As Anna
Ruth entered her second month, she did not do so on a good note. Unfortunately, her second month birthday
ended up with a trip to the ER. The
nightmare all began about the time she was 7 weeks old. For some reason her appetite decreased and
she stopped wanting to eat at each normal feeding time (every 3 hours/3
oz.) Then, she started not eating as
much at each feeding (down to 2 oz.) so I thought maybe I should try letting
her go 4 hours in between in hopes she would eat more at each feeding. Still no luck. By the time she was 8 ½ weeks old I
calculated her total oz. in a 24 hour period between 13-15 and it should have
been 25 so I called her pediatrician and asked to come in for a weight check. When I went Monday morning (February 17th)
she had lost 3 oz. since the previous Monday.
Before then she had been gaining an oz. a day. Therefore, in one week not only had she not
gained, she had lost, putting her 10 oz. less than what she would have been on
average. I freaked out. I called her pediatric GI doctor in Macon,
Dr. Muhammad. He told me I needed to
bring her up and he would put her in the hospital up there and start an NG tube
on her. I freaked out more. I told her pediatrician what he wanted to do
and she advised me not to get the tube just yet. She told me to go up there and let him
evaluate Anna Ruth, but she thought the feeding tube was not necessary yet, and
that it should be the last resort. So,
Matthew and I packed a bag (in case we did stay) and headed to Macon. When we got there Dr. Muhammad was pleasantly
surprised to see how she looked. I think
after hearing the amount she was eating and the amount she had lost, he was
expecting her to look malnourished.
After the evaluation we decided to change her medication and add rice
cereal to her bottles (which we had stopped the week before due to eczema)
before doing the NG tube. He thought her
lack of eating was because the acid reflux made it so painful to eat that she
basically turned off eating altogether.
He told us to give him an update on Thursday and if her conditioned did
not improve we would need to come back for the tube. Well, later that day Anna Ruth started
getting diarrhea. Two days earlier we
went to visit my grandparents. My
brother and daddy were there. Little did
we know, they were going to have the virus the next day. I am pretty sure she caught it from
them. The diarrhea kept getting worse
and worse. By Wednesday (her 2 month
birthday) I was very worried about her getting dehydrated, not eating, and then
she vomited a LOT (not sure if it was the virus or reflux which caused the
vomit but it was A LOT!) So, I called her pediatrician and she wanted to see
her. When we went she had put on a few
ounces since Monday. Her pediatrician
said she thought it was just the virus causing diarrhea and we just needed to
let it run its course. She went ahead
and did her two month wellness visit since we were already there and gave her
vaccinations. I questioned her about
giving the vaccines since she was already not feeling well but she assured me
it was best to go ahead and get them, especially if there were a possibility
she may have to go to the hospital. So,
I did it…. Anna Ruth screamed uncontrollably.
It was terrible. I understand no
baby likes shots but she really didn’t handle them well. I had to wait in the room with her for 20
minutes before she calmed down enough to leave.
When we got home I gave her Tylenol.
She seemed to be better until an hour later when I woke her up to
eat. She went to screaming and refused
to eat. So, I gave her a bath (because I
figured it would calm her, which it did) and she settled back down. She woke up about 2 hours later screaming
again. I gave her more Tylenol and tried
to feed her, and she wouldn’t eat. She
cried inconsolably for at least 2 more hours.
When she finally did calm down I was holding her and rocking her. Her breathing started getting very fast and
she started making this whistling sound with each breath. I was scared to death. My mom was at my house, too, and insisted I
call the doctor. It was after hours so I
talked to the doctor on call. She could
hear Anna Ruth through the phone and insisted I either call an ambulance or go
to the ER (whichever was faster) so we rushed into the car and went to the
hospital. Once there her breathing had
gotten a lot better but they checked her anyway. They did a chest x-ray and said everything
was fine. They were more concerned with
the fact she hadn’t been eating well and having diarrhea so they decided to
keep her to give her fluids, monitor her, and run tests. We ended up staying the next night, too. We went home Friday afternoon. All of her tests came back normal, Praise
God. However, her eating was still the
same. We met with a nutritionist at the
hospital who increased her calorie intake of formula so that even though she
isn’t eating as many ounces, the ounces she does get have more calories in
it. This leads us up to her being 2
months 2 days old. Next Monday we will
speak with her GI doctor in Macon and see what steps to take next.
