Set backs, scares, screams and a trip to TCH.

Last Friday I got the call that every working mom dreads…come get your kid, they are sick. Ugh. It’s not that they are sick and we have to leave to get them that makes it “ugh,” it is the fear that you will have to miss more work…and I did.

Over the weekend Owen’s fever spiked to 104.7. Man, I hate high fevers. They scare me to death. Not to mention they make Tylenol and Motrin necessary. So we alternated between the two to reduce the fever and of course, cramping and screaming followed. What is it about those two that hurt him? I really think it is Motrin and I think he agrees. He will take the Tylenol no problem but as soon as we come at him with Motrin, he slams his mouth shut, screams and cries. I missed work yesterday but hopefully, he is past this virus. And yes, it was a virus…we know that for sure.

You see, Owen is not vaccinated. Think what you will but it was my decision and I think it was the best decision for him. Cate reacted badly to all her shots. High fevers, etc. So why would I put an already sensitive child through that? I won’t. At least not until we have whatever is going on figured out. And his pediatrician supports me, but still disagrees and tells me every chance he gets. I used to doubt my decision but then “the best pediatric gastroenterologist in Houston” told me I did the right and very best thing for Owen by postponing them. I don’t doubt myself anymore.

So, back to the virus…because Owen is not vaccinated, we have to get blood drawn any time his fever is over 102. Texas Children’s Hospital is just down the street from us, and on Monday we had him tested. By Monday night we had the preliminary results and everything was within the “normal range.” We are still waiting on the test that will tell us if any bacteria is growing in his blood but I highly doubt that will be the case.

I got pretty upset when the doc told us to go get blood. I started to feel like he was punishing us for delaying vaccines. But then it dawned on me…this kid is being watched so closely. He is getting better care than Cate. It is inconvenient to say the least but if anything bad ever starts to grow, I suspect it will get caught quickly!

But that wasn’t even the scariest part of the weekend…we had another scare where he stopped breathing. Some of you may know that this has happened two times before (August 13 and September 13). The first time it happened we ended up spending the weekend at TCH. The second time, just warranted a follow up with a pediatric neurologist and a MRI – both of which we are still waiting on. The first time was the scariest but this time is a close second. Owen was sitting on the floor with Cate. She took a toy away from him. This is nothing new. She takes a toy away from him whenever she sees him holding a toy. And he has never stopped breathing before…I was sitting on the couch. Chad was standing right behind them. I saw her take the toy and watched him open his mouth to scream but nothing came out. I looked at him, realized what was happening and said “Chad, he isn’t breathing.” Unsure what I just said, Chad just stood there. I said it again but right as I did, Owen fell back and hit his head on the hardwood floors. Chad scooped him up and tried to get him to start breathing again. He couldn’t. So I told him to call 911 and I grabbed him from him and started blowing in his face. His eyes were open but he had already started turning blue. After about 4 blows of air in his face he took a gasp and then fell limp but stopped breathing again. I blew in his face again 2 more times. He let out a big cry and did it again. After the third time I was able to get him to stop and take several steady breaths. We ended up not calling 911 but we did watch him like hawks the rest of the night/weekend.

When this happened back in August for the first time, I wasn’t with him. I just found him blue and stiff in the pack and play. He was classified as having a seizure but no one was really sure if that is what it was. After this latest episode, I am less inclined to think seizures…I think he just gets really upset and holds his breath. But it is the limp behavior after that worries his doctors so we will have the consult and MRI in February.

All seems to be quiet in our house today. Owen is back in school and Cate has yet to show signs of getting this most recent bug. His teacher just called me to tell me he ate all his steak. Yay!

Patience.

I am not a patient person. Having children has taught me some patience but I still struggle with it.

Feeding Owen is something that is requiring a ton of patience. I guess, in a way, my lack of patience is paying off in that I am not waiting too long between foods to introduce new things and that is helping speed this process up. But when it takes an hour to feed him, I lose it. Or come very close to losing it.

The kid refuses to eat. He will take one or two bites no problem, and then he slams his jaw shut and refuses to open. Admittedly, I have pried his teeth apart and shoved in a bite or two. He cries, I want to cry…It is just miserable. I have to find a way to make this more enjoyable for the both of us. I don’t want to scar him for life. Eating is a wonderful thing. There are some tasty items out there…even for a kid on a gluten free diet. Did you know Blue Bell is gluten free (so long as there are no gluten containing products in the ice cream – like Oreos). We still aren’t giving him dairy or soy products but when we do, I can’t wait to place a big bowl of Blue Bell’s Dutch Chocolate ice cream in front of him.

So we are thinking we are going to stop giving him bottles of his formula. Eventually he will get so hungry he will eat. Selfishly though, this means more sleepless nights…and I am a huge fan of sleep.