Lila was up at 2am, 3:15am, and 5am. Possible reoccurrence of more pronounced GI issues? I never thought we’d still be dealing with this at almost 3 years old.Just when you think you have things somewhat figured out, you don’t.

Back to detective mode – is it something new that she ate? Something we inadvertently changed and didn’t realize? Is it actually GI pain, or is it something else? Could it be nightmares? Is it possible that one of her GI medicines needs to be titrated up or down? Why is she having more frequent meltdowns at daycare all of a sudden? Is it all related?

How do I know? How can we figure it out? What if the answer to all of this IS (as multiple pediatric gastroenterologists purport) = Autism.

There is honestly nothing worse than your child being in pain and not being able to figure out exactly what it is or why it’s happening. I can deal with autism affecting her ability to communicate; I can deal with it affecting her executive functioning skills, her sensory issues, and her dynamic thinking. I can deal with it causing her to be rigid and inflexible in her thinking.

What I CAN’T deal with is it causing her physical pain.