My very sensible, grownup ds has started waking up at night - which in itself is extraordinary - with tummy ache. No poo, no vomit, doesn't feel like either. Starts at about 11pm and normally is asleep for the rest of the night by about 2am but between those hours, is very much awake. I give him calpol or nurofen, hot water bottle, nice words, put him on the loo, little chat, all of the above, and eventually he stops getting up. Each time he wakes I put him back to bed, but after a while he gets up again saying he has tummy ache. I wake up in the morning thinking he will be ill and therefore at home, only to find him dressed in uniform and wanting breakfast and bouncing off the walls!!!! I am SO TIRED. Not to mention a 2 year old with bad dreams - seriously bad timing, and a 5 year old whose covers keep falling off! We have all had colds, but no one else has had tummy ache at all. Back to the point - 6, almost 7 year old, had a bad end of term, very low, very unhappy but wouldn't say why what or who, so had long chats over the christmas holidays where he was after a couple of days, on cracking form, back to normal etc. First day of term, went in happily, and then went drastically down hill, very very low, miserable, wouldn't/couldn't work, kept telling school he was tired and had to sleep (!) in the corner for half an hour etc etc. Wouldn't go out to play etc. After about ten days, teachers and head involved, at their insistence, he started saying he had tummy ache, night and day, but was still eating and going to school. No vomit, no runny tummy etc. Wasn't all the time, sporadically. Put it down to tummy glands after speaking to the nurse at doctors after I decided maybe there was something wrong rather than me being mean and telling him he was fine. He then came down with a cold, sore throat etc, so huge relief and decided the whole thing had been building up that, hence glands etc. So lots of medicine night and day as had such a sore throat and tummy ache etc. Tummy ache went away for about four days, and has now returned. He is on great form, albeit rather more hyperactive and a lot less care factor in an odd way, eating well, drinking water lots, happier etc, but at night and only at night is waking as explained at the beginning of this huge essay (sorry!). He does burp internally, he says a lot, because when he had the cold he kept saying that his ears kept cracking when he burped internally. He was farting at the beginning of it all so assumed that he was constipated but no. Does anyone know what this could be? Could it actually be emotional or do we think there is something inside? Surely there would be evidence in the loo in some way shape or form? Interestingly it came back the night before last, monday night and on monday I was told by a teacher helper that she had pulled the class 'bully' off him as they were playing a very aggressive 'game'. She was worried enough to tell me as they dont ever and never have played together and she thought it was odd. He seems in high spirits though, so not sure. WHO SAID PARENTING WAS FUN!!?!?! Boys don't talk - so hard! If anyone could shed any light I would be hugely grateful. Thanks.