Well, this weekend certainly hasn’t worked out like I had originally planned. I was in bed on Friday night; my daughter was peacefully sleeping beside me (as a special treat, she gets to sleep with me on the weekends she is with me). I was writing the blog post Sick Baby and reflecting on the day. Poor baby was sent home from school; the doctor could not find anything wrong with him in the afternoon, except for an increasingly accelerating temperature. The doctor said he had some kind of virus and sent us home. By 5:30 that afternoon, my baby had 104 degree fever, and was so lethargic. He hadn’t eaten and was not drinking much. I continued with the Tylenol and put him to bed at 7:30.
At 10:30, as I was writing, he woke up screaming and crying. I went to his room and picked him up out of his crib; his skin was hot and he was shivering/trembling. I thought he was cold due to the fever. We sat in his rocking chair and I held him tightly. He stopped shivering. Then, his left arm began to tremble. Then, his entire body went stiff and began to tremble. It was dark in his room so I could not see him very well. I thought he had just had a seizure; I had no idea what to do.
I called my sister-in-law to see if she thought it could possibly have been a seizure. She told me to call the doctor. The baby was laying in my arms, completely limp; his eyes were glassy and his face had a look of illness on it. I spent a few minutes researching online for febrile seizures to see if that is what he had, and what I should do. I didn’t know if he needed first aid, if I should call 911, rush him to the hospital, call the doctor, or what to do.
After researching, I determined that he was not in immediate danger, and I called the doctor’s after hours number. I was connected to the nurse triage. After a number of questions, she also determined that he was not in immediate danger, but she was unable to diagnose or see his current health status. So, she recommended that I take him to the emergency room.
At this time, it was nearly 11:00. I called my ex-husband; no answer. I texted my ex-husband; no answer. I woke up Big Girl and told her that we had to take Baby Boy to the doctor because he was sick. I got her dressed and ready to go. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do this all by myself, and really didn’t want to expose Big Girl to the ER if I didn’t have to. I wasn’t sure what they were going to do to the baby, how long we would be there. The nurse told me on the phone that they may have to test for meningitis which means a spinal tap. He had that done when he was a newborn, and it was horrific. There would be no way to shield my daughter from his screams if he had to go through another spinal tap – even if we left the room. At the last minute, I called my best friend, waking her up at 11;00 at night) to see if I could drop if Big Girl at her house (my best friend lives a mile from me, is pregnant and has two daughters of her own. Her husband was not at home, and her house is on the market). It was a huge favor. And of course, she said, bring her over. Big Girl was terrified; she was worried about her brother and a little disoriented at being woken up in the middle of the night. I dropped her off. My friend texted me a few minutes later; they had said prayers, and Big Girl was in bed with her daughters. Thank God for my sweet friend; one less thing to worry about.
So, I continued to attempt to reach my ex-husband throughout all of this; I texted him a couple of times, and called him about five times over the course of an hour. When I was almost at the hospital, he called me with an annoyed tone to find out what I needed. I told him what was going on, and he met us at the hospital. I was so mad at him; part of me was glad to have someone there to help with the baby. Baby Boy was so happy to see his daddy.
I finally got to the hospital about midnight; the waiting room was full after we sat down. After about an hour, we were called back. They gave the baby some Tylenol and we saw the PA who said that Baby Boy had most likely suffered from a febrile seizure. It was important to find out what was causing the fever so that it could be treated and reduce the risk of further complications. I asked her about a spinal tap, and she said it was unlikely; he had good color, and since the Tylenol had kicked in, had some energy too. She ordered a strep test and some blood work. Strep test – positive. Relief…. that was likely the cause of his fever – easy treatment and he should recover quickly and easily. They gave him a shot of antibiotics before we left and I am giving him fever reducers every few hours to keep the fever down. We were there for about 3 1/2 hours, and the hospital staff was so nice. They had a little wagon in the hallway so my ex-husband pulled him around the floor in that. One of the nurses gave him a popsicle and they talked to him and played with him.
I got home about 4:00 from the hospital, and put the baby to bed. I took a shower and went to bed at 4:30, completely physically and mentally exhausted. At 5:00, the baby awoke screaming. Ex husband was sleeping in the same room and let him scream for 5 minutes. I got up and went in the nursery. Ex husband was holding the baby and passed him off to me immediately. He got back in bed and went to sleep. I rocked the baby and put him back to bed. At 7:00, Baby Boy woke up again. My ex-husband brought him into me and I lay with him for a little bit. I also had to check on Big Girl and arrange to pick her up.
I left baby and ex-husband sleeping and got prescriptions filled, picked up Big Girl and brought her home. I left again, got my car inspected and oil changed. I picked up prescriptions and came home. When I got home, my ex-husband had cleaned the kitchen, wiped down all of the countertops and cabinets and done the dishes; I will admit, it was a huge help. I made lunch. immediately after lunch, my ex-husband announced that he needed to leave and that Big Girl needed a bag packed so she could go with him. I packed her bag; he went to the store for milk. He got home, and they left.
I was going on 2 hours of sleep with a very sick baby alone. Baby would not sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time. Finally, at 5:00, I put him in his crib; we were both exhausted. He slept (with a few bouts of short crying) for 2 1/2 hours. I was so happy for both of us to get a little rest/sleep. He slept well last night, but woke up with fever this morning. His energy is improving; he wants to play, but is getting tired so easily. He is taking his second nap, so we are getting back on schedule He is eating and drinking more.
Poor little guy is so sick of taking medicine! He hates the flavor of one of the fever reduceing medication! It is a struggle to even get the syringe in his mouth to dispense the medicine. I put a little medicine in and then give him the pacifier to get it down. It takes several rounds of that just to get the medicine down!!
I have been doing laundry, changing sheets, cleaning the kitchen and trying to sanitize as much as possible while he sleeps. I am so tired.
My ex-husband is bringing Big Girl back this afternoon, and he is going to stay here to watch Baby Boy tomorrow so I can work. Should be interesting. Some help is better than no help, and I would rather that Baby Boy be with one of us than anyone else. Keeping the kids’ best interest in mind…
It’s been a terribly stressful and exhausting weekend. I am so thankful for my friends and family who have been so supportive and open to my cries for help.
Welcome to my journey.
Sarah
Tags: baby, family, febrile seizure, fever, fever induced seizure, friends, help, kids, mixed emotions, overwhelmed, relief, seizure, sick, single mom, support, survival, thankful
Moms Day At A Time 