First Trip to the Hospital

Don't be alarmed. Everything is ok. It was probably unnecessary for us to even go, but being new parents and seeing a doctor who is very, "thorough," we'll call it, we went all the way. Yesterday morning she slept in until 8 and when I sat her up she coughed and then threw up allover herself. The vomiting continued several more times so I decided to call the pediatrician's office which is open on Saturdays. I love that they are open on Saturdays. Are other pediatrician offices open on the weekends? The receptionist who answered said she didn't feel comfortable telling me not to bring her in and scheduled us in at noon.

Poor baby was definitely lethargic. Normally she cries with all her might when she's uncomfortable, but she just laid there almost limp and abnormally quiet. The doctor didn't feel she was too dehydrated but felt we should go to radiology at the hospital and have an abdominal xray done. Seriously? The doctor said she is the right age to have pyloric stenosis. I kind of knew about that from reading The Baby Book which has been an incredible resource of information for me. At night I browse the index and read up on any topics of interest. Pyloric stenosis is a condition in which the valve at the bottom of the stomach is too tight to let nutrients pass through. The result of p.s. is starvation for the infant and projectile vomiting. The cure is surgery. Yikes!

After lunch we went to the hospital and waited in the emergency room for radiology. The ER is an unnerving place. There was an old couple that was highly interested in Katie Rose. I was so afraid they were going to touch her because I was sure they had an out of control hand fungus. In another room was a young child with an oxygen mask over her face which she kept coughing into. RSV? Pneumonia? Flu? Finally they called us back. Robbie and I had to suit up in aprons to block out the radiation while they put KR on the table. They asked if I could be pregnant. I confess a part of me wants another one, like now, but after yesterday I think I can wait. It was terrible. Robbie and I had to hold her down while they shoved tubes down her throat to inject her stomach with this chalky barium stuff which ended up in her stomach and allover her face and hair. It was horrible watching her scream and try to cough out the tube. She was helpless. She trusts us not to hurt her, and I realized that babies are victims of every single thing that happens to them. All of this and the radiologist found nothing wrong. My baby went through all of that for nothing.

Here's a picture of our poor, sick darling. Sometimes it's more convenient to take a photo with my phone, so that's why it's a little dark.

When it was allover and KR calmed down they asked us, "So, this must be your first." The question irritated me. It was as if they assumed we were there because of our own paranoia and not because a doctor sent us there. I'm a concerned mother, of course, but had the doctor sent us home and told us to give her pedialyte and watch her, I would have been just as satisfied. Mom and I have been discussing lately doctors' approaches to medical care. There are those who will not offer tests unless they are requested. There are others who test too much. Yesterday was a day of too much, but had something been wrong and the doctor ignored it, I would have been even more upset. We trust doctors to care for us, but just like helpless babies, we can also become victims of whatever they prescribe.

Katie Rose was sleepy for the rest of the day but never threw up again or had any other obvious sickness. She loves grape pedialyte. And to end with a smile, or perhaps a look of disgust, the chalky barium stuff has also been expelled. My friend Erin said one time, "We remember the days when our conversation did not involve someone else's poop." I laughed and thought to myself that's gross and I doubt I will be one of those moms because poop never interested me in the first place. Well, hello?? Poop probably never interested anyone at any point until the poop in question was their baby's. When I changed her this afternoon I had to call Robbie in to look at it. Who would ever think poop would be so fascinating that it would be selfish not to share it? I probably would have kept the diaper out to show Robbie later if he wasn't home. In her diaper was an almost perfectly round ball the size of a big marble of what looked like dried caulk. It was so bizarre. I've never seen anything like it and I hope I never will again.

I can't get enough of her big bright eyes! Here's a recent well baby picture.