Julia has been feeling a little off lately. Last Tuesday while at work she started fussing and felt warm so I took her temperature and it registered at 101.7. We immediately packed it up and went home for the day... it just so happened that the Dad was also out of town through Friday. Not good timing to have a sick baby and no Dad to help... but anyway... I dosed her with Tylenol which seemed to do the trick and she felt a little better but her eating habits were totally out of whack along with her sleeping habits.
Onto Wednesday... hoping it was just a 24 hours thing, we went to work on Wednesday but she was still eating poorly and started spitting up at each feeding which is out of character for her. After spit up #4 both she and I were covered in throw up so we dosed up some more Tylenol and packed it up and headed home. Much of the same through the evening, but she wasn't sleeping all too well, so we were up every 2+ hours or so, pacing the floor trying to find some type of comfort.
Next came Thursday... still registering a slight temperature we plowed through the day with more crying, lots of dirty diapers, little sleeping, even less eating and then a call to the advice nurse. I wanted to make sure what I was doing or not doing was right for someone in her condition. Sounded like everything I could do I was doing and she added that if the fever continues to spike or rear it's ugly head for more than 72 hour straight to come in and see our Pediatrician.
Freaking Friday... one day I will not forget anytime soon. Sleeping was not any better, eating was a little better but by noon another fever spiked and I called to make an appointment with the doc. We headed out the door to Kaiser and was promptly seen by Dr. Millar. Her weight was up to 15 lbs 3 oz, which is great, her temperature, though, was 100.7. Not horrible but not great especially since it had been 4 days at this point. With no outward symptoms, he ordered a urine sample. Do you know how to get a urine sample from a 15 week old baby? Catheter! Now as adults, we HATE these things... can you imagine what a little tiny baby thinks? After 20 minutes of screams and tears, the nurse was not successful at the catheter, so they taped a bag on her, closed up her diaper and told us to wait for her to go on her own. In the meantime the doc ordered a chest x-ray and some lab work.
Down to Radiology we went. X-rays. Hmmm. I can handle this, after all she has had an ultrasound on her hips, how bad can an x-ray be? For the record, an x-ray on an infant is another word for TORTURE! Sitting up, with her legs dangling in this contraption they have me hold her arms up over her head. Doesn't sound too bad, I can hold her still. That was not the plan. They closed this clear plastic tube tightly around her torso and head while her hands are up over her head. Her face was peeking through a cut out in the plastic and the tech then went in and taped her head into the tube. While screaming bloody murder they face her against the x-ray machine and ask me to leave the room. Now, I am a NICU mom, I can handle this, right?! Nope! I am standing in the hallway listening to the tech say "It's ok, one more shot" over and over while Julia is screaming on the top of her lungs. Should make for a good x-ray but I am sure she is traumatized for life now, and if she isn't I am. When they called me back in, she was still stuffed into what they call a Pigg-O-Stat (google it, I did) and she was looking at me with her big brown eyes crying out for me to save her! Deep breathe as I live the torture. Result - Chest x-ray was normal.
Over to the lab... all I can do is make the best of it. She has already had an unsuccessful catheter, a torturous x-ray and now they want to draw blood from her arm - ON A 15 WEEK OLD INFANT! We check in and sit down. They feel for a vein, tourniquet and all. She is screaming and squirming and the lab tech thinks she finds something worth poking. She cleans her arm with alcohol and then goes to the front desk to check in the next guy. He is only there to pick up a specimen cup, which she cannot find. As we sit and wait, Julia crying I realize that she needs to pee and since they taped a bag to her little vajay-jay and closed up her diaper, her body heat (remember she has a fever) must have melted to seal on the bag and instead of filling the bag or her diaper, she has peed all over me and the lab chair. I am now sitting and waiting for the lab tech to find a specimen cup or some other dude, call other facilities in the area and proceed to look in every cupboard and drawer as I sit holding a fussy, warm temperatured sick baby that has just peed all over my lap. Now it looks like I peed my pants! She finally comes back and digs all around in Julia's arm with a needle and cannot get a vein. She tells us she can't do it and to go to another Kaiser Lab. I am tired, worried, stressed, pissed, and pissed on - and we still don't know what is causing Julia's fever.
Back up to the doctors office, he checks her urine output, tries to test what urine is left in the bag and tells us to go to Manteca for lab work and once we are done with the labs to check into Pediatrics over there for an antibiotic injection.
Labs at Manteca went much better. Still had tears but at least they got the blood sample they needed. Over to Peds and the injection caused yet another round of tears. Once she calmed we had to remain there for 30 minutes to check for a reaction. She nursed, fell asleep just to be waken for a rectal temperature reading. Note: She hates rectal readings!
After all the chaos, we were told we needed to return on Saturday for a follow up.
Saturday... now the Dad is home, thank goodness! We return to Kaiser, still no clear sign of why she has a fever, antibiotic injection #2 and we wait... wait for the blood culture to grow for 24, 48, and 72 hours.
Being sick royally sucks. Being a sick baby really sucks. Trying to handle all of it with no husband totally sucks. Here we are on Monday, she has pretty much been fever free for 24 hours. It elevates a bit during the day but she seems to feel better.
