Our First Hospital Stay

Poor Baby!

November has been a rough month for our family... especially the littlest member. Henry started off being sick with diarrhea on November 2, and luckily mom had some free days to take off to stay with him. That night he woke up at 2AM puking and Tyler and I rushed into his room to clean him up. I know I am in nursing, but something about your own child being sick is just terrible. I would much rather it be me that's sick.

I kept thinking he was getting better because he acted fine the next couple of days, and he was eating okay, and he had a lot of energy. Friday morning he was acting not quite right so I figured I should just keep him home with me just in case. I always feel like an idiot for calling the doctor all the time especially when I know they cannot do much for flu symptoms, but I just wanted to speak with them to get some advice before the weekend came. The receptionist said she would speak with the nurse or doctor and call me back. Less than an hour later I ended up calling them back to schedule an appointment because Henry puked all over me and himself at a gas station.... It was so gross and all he wanted to do was have me hold him and I'm thinking, 'What am I suppose to do? How are we going to get home in these clothes?!' Luckily, a lady at the gas station gave us a bag to put his clothes in and my coat, and we headed home for a bath.

A couple of hours later, we headed to the doctor's office. They took one look at him and she said, "I could send you home and have you push fluids on him, but I think I would be more comfortable with putting him in the hospital to check his labs and give him some fluids." I packed him up in the car and headed to the hospital and he was whining the whole time I filled out the admission paperwork. We got in our room on the hospital floor and I was almost in tears from the whole process already! What a day!

The staff did good with Henry. Luckily they didn't have to do too many needle sticks in order to get the labs they needed. The doctor came up to check him out, and she showed me his lab values. His bicarbonate was only 15 and it is suppose to be 20 and his sodium was low. His blood sugar was only 47! (Average is 100). She asked me if he had been acting confused at all. I told her that when we were home earlier, he saw me walk into the kitchen but then he started banging on the bathroom door because he thought I had left him! Guess he was starting to show some confusion..... so the doctor was like, "He's in worse shape than we thought. It's a good thing we admitted him". Jeesh, and to think I wasn't even wanting to take him to the doctor.

I was nervous for the IV start, but it actually went well. He just layed there and watched them do it. He gave a little whimper, but nothing horrible. I thought once they got those fluids in his he would be back to his normal self, but he didn't perk up until the morning which scared me. It was a long night, but I was glad that they had done something to improve the illness. We were definitely ready to go home!

Of course, he had plenty of visitors in his 24 hour stay including Grammy and Grandpa Kevin, Aunt Ellie, Grandma Tracy, and Aunt Courtney. He got some new books and toys, but he wasn't excited about them until the morning after our admission to the hospital. Tyler took some pictures of him to show that he had ALL of these toys and books in bed with him! And he looks a lot happier and healthier in this picture.

I wish I could say we went home and everything was great, but the next week was also full of sickness. The diarrhea and vomitting were still occuring pretty frequently, and the babysitter called me a few times that week to have me come pick him up because he was sick. I called the doctor again the following Thursday and I was like, "HE IS NOT BETTER! I DON'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO!" When I took him to the doctor Thursday, they weighed him and he had lost 3 POUNDS from Saturday! He's a little guy anyway, but that amount of weight loss is very significant in a child with the flu. They put us on a strict diet for him, absolutely no milk products, everything bland allowed such as toast, crackers, etc. 2 days later his weight was up by oz. This last week he has been acting like we have starved him though.... so I think he is finally feeling better. Throughout these three weeks, Tyler, my mother, myself, the doctor, Ellie's friend, and other kids at the daycare have been battling flu symptoms. It must've been one NASTY BUG!

Now, he just has a runny nose, a cough, and he's been grabbing his ears. Grrrr. If it's not the flu, it's respiratory problems and ear infections. When I was answering admission questions at the hospital for Henry, I realized that he has a far more extensive medical history than Tyler and I combined. As a parent, you feel as though you are doing something wrong, but it seems like almost every parent I talk to has experienced similar problems with their young children. Are germs just getting worse or are we prescribing so many medications at young ages that the kids have no immune systems built up?? I'm not sure, but I hope November isn't a foreshadowing of what is to come in the following winter months....