10.10.2008

The True Test of Parenthood...



What a week. I want to call it the week from hell, but that doesn't even come close to describing how bad it was. On Sunday evening Blythe had been asleep for about three hours when she woke up crying. I went into her room to give her her binky and the poor thing had thrown up all over her crib. I was in her hair, all over her face, and her sheets and everything was covered in it. And it just got worse from there. She threw up all day Monday and stopped drinking anything which made me so nervous! On Tuesday morning I took her into the doctor, our regular pediatrcian wasn't in the office, and had her checked out. He said that she was dehydrated and since I couldn't get her to take any fluids, I needed to take her to Primary Children's to get her checked out. He said that dehydration is so dangerous for babies and it happens very quickly, and if left untreated can lead to death. 
We got to Primary's ER around 11am and got checked in. Luckily it wasn't busy at all so we were seen almost right away. Poor Blythe was so miserable, she wasn't feeling good, and seemed to be getting worse by the minute, and she was so scared. All she wanted was to cuddle up to me, and whenever someone would come in the room she would start to bawl. They decided to start an IV and do some blood work. And the poor baby has her mommy's veins so they had to poke her four times to get one in. She just screamed and screamed and literally got to the point where she was too tired to cry so she just moaned. After they got the IV in, thanks to the 'IV team', they sent the labs in and we waited while Blythe got a little power nap in. The labs came back showing that Blythe was severely dehydrated and needed to be admitted. So they moved her into a room and got her all set up. Jameson had to go to work so I was left to care for our little one. They had a crib for her to sleep in but it was like a little 'baby jail', and she just wanted to be held. 
So they ran IV fluids and meds and she wasn't quite perking up as quickly as they would have liked, and she kept waking up for a minute at a time screaming and pulling her legs up to her chest like she was in pain. So then the doctor became concerned that she might have a condition that infants sometimes get where their intestines fold in on themselves and cause flu like symptoms. So off to ultrasound we went and came out with a negative result, which was positive for us cause she didn't have that condition. Around eight Jameson came back from
 work and Blythe started to perk up and wanted to play. Luckily the hospital had a great closet full of toys and books and she got to play a little bit. Jameson sent me home around ten because I wasn't feeling to well and I needed to get some sleep. 
Around three am I woke up with the full fledged stomach flu. It was awful! There has never been a time where I can remember being as sick as I was. I was so sad because I couldn't go back to the hospital in the morning and be with Blythe. But thank heaven for my amazing hubby! Blythe was released the next morning, and Jameson got all of her instructions, and just took amazing care of both she and I. 
So here we are, recovering now after our true test of parenthood. It's so hard to watch your child suffer when there is nothing you can do, and you can't explain to them why it hurts, or that you are trying to make them feel better. Thank you to everyone who came to see us, or has checked up on us!! We love you all and hope you enjoy the wet weather to come!! 

3 comments:

April said...

Melissa,
That is just terrible. I read your post aloud to Sam and we both feel so bad for your little baby (and for you). It is so hard that they don't understand that you are trying to make them feel better. It's horrible when they just scream and scream and scream.

No wetness here. We miss the seasons of Utah. Hope you all feel better soon.

Lesley said...

I TOTALLY understand how it feels to feel helpless. I felt the exact same way when I had Bailey and she ended up in the NICU for 5 days. It's rough. I am glad you made it through though. I wish I could have done something for you! (Like Chicken Noodle soup!)
~Les

Heather said...

Oh....so sad! I feel your pain, there is nothing worse than having your baby sick, hopefully you can all get some rest and start feeling better soon! Take care!