Too much good news - never stays that way.

Well, we all know what happens when there is too much good news for one person, it just can't stay that way. The night after all of my "Good News For Riley" posts, she got sick - again. Vomiting, again, complete Deja Vu to the 5 previous times she has had this in the last 5 months. Unfortunately it seems we have a pattern here, and after seeing the doctor again, they are highly suspicious that she has a condition known as "Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome" (after having had a myriad of other test done in the course of the winter). Sounds lovely doesn't it. To give you a bit of a description, it is a condition that usually starts up in children between the ages of 3 and 7, with a family history (usually maternal) of migraines (which both my mother and I have been known to suffer from). They are not sure of the connection, because these children don't complain of headaches, but as with migraines, the vomiting episodes are sparked by similar "triggers". We are now in the process of trying to determine her triggers. Most common triggers are infection, cold, flu etc. (which would explain why, when we get a bug in our house, Riley is always sick 10xs worse for 5xs as long)' stress or excitement (interestingly, Riley's illnesses all fell before a significant event - Disney, Kris' birthday, Valentines day, Her birthday, Her birthday party and then after all of the news last week????). I guess we won't be playing things up too much anymore or trying to get her too pumped about things. It can also be triggered by chocolate, cheese or weather changes. The episode comes on fast and strong for Riley and usually she is sick 1 or 2 times an hour lasting for about 2 days. Fortunately it ends as abruptly as it starts and after a long sleep, she wakes up raring to go, perfectly back to normal. It is very sad and traumatic, but now that we know about it we can hopefully stop it before it starts with ibuprofen and Gravol the moment she seems nauseous. In the meantime we are going to limit cheese, cut out chocolate and keep a daily log journal of food intake, daily activities and the weather. They usually grow out of it in their teens, but then usually grow up to have migraines - sorry Riley.
On a lighter note, during Riley's "quiet time" when Emily naps, Riley asked if I would play the piano for her. So she pulled up a chair beside the piano bench and sang with me while I played songs from Cats and Phantom of the Opera. As I played on the songs got a bit slower and apparently hypnotic - when I turned to look at her as she snuggled up beside me, this is what I saw.