Parental Rite of Passage: Trip to the ER
March 30th, 2010I’ve been working on this post for weeks…have even had it mostly written. So I’m finally getting around to posting it. Click on any of the ER photos to see the entire ER album and the snow photo to see the rest of the snow album.
While I hoped that I would never have to do it, I assumed upon becoming a parent that at least one ER visit would be in my future. I relaxed a bit after going through nearly two years of Maddie’s life without the nearly inevitable ER trip. We had a few close calls with very high fevers and a bout of croup, but no actual emergency.
And before Cullen was even 8 weeks old, he had already had TWO visits to the ER as well as a couple of close calls. For the close calls, protocol would have us go, but since we had been treated already they let us visit the pediatrician in the morning.
As much as we tried to keep the kids separated, Cullen caught his first daycare bug from his sister before he was even 3 weeks old. Cullen had some projectile vomiting twice within a couple minutes. I took his temperature, and his temperature was elevated but he didn’t have a fever. We called the after hours nurse, and while we were on the phone she had us check him again. Fever is defined by anything 100.4 or above. He had exactly 100.4. Once I told her that, she did not hesitate and sent us directly to the ER.
Initially, I was very overwhelmed and worried about our little man. We scrambled to secure care for Maddie so we could both go to the hospital. Fortunately, our neighbors came to the rescue quickly and my sister was able to relieve them not too long afterward.
We arrived at the ER and had to wait each step of the way: to get checked in, to see the triage nurse, to get into an ER room, to see the doctor, to get tests, etc. The worst part was not being able to feed him until we had seen the doctor for the first time. He was so hungry, and I hated that I couldn’t soothe his crying. Once we finally saw the doctor, I was allowed to feed him and he was much happier…until the nurses started his testing.
They collected blood and urine and prepared him for the spinal tap. They hooked him up to the IV with teeny splint, poor little guy. I debated whether or not to give him the offered pacifier, but decided he could use a bit of comfort. He did great with all the poking and prodding, though he expressed very firmly that he did not enjoy it. The spinal tap was the worst as they had to ensure that he didn’t wiggle while the doctor had the needle in his spine. He was not amused. All of the testing was very unpleasant for me to watch. They did two RSV tests while we were in the hospital, and those were invasive and unpleasant as well.
Shortly after we got a room in the ER, they informed us that they automatically admit newborns under 4 weeks old when they have a fever. They started him on antibiotics while in the ER through his little IV. They administered antibiotics throughout our two day stay in the hospital.
The initial tests came back negative for any infections, which is a very good thing. The RSV test was also negative (both times). The reason that they wanted us to stay for 2 days is so that they could get back the 48 hour cultures before releasing us from the hospital. At very least, they wanted to make sure we were covered with antibiotics up through when they would have the results.
While in the ER, Cullen didn’t have a bassinet. This meant that I could not snooze at all since I had to either hold him or monitor him closely on the unsafe hospital bed. We were told that they had a room for us, but it took forever for them to actually admit us. We didn’t end up getting into a room until 6am. It was a very long night for this Mommy! Gabe left the ER around 11pm to pack a bag for me. He brought me some essentials for the overnight stay and went back home to be with Maddie.
We were much more comfortable when we got into an actual room in the hospital. They had a bassinet for him, of course, so I was able to sleep in the hospital bed. This beats a pull out couch or reclined chair! I was thankful for the bed. I didn’t get very much sleep that first day, but the second night went fairly well.
I was grateful to friends who helped us out while Cullen was in the hospital. I obviously couldn’t leave the hospital since I needed to care for him and since I was nursing him constantly. Gabe was able to come to visit us while Maddie was at daycare. We had friends bring us meals and pick Maddie up from school, so all of that was very helpful. I hated to see Cullen hooked up to all the wires and tubes, especially when the nurses and doctors came by to mess with him. But all in all, it wasn’t a terrible hospital visit and all the tests came back negative. Cullen developed quite a bit of congestion by the end of our stay, so we chalked up the fever to being just a virus that he picked up from his big sister.
We had another snow event coming on Friday night. Since Cullen was looking great and they were able to get enough antibiotics in him to last through when they would get the 48 hour culture results, they allowed us to leave a little early. We were so happy to go home, and we were thankful to get home before the snow started.
That night, he vomited twice but had no fever. If he had vomited one more time (or had a fever), they would have sent us back to the ER that night. Thank goodness we avoided a repeat trip! It took him a while to get over his cold, but he was still a pretty laid back baby during his recovery.
Four weeks later, we made our second trip to the ER when he had another minimal fever. I learned that they don’t automatically admit babies once they are over 4 weeks old. They didn’t have to do the spinal tap, either, so that was a relief. After about 4 hours in the ER, they sent us home to monitor him and visit the pediatrician in the morning. He had a few more fevers that week, but they fortunately didn’t send us to the ER each time since we had already had the testing. Now I am just hoping for him to stay fever free until he is at least 3 months old when they won’t automatically send him to the ER. Stay healthy, little boy!
He actually had more fevers after his two month appointment and immunization shots. Poor little guy! This time, we avoided going into the doctor or the ER since they were certain it was a reaction to the immunizations.
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