photo taken in the ER with Chris' cell phone
Just barely a month old and he gets sick! On Sunday night around 11pm Carson woke up feverish and miserable. He cried like he hurt. When he would finally fall asleep he moaned the sadest moan. This continued through the night, all day Monday and through the night again. Tuesday morning came after a very long night and I decided it was time to take him to the doctor asap!
At the doctor's office he was weighed- 10 pounds 15 ounces! That's 3 pounds gained in 4 weeks and 3 days! He's so chubby I love it! Then they took his temp and it was 101.6. A little higher than at home. I was told that he needed to go to the hospital to get checked out thoroughly and have some tests done to make sure it wasn't something too serious.
Newborns (2 months and younger) don't usually get fevers. When they do doctors take it very serious. They want to rule out any bacterial infections or catch them as soon as possible to give proper treatment. The three major ones are spinal meningitis, bacterial infection in the blood, and a urine or kidney infection. All can be very dangerous if left untreated.
When we arrived at the ER they had already received word that we were coming. We only had to wait about 15 minutes. Poor Carson had to get blood drawn, give a urine sample through a catheter and get a spinal tap. It was so hard to watch him go through it all. I think I'm more traumatized than he is. I would have gladly taken his place in a heartbeat!
Carson then was admitted to the hospital. For 48 hours it was a waiting game. He received 2 different kinds of antibiotics which would treat a wide range of bacterial infections (just in case that is what was wrong). During this time we waited for the results of his cultures.
End result (and to keep a long story short): Cultures came back negative and his illness was ruled a viral infection. EXACTLY what we were praying for! No lengthy hospital stay to receive more antibiotic treatment.
This was our biggest scare we have had to date with our babies. I have never had a newborn get a fever. It's scary and as parents we worry every time our kids get sick. This was no exception. To hear a doctor say "you need to take your baby to the hospital" is a heart stopping moment. My mind immediately went to worse case scenario. I was an emotional wreck to say the least. I am so grateful that everything turned out the way it did. I do wish Carson hadn't of had to go through the tests he did, but I am grateful that we were blessed to have caring and knowledgeable physicians and nurses taking care of us.
As of right now, Carson is still having low grade fevers every time his Tylenol wears off. He is a little fussy and has a viral rash all over his body. The doctor said both should go away within 72 hours. If not then he needs to be checked out. We are still praying for him to get better quickly (it's already been 4 days). All he wants is to be held and snuggled. So that's what he's getting. But at least we are home. Sleeping in a recliner for 2 nights while holding a baby non-stop was getting really old!
I want to thank my wonderful husband for taking care of our other kids and the house. Thank you to my mother-in-law and sister-in-law for watching my kids while Chris worked. And a special thank you to my friend Becky for taking time out of her day to come and hold my baby so I could shower and brush my teeth! And thank you for all your prayers on Carson's behalf. I know he'll be better in no time!
After having Chris search the house for our camera, I finally found it at the bottom of the diaper bag (sorry babe!). Thank goodness. Otherwise none of these pictures would exist.
He refused to sleep in the crib except for this one time and it lasted about 15 minutes.
Taylor left a sweet note when she came to visit
I asked Chris to bring Carson's bouncer so I could maybe get a break from holding him (a girl has to pee every now and then!). When we put him in it he instantly gave us the biggest smile. I think it reminded him of home.
