Warning: this is a long, detailed post!
Well, let me preface this post with some history. I ran a low grade temp Sunday and Monday with cold symptoms.
Last night while I was feeding Avery her 7:30pm bottle I noticed she felt warm. Now I've checked her temp often b/c she's hot natured and always seems to feel warm, but this was a different warm to me. So, I checked her temp and it wa 99.7 (rectally of course). No big deal, the nurse in me knew that was not considered a "fever" yet so we just finished eating. Avery had had some extra goopy eyes, extra boogers (sorry!) and hadn't been napping well yesterday but other than that she seemed fine.
Checked her temp again around 8:15pm and it was up to 100.3-still not considered a fever. We decided to go ahead and call the doc to see what we should do if it kept rising. Trying to avoid a late night call. We hadn't heard anything so I rechecked her temp at 8:45pm and it was 100.6-we made a 2nd call. Checked her temp again at 9:10pm and it was up to 101.0. Finally the on call nurse called back and we were sent to the Pediatric ER. Apparently they have a rule that is a baby is less than 8 weeks old with a temp over 100.4 they have to go in.
We checked her temp right before we left and it was up to 101.2--We got to the ER and it, of course, was packed! Having worked in the adult ER for 3 years I was not the least bit surprised. I was OK with waiting but the peds waiting room was tiny and crowded with lots of coughing and sick kids...that bothered me a bit b/c Avery is so young. But, having connections helps and we didn't have to wait but 30 minutes or so. In triage her temp was up to 102.4---my poor baby!
Because her fever had occured so suddenly and risen so quickly they had to do a full sepsis work-up. This included and IV with blood drawn, in and out cath for a urine sample, chest x-ray, and a lumbar puncture (spinal tap). My mom had gone with us and she left the room for the IV and cath but Louis and I stayed. Avery cried of course but she recovered very quickly and looked like such a big girl with her hospital gown and IV in! I took her to radiology for her chest x-ray and she didn't cry at all. Then, they took her for the LP. They take her to a different room without the parents for this b/c it is such a horrible looking procedure!
We waited for the results and everything came back pointing to a virus. YAY! They sent us home with instructions to give Tylenol for her fever. We'll follow up at the pediatrician's office Monday. A lot of my former co-workers came by to visit and meet Avery while we were in the ER so that was fun.
Avery is doing better today. The highest her temp has been was 100.9 when she woke up this morning. Still not napping the greatest but that's ok. She's such a good baby! Well, just wanted to let everyone know the detailed story of her first sickness and ER visit. It could have been worse so we are thankful for being home and for it just being a virus. I'm fairly certain she caught whatever I had.....
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Going back to work
Well, today I went back to work. So hard to believe that my little baby is old enough for me to now go back to work. I'm only working Tues-Fri from 2pm-5pm and my dad (Avery's Papa) is watching her. It is nice to get out of the house and keep my nursing skills up, but hard to leave her too.
Avery's doing great! She's growing so much and just gets more fun everyday. She's starting to enjoy hanging out on her playmat "talking" to her friends hanging down. She's not a big fan of tummy time, though....we're working on that! Her personality is really starting to show. She often welcomes me with smiles now when I get her up from her crib. It is so sweet!
Well, that's about all to report from the Garmendia household. We're all doing great!
Avery's doing great! She's growing so much and just gets more fun everyday. She's starting to enjoy hanging out on her playmat "talking" to her friends hanging down. She's not a big fan of tummy time, though....we're working on that! Her personality is really starting to show. She often welcomes me with smiles now when I get her up from her crib. It is so sweet!
Well, that's about all to report from the Garmendia household. We're all doing great!
Thursday, February 08, 2007
1 month well baby visit
Today I took Avery for her 1 month well baby check. She is 5 weeks old today. She weighed 8 lbs 13.5 oz (40%) and measured 20 1/4 inches (25%)....looks like she's gonna be short like me!
Still struggling with some constipation but the new plan is to use a glycerin suppository to clean things out and then start with some diluted pear juice twice a day. Not really thrilled about giving her juice, or any extra sugar for that matter, but I know she's uncomfortable and ya gotta do what ya gotta do! We've tried light Karo and dark Karo with no effect....I guess the juice is atleast a little more natural than the sugar Karo. I hope I don't end up with a baby that is addicted to sugar! Please pray that she becomes more regular and that her stools are softer...I'm hoping we can get things going and then stop using the juice or Karo.
