Hospital Stay

Well, on Wednesday J took a turn for the worst. Fever, crying, and he stopped eating and drinking. Also, the nurse got his results from his bloodwork on Monday and his iron levels were really low. So he was admitted to the hospital for dehydration and stomatitis, on his mommy's 28th birthday :( His gums were really red and swollen, and very sensitive so he didn't want anything to touch his mouth. It was so sad to watch him in so much pain, but I felt relieved that he was getting fluids through the IV.

It is a chore, having an active toddler in the hospital for days with an IV! Once J got the fluids in him, the next day he was ready to get down and run and play. But I couldn't let him b/c he would get tangled in the IV. He would protest for a while, but it was always easy to get him to just lie in the bed with me and cuddle all day. That's how I knew he was still not 100% b/c normally J would freak out at the thought of lying still for days!! His blood work and body temp went back to normal pretty quickly but the Dr wanted to keep him in the hospital until he was able to eat and drink again. By Thursday night, he still hadn't eaten or drank anything and I was very discouraged. We prayed and prayed and Friday morning, J woke up and asked for juice. I hoped out of bed so fast before he changed his mind! He drank 4 oz without taking a breath! I was so very happy for him! He continued to drink through the day and I made sure the nurse knew this. He was discharged this evening, but not before we both were traumatized by the nurse who decided that he needed a new IV this morning. First, she wanted to try and start on in his foot so that his arms could get a break. Well she thought she found a good vein in his foot and went to insert the HUGE ADULT SIZED NEEDLE into my baby's foot. She missed, but continued to dig in his foot looking for the vein. My baby was SCREAMING. Crying like he'd never cried before. Gasping and screaming MOM MOM MOM MOM :( I told her to just take that out and put the IV in his other arm. So she tried the other arm and the same damn thing happens, she misses his vein and digs and digs, all while my baby is screaming his little head off. I was pissed off b/c he was finally feeling better and now she is putting him through more pain. He was trying to climb off the table to get to me. I started to get dizzy for some reason and I told her "Please just stop. Let's wait until the Dr gets here b/c he may not even need an IV anymore." Then I immediately had to sit on the bed and they had to hand J to me b/c I almost passed out. I think I had an anxiety attack from seeing him in so much pain. After that ordeal, I hugged him until he fell asleep and he slept for 3 solid hours. As soon as he woke up he asked for more juice! I knew then that I did the right thing by asking her to stop digging in my baby's arm b/c he didn't need another IV.

To all the mom's reading my blog, trust you motherly instincts. If a Dr tells you one thing but you feel that there is more wrong with your child, go with your gut. J started getting ill on Friday and we took him to the ER in Memphis with a 104 fever. He was basically given motrin and ignored b/c he wasn't "sick enough". Well had I listened to the nurses there who said just give motrin/tylenol and he'll get better, my baby would still be in pain and probably worse off. Maybe if they would have looked in his mouth on Friday night, he would have been treated sooner and possibly could have skipped all of the pain he went through. It's sad that many Drs and nurses don't put their heart into their jobs. Mommies, don't ever feel that you are over reacting. If you think something is wrong, call the Dr until you feel comfortable and your child gets the treatment he needs!!

Poor J-Man :(

He's really sick, but getting a little better...