NEAT
THINGS/CHANGES FROM 1 MONTH-2MONTH
·
At 4 ½ weeks she started taking naps in her crib
(swaddled in swaddling blanket)
·
Started smiling occasionally at 5 weeks old but
a few days before her 2 month birthday she started smiling all the time and
cooing and copying others when they make silly faces at her.
·
Started a good schedule around 5 weeks old (eat,
play, sleep.) Her day usually begins at 7:30 and ends at 7:30. I try to lay Sumner down for a nap around
12:30 and Anna Ruth at 1:00 so they are both napping at the same time. At night I try to give Anna Ruth her bath
before her last bottle at 7:30. Until she started not eating she would usually
wake up around 1:00 AM and 6 AM. When
she woke at 6 am she would lay with me until she was ready to eat around 7 or
7:30.
·
Around 5 weeks old she started having 1 or 2
poopy diapers a day instead of one after each feeding.
·
I think she went through a growth spurt at 5 ½
weeks old because for several days she was eating about 4 ounces every 2 ½
hours. Then at 6 weeks she went back to
3 ounces every 3 hours.
·
We started rice cereal in her bottle after her
follow up visit with Dr. Muhammad when she was 5 weeks 5 days old. He told us to do one teaspoon per ounce. We stopped when she was 7 ½ weeks old because
she developed eczema and we thought the two might be connected. However, when Anna Ruth started losing
weight, we started back, and she has done fine.
·
She got eczema when she was 7 weeks old. We treat it by using Dove Sensitive soap,
Aveno eczema powder in her bath a few times a week, and Eucerin Original
Healing Lotion. At night I also coat her
skin with compressed coconut oil. Her
skin looks great now.
·
At 7 ½ weeks old I was told she had pink eye and
cradle cap. I had to put cream in her
eye 4 times a day. It cleared up in a
week. To treat the cradle crap I started
using Selsun Blue shampoo twice a week for two weeks. I apply it, rinse, apply, and rinse. In two weeks it still wasn’t better so I got
a prescription shampoo. Right now she
still has it pretty bad.
So as you can see, she has had a pretty rough month. I don’t know how she catches so many
things. I have kept her away from people
as much as possible. We started going
back to church when she was 6 weeks old, but I do not let anyone touch her or
hold her. We get there late and try to
be the first ones out the door. Since
she has been born she has been to Walmart once, church, to visit my
grandparents, to visit Matthew’s grandparents, to Albany to pick up her ornament
we made, and out to eat with us maybe three times.
Sumner
·
Sumner got a new tooth (top right.) I figured it
was coming because his tummy got very upset for about a week causing him to
have VERY bad diapers. There were
several times I had to strip him down, soak his clothes, and immediately give
him a bath because he made such a mess.
To help his tummy I fed him extra yogurt and gave him a probiotic in his
milk.
·
Sumner learned to put puzzles together
·
He told me his bath water was too hot one night
·
Goes around the house saying “tap, tap, tap” and
tapping his foot. I finally realized he
learned this from watching Mickey Mouse.
·
Learning to climb on EVERYTHING
·
Loves his sister more and more each day. He loves to hold her hand.
·
My mama and I took Sumner to Chucky Cheese and
he had a BALL! We didn’t even need tokens.
He had fun running around the place and going up and down the jungle
gym. I went down the slide with him in
the beginning but eventually he wanted to do it by himself!
Dear Sumner and Anna
Ruth,
I am sorry this has
been a rough month. I am ready for
everyone to feel better so we can start enjoying each day we have together a
little more. I promise, I will always
try my best to make sure you are happy and healthy. I hate it when either of you don’t feel well,
but I love taking care of you! Maybe
next month will be filled with smiles and laughter, and no more doctors!
I love you both as
high as the sky and the ocean is deep and more and more and more!
Love,
Mama
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