It all started Tuesday night with a cough. I (Sarah) ended up staying up almost all night because I was a little freaked out by all the noises he was making. Coughing, gagging, snorting all made me jump out of bed over and over again just to make sure he was still breathing. Then, early Wednesday he started skipping feedings or only eating about an ounce every few hours. That's when I knew he was getting sick. My little chunky monkey doesn't miss any meals (he really tries to cram in as many as possible!). So I started really keeping an eye on him and checking his temperature every couple of hours. Around 7:30 Wednesday evening his temperature spiked to 100.6 and we called the pediatrician on call. She told us to pack our bags and head over to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital to spend a few days.
The first night in the Emergency Department was pretty rough. Harvey woke up and decided he was ravenous and was finally ready to eat, just in time for the nurses to start running all their tests. He was poked and prodded, it took 4 tries to get an IV going, they did a spinal tap, and hooked him up to some monitors. When it was all over, all three of us were completely drained. The doctor explained we would have to wait 48 hours for the cultures to see if they would grow anything indicating bacteria. In the mean time Harvey would have antibiotics given around the clock just to be safe. And so began the waiting game.
The first night we had to stay in an observation room in the Emergency department because the hospital was so full. So the first night John and I shared a little cot, sleeping head to toe so we could have as much room as possible. Needless to say, that was not the best night's sleep ever. I actually stayed awake most of the night watching Harvey's pulse and breathing patterns on his monitor. Yeah, that's why we have nurses. But I just needed to be sure he was alright (enter freakishly over protective mom here).
Thursday we moved up to overflow in the Pediatric Critical Care Unit. Much bigger room, separate beds for John and I, but still no private bathroom. And still no new news about Harvey. Friday we moved again to another room, this time with a private bathroom. Oh yeah, that was the highlight of the whole trip for me. I was SO glad to take a shower! Finally late Friday night they told us all of his tests came back normal and we would be able to go home Saturday morning after one of the pediatricians came by.
So it all turned out well! We spent 3 days in the hospital for a cold, but we were just glad to rule out anything potentially serious. And Harvey was wonderful in the hospital. Seriously, he almost slept through the night Thursday night. Now that we are home, he pretty much cries all the stinkin' time. So perhaps he would like to go back.................
One funny story. Friday night Harvey had some pretty terrible gas and he needed to be held and was so fussy from 10:00 until 2am. One of the nurses came in to do his vitals around 2 and we were discussing his gas. I told her the only thing I thought would cure him at that point was to put him in his bed and wheel him out in the hallway and shut the door. I thought it was pretty funny myself---the nurse did not.
Ok longest post ever. Here are some recent photos of big guy. He's growing up so fast!!
At daddy's office
I love his sleep positions! Swaddle this!