Friday morning he woke up crying, which is NOT like him at all. He usually wakes up singing, playing, or saying Mom Mom constantly. So when I heard him wake up whining I knew something was wrong. He felt a little warm, so I gave him some Motrin. We had to leave at nonn on Friday to drive to Memphis for a photography seminar I was attending. We got on the road and J slept like a log. When we got to the hotel (we stayed at the Memphis Hilton and it's awesome!) he was just fine, looking out of our hotel room window at the ducks in the pond, saying WOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWW and "kack kack" (Quack quack). I grabbed my things and left Daddy and J for the night. We had a little break in the seminar so I ran to the room to see what they were up to and Daddy had J tucked in bed and he looked very concerned. He said J had been trembling and his skin was burning up :( I took his temp and it was 103. Daddy ran to walgreens and got some Motrin and told me to go back to the seminar. The seminar was done at 11 and I got back to the room and J's temp went up higher, even after the Motirn. It was then at 105. So off to the ER we went. We got there and the triage nurse gave J some motrin and told us to undress him. Then they called us to the back and put us in an exam room, where we waited for a Dr...and waited....and waited...and waited for over an hour. Not one single person came in the room to check on him. I was so angry!! I asked a nurse walking past the room to bring us a form to sign to leave without being seen. She gladly bought the form (one less patient they had to see huh?) and I signed it, while she said that she believes he was feeling better. I had to tone her out b/c I was gfoing to tell her some nasty things b/c my child was NOT properly treated. He was IGNORED! We went back to the hotel and got a few hours of sleep before getting on the road. We stopped for lunch, but J wouldn't touch it. We figured it's his teeth coming in b/c he's cutting 2 molars at once. I gave him some more Motrin and we got on the road. Once we got home J cried NON STOP and grabbed his mouth until bedtime. He even whined in his sleep. Sunday was the same and he was still refusing any food. I was giving him motrin/tylenol around the clock, teething tablets, and anbesol, but nothing helped him. He was miserable and so was I. Monday morning he woke up crying again and had a 102 fever, so we went to the Dr. He fell asleep in the exam room and I peeked in his mouth and saw white blisters all over! It was my first time noticing them b/c he wouldn't let anything touch his mouth! So then I knew why he had been so miserable. The Dr prescribed him 3 different meds for the blisters and a maalox/lidocaine mixture to numb the pain. His gums are VERY swollen and red. The teeth that have been in his mouth for months now look like they are just peeking through the gums, just to give you an idea of how swollen they are. It's so hard to watch him in pain like this. He is so hungry but can't chew, and doesn't understand that. He wants nuggets but he can't chew them. Today he was asking for his fruit snacks. I gave him one and it hurt his mouth so badly! He threw it down and then tried to pick it up again and eat it b/c he really wants it. That is so hard to watch!! I just want to take all of his pain away. Please keep him in your prayers.

Well we did make something out of the 2 hours wasted in the hospital ER...When time is being wasted, what's a photographer mom to do?? Take pictures of course!!






And a little video of my boy being silly even with a fever of 104. He thought I was taking his picture at first so he say "Cheese!" He was eating pretend food b/c he's so hungry :(

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

J loves to sing and perform the Itsy Bitsy Spider. So much that we sing it SEVERAL times a day. It also stops many tantrums as soon as they start. I loved the Itsy Bitsy Spider....until it bit my baby!!

Monday morning, J slept in until 10:30am. I actually had to go into his room and wake him up. I didn't notice anything different on my handsome boy's face. I undressed him and put him in the tub for his bath. When I took him out, my friend knocked on the door, so I carried him, wrapped in a towel, to let her in. Then I took him to his room to get him dressed. Once I dressed him I put him down on his floor and I went into the living room with my friend. He was in his room for about 3 minutes. I heard no crying, so fall, nothing...He came out of his room and gave me a hug and I noticed a HUGE red bump on his head. I immediately thought that he fell the day before at my aunt's house and that I had just noticed the knot. But then it kept growing and getting more and more red, so then I knew that it had to have just happened. So as a joke, I put his helmet on his head, thinking maybe he bumped it in his room. So later that day, I had a photo shoot and Daddy stayed home with J. He called me on my cell and said that he thought J should go to the ER b/c the bump was getting bigger and more red. I hurried home after the shoot and as soon as I walked in the door J started vomitting. We dropped everything and headed to the ER. The bump surely had gotten bigger within the two hours that I was at my shoot. While sitting in the ER, I noticed two little knicks on top of the bump (which was as wide as 3 inches and an inch high at this point. By then I knew it was a spider bite. The ER Dr asked me if he'd been outside that day b/c she said it could just be a mosquito bite b/c spiders won't bite unless provoked. I said that if a baby felt someothing crawl on his head, I'm sure he grabbed at it and provoked it. She made sure it wasn't infected and told us to give him benedryl and to keep an eye on the bump to see if it continues to swell. It went down overnight after some benedryl and this morning, I found the culprit. It was a medium sized spider and it was black, but I'm sure it was harmless b/c J is fine. Here are few pictures of the bite taken last night. This was the best angle I could get b/c he would not let anyone touch his head. The bump was 5 times bigger on Monday, so it was pretty big!

18 Months old

Well, we are back from Florida and I'm still playing catch up, so I will share the details and pictures with you soon!

Today J turned 18 months old! Our baby boy is a year and a half! This morning we surprised him with a new motorized spiderman quad. Here is the video of his initial reaction. Do you think he likes his new ride?