On one Sunday, we came home from church and did our usual rush home from church. We get Bean fed and to bed quickly while I make lunch for us. Only this time, I had to get Steve & Bean fed quickly because Steve had to head in to work. With everyone fed, and Steve out the door, it should've been a quiet afternoon. However, Bean decided to not nap and Sprout was being extra fussy. I shrugged her fussiness on an upset tummy (this is one gassy child!) and drug her and a tired Bean to meet friends at the pool.
We met Steve back at home in time for dinner and bedtime shenanigans. Sprout was still fussy by nighttime, but I still didn't think anything of it. When I went to feed her in the middle of the night, I realized she was really hot - like abnormally hot. I went and found a thermometer and realized she had a fever of 100.4 - not a good sign for a newborn! I tried to not panic and went through the normal nighttime feeding routine. She laid back down without a fight and I went back to bed. I checked on her a few hours later and her status was the same.
(Sprout typically likes to have her hands up by her face, but she usually doesn't look so pathetic while doing it. I took this photo before bedtime. I still just thought she was having normal tummy issues.)
I called the doctor as soon as their office opened and got an early appointment for her. She still had a fever and was pretty grouchy. Doctor noted that one of her ears looked iffy, but really didn't like the way she would ball up when she was touched - especially on her abdomen. The doctor also noted that her tummy was very rigid and a cause for concern. She wanted some tests done and sent orders to the local hospital for an x-ray, blood work, and urine collection. I remained calm, but was freaking out a little on the inside.
I left the office and immediate called my friend Sara (thankfully it was a Monday & her day off!) and arranged for Bean to go hang out at her house until I figured out what was going on with Sprout. With Bean taken care of, I headed to the hospital to get Sprout checked out. First up was the x-ray. I got to go back in he room with her and even helped hold her on the table, all while sporting a cool lead apron for safety. We weren't allowed to leave the hospital until our doctor received the info and knew the next step. Once the x-ray was done, I took her to get the lab work done. When we got called back, there was some confusion by the nurse - she didn't realize Sprout was the patient! She didn't feel equipped to handle a baby and got some back-up.
I lost it a little bit while the nurses were going back and forth about how to get her blood and do the urine collection. Sprout wasn't a fan of being moved around so much and it was finally hitting me what was going on (and I began feeling very alone). One of the nurses even asked if I was okay, to which I started crying and said, "no", but that was pretty much the end of the conversation, haha. They ended up taping a urine bag around Sprout and then got the blood that they needed. We were then sent back to a waiting room to await results. I fed her while we waited. The tech who took the x-ray came back and said that things looked clear on her end, but we would be getting a call from the doctor to review everything. My phone rang right as she was giving me the heads up. The x-ray just showed constipation/gas. We were to go home, do a bottle with some mirilax in it, and see if that changed anything. I changed Sprout's diaper, collected the needed urine, dropped it off at the lab and left the hospital.
I picked Bean back up and headed home with the girls. It was nap time for the big one and food time for the little one. She took her bottle like a champ and pooped a few hours later; however, it didn't alleviate her grouchiness. I called the doctor back to give a status update. She said she'd call in an antibiotic since her ear looked questionable. I was working VBS that night and had to call Steve home early to take care of Sprout while Bean and I went to church. I picked up the antibiotic on our way home and got a couple doses in her over the night.
The next morning, she still had a fever (I was told to give her Tylenol if it went over 101, which it did in the night) so I called the doctor again and secured ourselves an afternoon appointment. I made arrangements with another friend to take Bean for the afternoon. Jenna met me at the doctor's office and took Bean to her house with the plan for me to get her back at VBS that evening. With Bean gone, I could focus all my energy on Sprout.
(With Sprout being so high maintenance
and cranky over the past few days, I made sure to spend some intentional time with Bean in the morning. She decided she wanted new Jamberries on. She picked out the colors and told me how to put them on.)
(Again, Sprout likes to have her hands up, but usually it's a more snuggly pose. She kept her arm stiff away from her body, which usually it's snuggled up next to her.)
(Another thing I noticed was that she was keeping her legs straight. She wouldn't relax them or bring them up close to her like she normally lays.)
(At times when she was especially fussy, she would stiffen up her whole body. Even if I was holding her upright against me - as seen in the photo- she wouldn't relax. Instead, she held her torso/legs at a 90 degree angle.)
The doctor said her tummy was softer, but still firm on her right side. Her ear looked fine (was probably questionable the day before because of her crying) and she still had the fever. It was obvious Sprout was in pain. She didn't want to be held or touched, and was happiest if she was just laying flat on the table. The doctor was concerned about possible appendicitis and wanted us to go to Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus (2 hours away). She didn't trust the local hospital to find anything wrong with Sprout and knew they wouldn't be equipped to handle her if they did. I was yet again emotional as I left the office. Some of the girls in there no me and one asked if I was okay. I broke down and filled her in. She offered up her help with Bean for the evening and told me to let her know what else she could do.
(This photo breaks my heart now. At the time, I was still in denial of her being sick and was frustrated and tired with how needy she was being. Now I realize how sick and miserable she was feeling.)
I called Steve and filled him in. He immediately wrapped things up at work and met me at home. I next called my mom to fill her in. She decided that she was going to drive in and pick Bean up from VBS and stay at our house with her. I started packing bags, not really knowing what lay ahead or what we would need. Once I thought through it all and got the car packed, we headed towards Columbus awaiting the next phase of our journey.
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