Otherwise, Dr. Earle said she looks great and is very healthy! He did say that since she is so easy going and not demanding that I still need to wake her to eat every 3 hours during the day and still let her sleep as long as she will at night. He said that we can push the feedings further apart after her 2 month visit but for now we still need to feed her every 3 hours during the day.
Just for my records:
* she is currently taking 2-4 ounces of soy formula at 7:30am, 10:30am, 1:30pm, 4:30pm, 7:30pm, 10:30pm, and then somewhere between 3-3:30am
* She is able to lift her head and rotate it from side to side during tummy time
* She is able to track and object held in front of her
* She still like her Nuk pacis but she does not have to have them to sleep
* We are laying her down while she is still awake and she will occasionally cry but usually just grunts and whines and then she goes to sleep
* She is beginning to smile in response to either my smile or just when we're talking to her
* She is now on Zantac for reflux
* She likes her bath time, especially when I use the sink sprayer and run it over her head and body. We call it her baby spa time!
Still struggling with some constipation but the new plan is to use a glycerin suppository to clean things out and then start with some diluted pear juice twice a day. Not really thrilled about giving her juice, or any extra sugar for that matter, but I know she's uncomfortable and ya gotta do what ya gotta do! We've tried light Karo and dark Karo with no effect....I guess the juice is atleast a little more natural than the sugar Karo. I hope I don't end up with a baby that is addicted to sugar! Please pray that she becomes more regular and that her stools are softer...I'm hoping we can get things going and then stop using the juice or Karo.
Otherwise, Dr. Earle said she looks great and is very healthy! He did say that since she is so easy going and not demanding that I still need to wake her to eat every 3 hours during the day and still let her sleep as long as she will at night. He said that we can push the feedings further apart after her 2 month visit but for now we still need to feed her every 3 hours during the day.
Just for my records:
* she is currently taking 2-4 ounces of soy formula at 7:30am, 10:30am, 1:30pm, 4:30pm, 7:30pm, 10:30pm, and then somewhere between 3-3:30am
* She is able to lift her head and rotate it from side to side during tummy time
* She is able to track and object held in front of her
* She still like her Nuk pacis but she does not have to have them to sleep
* We are laying her down while she is still awake and she will occasionally cry but usually just grunts and whines and then she goes to sleep
* She is beginning to smile in response to either my smile or just when we're talking to her
* She is now on Zantac for reflux
* She likes her bath time, especially when I use the sink sprayer and run it over her head and body. We call it her baby spa time!
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Avery's 1st road trip
We spent last weekend in Mt. Pleasant with Louis' family. Avery did wonderful on the way down....slept most of the way! She had a little trouble sleeping at night while we were there but we made it! She mostly just wanted to stay awake...she wasn't really fussy she just whined a lot! On Saturday we had a drop-in for everyone to come and meet Avery. Avery got lots of nice gifts and she didn't seem to mind being passed around from person to person. She is such an easy going baby!
Sunday we went to church and then Louis, Avery and I went out to dinner with one of my friends from college, Anna Clar, and her husband Jeremy. It was great to be able to catch up with an old friend and show off Avery! Then, of course, Avery and I donned our Peyton Manning jerseys and watched the Colts WIN the Super Bowl!
My grandparents from Illinois are in town this week to meet Avery for the first time. They are spending a lot of time with her and she is enjoying all the attention. So far we haven't had an real issues with all the excitement over the past week....she's taking it all in stride!
Sunday we went to church and then Louis, Avery and I went out to dinner with one of my friends from college, Anna Clar, and her husband Jeremy. It was great to be able to catch up with an old friend and show off Avery! Then, of course, Avery and I donned our Peyton Manning jerseys and watched the Colts WIN the Super Bowl!
My grandparents from Illinois are in town this week to meet Avery for the first time. They are spending a lot of time with her and she is enjoying all the attention. So far we haven't had an real issues with all the excitement over the past week....she's taking it all in stride!
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