My mom snuggled with Sarah while Dad and Robert did some yard work. They tore down the old vegetable garden and moved some pavers and concrete blocks. They moved the pavers that were randomly in the back yard by the deck up to the front yard to go under the bench swing.
Dad and Robert ran to Lowe's to buy some lawn equipment, and when they returned Mom and I headed out to shop while the boys hung with Sarah. We wanted to find an Easter dress for me and some white shoes for Sarah's baby dedication. We went to the Uptown Boutique, and in the future I want to go back for some casual stuff, but there just wasn't anything that was Easter dress material. We planned to go to Target to get some shoes for Sarah, but then we both realized we'd missed calls and texts from Dad telling us to call him ASAP. I was scared! I called and he said Sarah was shaky and we needed to come home. We swung by Sonic to grab everybody dinner, and we also went to Walgreens to pick up some Pedialyte. By the time we got home Sarah had thrown up again after they had tried to give her Tylenol. Dad was snuggling her while we ate. When Sarah woke up she perked up a bit and enjoyed playing with the four of us. Mom and Dad left right before bed time, and we tucked Sarah in after a small 4oz bottle. We expected her to wake up in the night since she hadn't had her normal 8oz. She did wake up around 3am, and we fed her 4oz. She slept til the morning and had a small puke stain in her crib when she woke up. She still had a low fever of about 100 or 101. Side note - we became expert rectal temperature takers during this sickness, a skill I never knew I'd need.
On Friday we hung around the house and cleaned up in preparation for Ray and Terri (aka Papa and Babi) to show up. I called the pediatrician to tell them what had happened on Friday, and they said to just keep giving her Pedialyte and Tylenol. The nurse said that as long as the fever was controlled by the Tylenol that things should be okay. They got here in time for lunch, and they could tell Sarah just wasn't feeling like her normal smiley self. She wasn't very interactive and didn't enjoy eating. I tucked her in for her afternoon nap, and she woke up with a temp of 103.4. I now realized that the fever wasn't being controlled by the Tylenol. I called the pediatrician again, and since it was a Friday at 4:00 and they were closing for the weekend in an hour and Sarah's doctor wasn't even there that day they suggested going to pediatric urgent care. I immediately got numb and tingly. I walked in to the living room and told Robert we needed to pack up and head to UC. I was terrified, but Ray and Terri agreed that it was the right decision. Terri is a nurse, and I fully believe that God made sure she was here for all of this. She was a blessing and very helpful during this as an experienced nurse and loving Babi to Sarah.
We got to UC care, and her temp was up to 104 by the time they triaged her. The nurse gave her Ibuprofen (her first time ever to receive it), and she wasn't a fan of the orange taste. We went back to the waiting room, and when we were called back we got the sweetest doctor named Dr. Raj. He gave Sarah a physical exam (ears, tongue depressor down throat, stethoscope, etc.). He didn't see anything wrong, so he said he wanted to test for a UTI. He said that when there are no other symptoms but a high fever and vomiting there is an 8% chance of UTI in infants. Have you ever wondered how non-potty trained babies provide a urine sample? Through a CATHETER! I had the displeasure of receiving a catheter after Sarah was born, so I knew this wouldn't be a great experience for her. They cleaned the area three times, inserted the cath, and 30 seconds later it was over. It actually wasn't that bad. Next came the blood draw. It was awful. Imagine any horrific adjective and that's what this was. Two female nurses came in and tied a tourniquet around her left bicep. It was so tight and her arm turned purple. The couldn't find a good vein. Switched to right bicep. Nothing. Back to left bicep. Two pricks and lots of digging but no blood. Squeezed around wrists and ankles. Nothing. I asked them to stop and give her a break. She had been crying, and we were trying to reassure her, but after that long you just rung out of comforting things to say. She stopped crying and just looked up with the saddest eyes which was even more pitiful than the crying. They brought in two phlebotomists from the hospital lab to try again. It took some time, but they got it with just one stick. They were very nice, and complimented Sarah on her ravishingly beautiful good looks and blue eyes. When they finished we fed Sarah and snuggled.
Dr. Raj informed us that she had a UTI and gave her an antibiotic shot in her left thigh. We had to stick around for 20 minutes to make sure she didn't have an allergic reaction, and she took a bit of a nap. She didn't have a reaction, and the CBC blood work showed elevated white blood cell counts which is normal during sickness. They sent us home and told us to return the next day for a follow up.
Sarah was more interactive when we returned home. I think having the fever more under control helped a lot. She didn't have the best night's sleep ever, but that's totally allowed after you've been through the wringer like that! Robert got up with her once just to snuggle and re-tuck. I got up with her and gave her an outfit and diaper change as well as a bottle. Robert remarked, "Sarah, Mommy and Daddy aren't used to waking up at 3am so this is really hard for us." God, thank you that we aren't used to waking up at 3am! I know that isn't the norm for all new parents.
