Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Scout has been sick for a week. Not just like sniffly-nose sick, but like the can't-keep-anything-down-high-fever-no-sleep kind of sick. Last Tuesday she puked once and had no fever. I just thought it was something she ate. I had given her some lentils and rice earlier in the day and I think that was the first time she had eaten lentils, so I assumed they didn't agree with her tummy. Wednesday, she had one BAD totally sick-smelling diarrhea diaper, but no vomiting and still no fever. I was still thinking it was the lentils. Thursday, she had a high fever, vomiting, AND diarrhea. Then I realized it was a virus and not just a sour belly from some new food. I think it was either Thursday or Friday when she had a temp of 104. If it wouldn't have gone down fairly quickly after a couple doses of Tylenol, we would've taken her to the ER. In retrospect, that's probably what we should've done.
Every day after that, she would have a few good hours when she would actually lift her poor little sweaty head off of my shoulder and she may even have enough energy to get off of my lap and play a little. I would think that she was getting better and then, boom....puke is projected onto my shirt and splatting onto the floor, while her fever would be up again. Night time was pretty miserable for her and she was waking every hour or two. Sometimes she would refuse to nurse. Instead of just turning her head away when I offered my breast, she would get angry and bite my nipple. Not fun for either of us.
DH was so extremely helpful through all of it, even though he was sick and had a fever at one point too. I honestly don't know what I would've done without him. When I would change Scout only to discover a bad diarrhea explosion, I could yell for DH to get me a change of clothes and some extra towels. He would hold Scout so I could go pee or change my clothes and scrub the carpet after being barfed on. Administering medicine and sucking snot would've been really difficult without his assistance. Thank you, DH!!
I continually put off taking her to see the pediatrician because she kept tricking me into thinking she was on the mend. I also just assumed it was a virus that needed to run its course and it would be a waste of time and not very much fun for Scout to drive 30 minutes into "town" only to be given some tylenol samples and told to keep her hydrated. I hate to admit it, but the fact that we are self-pay also plays a part in my reluctance to take her to the doctor when I feel the situation is non-emergent.
Yesterday, I broke down and took her in to see the doctor. Even though her fever was completely gone by late Saturday night, she was still puking and having diarrhea all day Sunday.
Turns out she has an ear infection on top of the tummy virus. The doc said that the infection is probably what caused the fever to spike to 104.
I feel so bad that I let it go on for so long. Who knows how long the poor thing has been suffering through the ear pain. Even though we did give her Tylenol a few times to keep the fever at bay after it reached 104, I don't think it would've been enough to relieve any pain she may have been having in her ears. She never grabbed at her ears (that I noticed), so I had no clue there was an infection.
The doctor was super nice and saw that we are self-pay, so he gave us enough samples of the antibiotic to last the full course. I am not a big fan of administering antibiotics willy-nilly. But I really didn't see another option. Maybe some of you mommas who embrace more natural remedies when it comes to treating sick kids can tell me.... What do you do when it comes to ear infections? (or any infection for that matter) I think I would've been comfortable treating it with garlic oil and skipping the antibiotics if we would've caught the infection soon enough, but I don't want to take any chances with letting an infection rage on in her little ear just because I am too stubborn to give antibiotics. It's so tough to know when to stray from medical advice in favor of a more natural approach and when to just heed the advice of the doctor and give meds instead. I really don't want to pump her full of antibiotics every time she gets sick.
I learned my lesson, though. If her fever spikes that high again, I am not messing around next time - I'll take her in to be seen by a doc.
She is doing a lot better now and has only vomited once since Sunday night. She is nursing better, but I can tell now that her ears are bothering her. Hopefully the meds will take care of that soon.
Somehow, I managed to escape this awful plague that had infected my household. Woohoo!
Here is a pic of DH and Scout* during one of her brief stints of feeling better the other day.
*Scout doesn't normally romp around in a diaper and nothing else in the winter time. I just happened to be changing her on the bed and she was taking a little break to snuggle with daddy.
