Sick is Scary

The other night I put Baby down to bed between 7 and 8 like I normally do. I usually stay up a few hours later to hang out and get things down around the house (translation, I surf the web and perhaps do a few dishes). Around 11 I heard some noises on the monitor (I wish I had a video monitor, but mine is just a noise monitor), so I went in to check on Baby.

I walked in on her throwing up large amounts, gagging herself in the process. It was the scariest thing ever. She looked up at me with big helpless eyes as her body betrayed her. I immediately ran over to her and turned her on her side so she wouldn't choke. She threw up a little bit more, then started dry heaving when she had nothing left.

I kept her on her side and called the advice nurse only to be put on hold.

In the meantime, poor Baby was holding her arms in tight and whimpering with her little eyes squeezed shut. Yes, I said whimpering, as in much distress.

The advice nurse was taking a very long time to get to me, so I texted a few friends while I was on hold (a cool feature that my phone has, allowing me to text and talk. Definitely came in handy). Of course everyone said to call the doctor. Duh, I was on hold!

I took her temperature and it was 101. She felt pretty hot, and her back was sweaty. She also looked really pale to me.

I finally got through to the advice nurse (twenty loooong minutes later) who asked how many times she had thrown up and what her temperature was, along with a bunch of other questions. No, she didn't have any head trauma or injuries lately. No, her vomit wasn't green or blue. No, she hadn't thrown up more than three times that I know of. The nurse said to just keep her cool and make sure she stayed hydrated, either by nursing or giving her Pedialyte (I think you can buy this anywhere. It's like Gatorade for babies). I was supposed to keep an eye on her (Don't worry, I wasn't going to leave her side!), keep checking her temperature, and call back if things got worse. She said she would also leave a note for a doctor to call me back.

I was able to get Baby to nurse, although she continued to make the little whimpering sounds at the same time. It was so sad to hear. I also gave Baby some Tylenol to help bring her fever down, although she did throw up again after I gave it to her, but she did nurse some more so I figured she was able to keep something down. I cleaned her up and changed her bedding, too.

Over the course of the night I kept checking her diaper to make sure she was peeing (a sign that she is staying hydrated), kept offering her the opportunity to nurse, and periodically took her temperature.

A few hours later I felt her really burning up and sure enough her temperature was higher, at 102. I didn't know if I should take her in or not, so I talked to another nurse who said pretty much the same thing as before- keep hydrated and cool. I gave her more Tylenol and she didn't throw up as much as before. I also pulled out my Baby 411 book (I really like this one. It's pretty straightforward and easy to use). It said that her symptoms did not warrant an immediate appointment. Plus, she didn't have any diarrhea, which is apparently more cause for concern than vomiting (did not know this).

A few hours later I checked her again and she had cooled down (temperature was at 100.6), and she hadn't thrown up anymore. I made sure she was keeping cool and still nursing. Sometime the next morning I took her temperature one more time and it was down to 99.6 and she was acting much better.

Around 5:00 in the evening, a doctor finally called me. Of course Baby is doing much better now and the doctor babbles on about temperatures meaning that the body is fighting things off and 102 really isn't that high (blah, blah, blah), and she kind of blew me off with the whole vomiting thing.

Overall, it was a terrifying experience to walk in on Baby so sick. I was disappointed in the responses of the nurses and doctor, but grateful to friends and family who got back to me. Baby is feeling much better now, and I would rather not repeat the experience anytime soon. Needless to say, I was exhausted!