Four B's and Our G: H is for Hospital

Terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. The End.

This past Monday, Addison went in for her 6 month check-up. Shots included. Small fever followed. As any parent who has been to a check-up with shots knows- fevers past 48 hours after receiving shots is no bueno. She was slightly fussy- shots don't really seem to agree with her.

Wednesday evening we invited new neighbor friends over for wine. We ended up chatting until fairly late and decided we'd do dinner at our house with another neighbor couple on Monday. Yay for finally having friends!! Addie still seemed abnormally warm and irritable. Mental note #1.

Thursday evening I met a co-worker out for Happy Hour. Mike was supposed to meet up with me, but was preparing for work (making lunches and dinners, packing). It took us forever to get our check...like 45 min. But we were busy chatting it up...I get a call from Michael saying Addison has a pretty high fever and he's worried. This was probably 8 pm. I got home, checked her temp. I don't remember the exact number but I'm leaning towards something around 101.7. We gave her tylenol and called the doc on call.

The doc told us this was no longer from her shots. To give her Advil instead and see how she was in the morning. Of course, that was a restless night of sleep for the adults. Addison seemed normal. She went to Auntie Kim's house for the day, Dad went to work, as did I. I stopped by to see her on my break at 1:30 and she was fast asleep. She was going on two and a half hours...not too much like her. But I also know that babies move to a two-nap-a-day schedule at some point in time. I also know that those two naps are usually long. Didn't think too much of it.

When I got off on Friday, Kim was out taking Ryane to soccer and running an errand before she had to be back to pick her up. Addison slept in her car seat- no biggie. I went home, let G out, changed and was able to unwind without feeling guilty :) I got to her house around 6:30. Addie was hanging out with the kids...the house was warm b/c Kim was cooking. I had given Kim a heads up about a fever and to keep an eye out. She said, she started to get a little warm around 3 and she tired to give her Advil, but most spilled out. I took her temp...104. My heart sank. I went into panic mode. The on call doc told us 105 was ER. So, I called the on call doc again.

She was rude. Something I wouldn't expect from this person...I'm a first time mom. My baby is sick. I know this now. She told me that she remembered me...she talked to my husband last night, that we need to call during office hours (b/c every kid gets sick between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm Mon-Fri, right?), give her Advil every 6 hours and call to make an appt in the morning. Mike said ER...go. Of course, this happens when he is far, far away.

104 was the highest her fever ever got...thank you Lord. She was 100% not herself Saturday morning. I called and made an appt with MY doctor- quadruple thumbs up for her being on call that day!! I love my doctor...maybe I was sensitive when I called the doc on call the night before. But she was uncalled for, I believe.

This is your job. I take care of 20 four year olds Monday through Friday and I put on my happy face with them and their parents all the way up until their pick up at 5:30 pm :) Thank you very much. If my doc wasn't ridiculous at what she does...keep reading...then I would have left the office that very day

{Sunday morning at home}

Anyways...doc was running behind. FYI- this never happens at my doctor. We have only 'waited' once...for 10-15 minutes b/c we were 5 min late to begin with. Serves us right...lol. Double cool was that our fav nurse was working the front desk and our equally fav nurse who just got off maternity leave brought us back to our room. I feel 95% better with my surroundings...on a Saturday.

Doc checks Ads....she can't seen anything that stands out. She gets what looks to me like an ear pic and digs out some wax. Maybe an ear infection? Nope. She asked me several times if Addie was coughing and I said an affirmative no....several times. She looks at me very honestly and says, "Well- I'm not sure what is causing this high fever." We wait what for feels like forever...and she says. I have two possibilities and both are extremely rare. My heart sank previously...and now it has hit the floor. My mind...well, it went there. Something terminal...my baby is truly sick.

She says, "Roseola or a urine infection. If it's roseola, she will break out in a rash after 72 hours of a high fever. So we have to wait until tomorrow...and of course, it's a Sunday. Pause. Does her pee smell? Have you noticed anything weird about her urine?" Sure enough a light bulb went off in my very distracted head. Yes....her pee smells. But it always has. I just thought she was 'special' with stinky pee. But Kim had mentioned that her pee was abnormally yellow on Friday. Thank you Kim for remembering that detail. So, they needed a urine sample. How do you get that out of a child that can't pee in a cup? A catheter or a bag. Of course, we went for the less evasive procedure. She did NOT like her parts having a sticker. Poor baby. She screamed. And screamed. And FREAKED OUT.

She peed...I smelled it. She grunted (like usual). And it all came out in her diaper when I laid her down to change her. I felt like I failed. I almost started bawling. I cannot hold her down for a cath. As a matter of fact, I REFUSE.

Turns out, she had enough pee for a white blood cell count. Whew! It came out positive. White blood cells mean that there's an infection. Even I knew that when she told me. An infection in the urine usually means kidneys. And when your child is 6 months old that usually means a hospital visit. My eyes were like a deer in headlights. I freaked. She told me slowly, so I could process.

"I have to admit Addison to the hospital."

{Mother's worst nightmare...being admitted}

We walked...with our nurse who just got back from maternity leave. Turns out our doctor admitted FOUR kids to the hospital that day. They saw some really sick kids on this particular Saturday. And another child after us also had a kidney infection...a little boy...3 yrs old. They even questioned whether it was contagious b/c...like I said before...it's rare. lol!

She got cathed (spelling?), an IV, and blood drawn within the first 45 minutes. Then the world's best nurse came in and explained what's going, what's expected, and our plan. I was a wreck. I cried for the first 30 minutes straight. I just held Addie. I knew she didn't feel well b/c the girl doesn't like to be held that much anymore- ever. She fell asleep in my arms, which hasn't happened in over a month. Thank God for family. I would have never made it without them. As I mentioned before, Mike was out of town.

When I called him to tell him she was admitted, he told me to calm down (got it), then I told him to come home. And he said, "really?" *eh hem* clearing my throat from the huge frog/tears that were welling up in my eyes...Yes, come home now.