Every day after that, she would have a few good hours when she would actually lift her poor little sweaty head off of my shoulder and she may even have enough energy to get off of my lap and play a little. I would think that she was getting better and then, boom....puke is projected onto my shirt and splatting onto the floor, while her fever would be up again. Night time was pretty miserable for her and she was waking every hour or two. Sometimes she would refuse to nurse. Instead of just turning her head away when I offered my breast, she would get angry and bite my nipple. Not fun for either of us.
DH was so extremely helpful through all of it, even though he was sick and had a fever at one point too. I honestly don't know what I would've done without him. When I would change Scout only to discover a bad diarrhea explosion, I could yell for DH to get me a change of clothes and some extra towels. He would hold Scout so I could go pee or change my clothes and scrub the carpet after being barfed on. Administering medicine and sucking snot would've been really difficult without his assistance. Thank you, DH!!
I continually put off taking her to see the pediatrician because she kept tricking me into thinking she was on the mend. I also just assumed it was a virus that needed to run its course and it would be a waste of time and not very much fun for Scout to drive 30 minutes into "town" only to be given some tylenol samples and told to keep her hydrated. I hate to admit it, but the fact that we are self-pay also plays a part in my reluctance to take her to the doctor when I feel the situation is non-emergent.
Yesterday, I broke down and took her in to see the doctor. Even though her fever was completely gone by late Saturday night, she was still puking and having diarrhea all day Sunday.
Turns out she has an ear infection on top of the tummy virus. The doc said that the infection is probably what caused the fever to spike to 104.
I feel so bad that I let it go on for so long. Who knows how long the poor thing has been suffering through the ear pain. Even though we did give her Tylenol a few times to keep the fever at bay after it reached 104, I don't think it would've been enough to relieve any pain she may have been having in her ears. She never grabbed at her ears (that I noticed), so I had no clue there was an infection.
The doctor was super nice and saw that we are self-pay, so he gave us enough samples of the antibiotic to last the full course. I am not a big fan of administering antibiotics willy-nilly. But I really didn't see another option. Maybe some of you mommas who embrace more natural remedies when it comes to treating sick kids can tell me.... What do you do when it comes to ear infections? (or any infection for that matter) I think I would've been comfortable treating it with garlic oil and skipping the antibiotics if we would've caught the infection soon enough, but I don't want to take any chances with letting an infection rage on in her little ear just because I am too stubborn to give antibiotics. It's so tough to know when to stray from medical advice in favor of a more natural approach and when to just heed the advice of the doctor and give meds instead. I really don't want to pump her full of antibiotics every time she gets sick.
I learned my lesson, though. If her fever spikes that high again, I am not messing around next time - I'll take her in to be seen by a doc.
She is doing a lot better now and has only vomited once since Sunday night. She is nursing better, but I can tell now that her ears are bothering her. Hopefully the meds will take care of that soon.
Somehow, I managed to escape this awful plague that had infected my household. Woohoo!
Here is a pic of DH and Scout* during one of her brief stints of feeling better the other day.
*Scout doesn't normally romp around in a diaper and nothing else in the winter time. I just happened to be changing her on the bed and she was taking a little break to snuggle with daddy.
Labels: dh, firsts, health, pics of scout
posted by Unkempt Mommy at 10:22 AM
4 Comments:
Sorry your little one has been sick. It's so hard when they're that young and can't tell you what's wrong. I remember the days of being puked on. Not so fun.
Poor Scout, I'm still kind of waiting for the big sickness to come to our household, fortunately our mister has only had sniffles now and again *knock on wood*. Hope she starts feeling better soon.
When the kids get sick it's so tough. But it's also kind of funny because they sail through it (even if they do cry while sick) without it bothering them as much as it does for US to get sick. LOL
But yeah, we're still dodging the stomach flu that's been going around. I just told my husband that I hope it stays away for as long as it possibly can. Maybe for when they're 18.
Anyway, I've rambled. I hope Scout is doing alot better. Poor baby girl. :(
I too missed an ear infection one time (I thought it was just teething). Now, when I think her ears may be starting to bother her, I found these homapathic ear drops that work great. I even tried them on myself when I was congested one time. They took away the pain, and I think, helped clear up my ears. Worth looking into.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home