Rose's Mysterious Twitch

Rose has been doing a couple of odd things for about a month, but I didn't think anything of it until they happened in combination.  She has been rolling her eyes, which looks really creepy but which we thought was just to get a new viewpoint.  She also has been squeezing her eyes very tightly.  The other day she was dancing, but then all of a sudden she stopped, squeezed her eyes tight, grabbed her face, and then rolled her eyes and fell to the right.  

       Rose squeezing her eyes tight 

On a separate occasion, she squeezed her eyes tight, and her shoulder twitched up and down.

I should mention here, Rose is a very smart kid, and all of her developmental milestones are on target or ahead of schedule.  She is incredibly active, and has a great sense of humor for a 17 month old.  

Rose enjoying the Museum of Science

I wasn't incredibly worried, but she had my attention, enough so that I called the doctor.  We should have a neurology appointment within two weeks.  My problem is that now every cute thing she does has me wondering if it's "something" instead of enjoying the way a toddler explores the world.  Her enjoyment of spinning in circles suddenly makes me wonder if it's a toddler learning how to be dizzy or something I should tell her to stop doing.  The growling noises she has made off and on for the last two days have become less funny and a little worrisome.  And sometimes she just stops what she's doing and lays on the floor.

Rose lays down.  Changing her perspective, or feeling unwell? We may never know.

The doctor was very reassuring, telling us she just wants to rule out anything that might be of concern, but that it's probably, if anything, something very benign, like a tic disorder.  

I have had to monitor myself in the past two days, my worry making me want to teach her not to spin, or growl, or give 1001 kisses.  I stop myself in the last instant, telling myself to enjoy the little moments, and worry only when it's confirmed there's something to worry about.  

Have any of your kids experienced this? And was it just a "toddler being a toddler", or was there an underlying cause?  I'm a firm believer in moms sharing scary experiences, because sometimes that's the only way that we catch things early, and get our little ones on the road to wellness a little faster.  And maybe there is no road--maybe it's something she'll just out-grow...but it's nice to know I'm not alone, and neither are you.