Sick Days, Teething, and Sleep Regression

My sweet baby has been super clingy and fussy these past few days. And for the past few weeks, she's been tugging at her ears. I thought she was just teething because she keeps licking her top gums. But last Wednesday night, she started running a low-grade fever. So I took her to the pediatrician last Thursday morning to rule out an ear infection. They took her temperature and there was no fever. Nor were there any signs of an ear infection or any other bacterial infection. The pediatrician mentioned that she had some congestion and her top gums were swollen. Kari's also been licking her upper gums a lot, drooling a lot more, has had crazy diaper rashes, and seems to be uncomfortable when she eats. Doctor said she was probably just teething and maybe had a virus, but was okay to go to daycare because there wasn't a fever. So I took her to daycare a little later and went to class. I left my phone at home (second time that week, yeesh) so I missed the phone call from daycare saying I had to go pick Kari up. Thankfully, I checked my email-- daycare emailed me saying a) I didn't pick up the phone and my voicemail box was full and b) that Kari had a fever of 100.7 and had to be picked up immediately. Hell of a day to forget my phone. When I got to daycare, Kari was super grumpy. And I felt super guilty. But we made it home and after some snuggles, she was able to nap on and off. She's okay now, I think. Her temperature went back to normal but she's still pretty fussy...which brings us to teething, separation anxiety, and the 8-10 month sleep regression.

Kari's "Symptoms"

• Increased night-waking: went from 0-2 snacks a night to waking 3-5 times a night
• Increased clinginess/fussiness: went from happily playing by herself to crying and reaching for me whenever I put her down
• Separation anxiety: cries when I leave her field of vision even if other familiar people are in the room
• Reverse separation anxiety (???): goes from happy to crying/begging to be held when I enter the room
• Resisting bedtime: fights sleep and cries if I leave the room before she's asleep
• Decreased appetite: went from eating like a commercial hoover to eating smaller amounts less frequently 

I didn't even know there was supposed to be a sleep regression at this point. Honestly, I probably read about it when I was reading an article on the 4 month sleep regression (we actually ended up dodging that bullet) but I probably thought 8/9/10 months old was "forever" away and didn't pay attention. News flash: the older Kari gets, the faster time passes. So after a few days of running on fumes, I finally consulted Dr. Google, who informed me that there was an 8-10 month sleep regression that's generally fueled by things like learning how to crawl, teething, and object permanence/separation anxiety. Knowledge doesn't make me feel less tired, but it definitely makes me feel less incompetent! Hopefully this all blows over soon or I'm gonna have to start propping my eyelids up with toothpicks.