wonder if I should take her to the dentist, or if she just likes the attention (mom and dad checking gums etc).
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My lo did this a bit a few months ago. It was after she had been sick so i attributed it to her knowing the buzz words for special attention. My teeth hurt, i need tylenol, i dont feel well, i am in pain (where? What hurts?) My ears. But nothing was wrong. So i cant tell you for certain that there's nothing really wrong, but i can tell you it sounds like age appropriate behavior. I dont like to think of it as fibbing or testing limits so much as exploring ways of feeling and how to communicate it. But either way, i don't think you are a worry wart. I think it's hard to tell sometimes!
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@MrsLilybugg: @Pirouette: thanks, I'm glad to know this is age-appropriate and probably not a big deal. I'll still keep an eye on her in case she starts complaining about the same thing repeatedly instead of different things here and there. I just don't want to brush it off as nothing if it's actually something, but I don't want to stress myself out worrying either. But come to think of it, I've been pretty sick lately and I remember saying things to her like "mommy can't run around right now because I'm not feeling well" so I'm sure she picked up on that. The timing makes sense, at least.
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@PurplePeony: every time I lie on the couch for a second, my lo asks if I am sick. when I first found out I was pregnant, I told her once I didn't feel well and needed to rest and she asks all the time now. They pick up everything!
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I think if she's acting pretty normally otherwise, it is probably just normal 2 year old behavior. A couple months ago, my LO started telling me she had "boo boos" pretty much every day after daycare. At first, I thought she was actually hurting herself (and she does come home with scrapes and bruises sometimes). But soon we figured out that she really liked getting a bandaid. So we would just give her one and eventually it stopped being interesting and I haven't heard her complain of a "boo boo" in awhile now.
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I agree it's normal. My 2 year old just made me put cotton balls in her leg after doc mcstuffins fixed a teddy bear with a ripped seam. She also wanted to put milk on a imaginary scratch to make it better. So I'd say 2 year olds are weird
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Oh, mine does that all the time. When she's really hurt or sick, she stops playing.
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My almost 2 year old is starting this. She's definitely not reliable at this point. If it was a consistent complaint I would be more concerned, but random ones and acting fine? No. DD had me convinced my MIL fell down and got hurt the other day. When I called her she laughed hysterically and was like noooo definitely didn't happen!
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My 2.5 year old does this sometimes too, but she hasn't ever done it for a long time when nothing was wrong. Mostly recently she was just a cranky, non sleeping mess but if I asked if something was wrong she just said she needed medicine. I would ask specifically if her ear hurt and she said no. Finally took her to pediatrician anyway because I had to rule out sickness before I lost my mind and it was an ear infection.
So I say sure it's probably not anything, but if your mom intuition is saying maybe it's something else, I'd rather pay my copay and have them think I'm a hypochondriac and have the peace of mind to know.
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Bennett just turned 2 and he's been doing this, and I'm happy to see that it's not just him! Out of nowhere he'll tell me his tummy hurts, or his knee. I mostly brush it off because he seems fine as soon as he gets distracted by something, but in the back of my head I always worry a bit about what if something's actually wrong.
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Okay, I'm feeling much better now. But her cough seems to have gotten worse through the day today, so we're probably going to take her in tomorrow anyway. I'll mention that she's been doing this and see what the doctor says, but it does ease my mind to know other kids do the same thing.
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