She woke up without a fever on Saturday morning and we got ready to go to UC for the follow up. I called beforehand just to make sure it wasn't packed and the receptionist said, "We're a walk-in clinic so I can't guarantee that 16 people won't walk in the door in the next minute." Okay, duh, but could you just tell me if it's packed right now? We got there and there was one other family waiting. Another family came in with a girl about 5 years old and a boy about 2 years old. The little girl came up and touched Sarah, and Robert pulled her away. The girl's mom said, "Don't touch that baby! She's sick!" I don't know why, but this was funny and insulting to me. While I was sitting there thinking that girl was gross and sick, the other mom was sitting there thinking the same about us. We got called back, and Sarah didn't have a fever still. Yay! They gave her another antibiotic shot which I wasn't expecting as well as a prescription for an antibiotic and told us to pick up a probiotic. We got both at the hospital pharmacy and headed home. What do you know, Sarah wasn't a fan of the antibiotic. We've figured out the most successful method which is to let her suck on the bottle a bit, give her half of the syringe, bottle, syringe, bottle. It's a two person job. The probiotic was supposedly tasteless and to be mixed into food. It was bitter and gross, and Sarah wasn't having it. The antibiotic made every single diaper have the most disgusting poop ever. Yay. My friend Emily suggested Florajen4Kids as an antibiotic that her baby likes. Terri and Ray looked for it, but every CVS and Walgreens in town was sold out. Walgreens overnighted some to be picked up the next day. Sarah doesn't mind it one bit. I'd recommend it to anyone with kids of any age needing a probiotic.
Anyway, Sarah did quite a bit better on Saturday and didn't have a fever or throw up. One of the biggest bummers of this whole things was that Sarah was supposed to be dedicated at church this weekend. That's why Ray and Terri were in town. Saturday was supposed to be a family brunch, and then Sarah would be dedicated at the service on Sunday. We made the sad but obvious decision to not attend Saturday, but since Sarah was doing so much better we went to the dedication on Sunday. Thankfully almost everyone was able to come to the dedication on Sunday even though they had planned to come Saturday instead. Ray and Mark, Gary and June, Mom and Dad, Jim and Taylor, and Ray and Terri were able to come. Memaw and Pepaw couldn't come due to commitments at church, but we're planning to do a little something special with them on Easter. I skipped Sunday school and only took Sarah up for the dedication and then left the service immediately. She had a good nap, and then everyone else joined us at the house for lunch and celebrating.
The UC called that afternoon with the results of the blood culture and urine culture. The blood culture showed no growth which was good, but the urine culture showed that the UTI had been caused by E. Coli. I was terrified, but after doing some research I learned that everyone has E. Coli in their poop. It's just that when it comes out and goes back up into the urethra it causes an infection, and then UTI's in children cause high fevers and vomiting.
Once everyone left Sarah took a nap and Robert headed back up to church for his evening activities. Sarah woke up and played with Ray and Terri, and then they left to see Robert. About 2 minutes after they left I discovered Sarah had a fever again, gave her Tylenol, and she had the biggest throw up ever. Green beans + formula. You can imagine it. I text Terri and asked for Ibuprofen. She picked some up and came to spend the evening with us while Ray and Robert were at church. Sarah officially like Ibuprofen better than Tylenol. Good to know.
Ray and Terri left early early early on Monday morning. I called the pediatrician at 8:30 to request a follow up, and they got Sarah in at 9:00. So thankful for that! Dr. Toth reassured me that we hadn't done anything wrong. It wasn't caused by pooping in the bath tub or using cloth diapers. It's just something that happens when you are a little girl and wear diapers. However, she was still concerned and wanted to do a renal ultrasound to rule out VUR or any concern with the kidneys. This was the moment where I lost it and started crying. I didn't have Robert there as my support system. Sarah had already been through so much with the catheter and blood work. It was a weak moment. I'm glad that Dr. Toth has a baby just a month older than Sarah so that makes her more empathetic. We got an ultrasound scheduled for 8:45 the next day at the diagnostic center.
Yesterday morning Mom came over after taking the day off, and the three of us took Sarah to her US. Let me just tell you, this was the least traumatic test of the whole process! She didn't cry once, and she just enjoyed looking at the US screen and playing with her duck. I know this was an answer to prayer because no 7 month old should be that calm when a stranger is manipulating your body, your parents are holding you still, and you're having cold gel rubbed around on your stomach. It took about 5 minutes, and then we headed home. Robert went to work, and Mom watched Sarah while I got a hair cut. I couldn't handle Sarah ripping out my hair any long. I haven't gotten a regular place in town yet, so I just went to Supercuts. I was a bit alarmed when I lady with blue hair called me back, but I was pleased with the results and we enjoyed talking about motherhood as she has a 9 month old son.
Because we didn't have enough going on (HA!) this seemed like a perfect time to start using Sarah's big girl car seat from Uncle Jim and Aunt Taylor. Do you think she likes it?
When I got home we enjoyed lunch together and played some, and then Mom came with me to watch Sarah while I had a contact lens fitting. Mom left from there, and Sarah and I went to have a Sonic drink with Robert. Then Sarah and I went for a stroller ride with Madison and hung out with her at church for a bit.
Sarah will take the antibiotics for three more days, but she's been fever and throw up free since Sunday. All of this was scary, and it was so sad to see Sarah in such discomfort, but we're thankful for God's healing and for modern medicine so she can make a full recovery. It's made me even more empathetic for parents who have children with chronic illnesses and even more thankful that we have a strong baby who is usually healthy and happy.
No comments:
Post a Comment