Bad Blogger

Yes- I am a bad blogger! I have been busy lately between Grayson being ill, doctors appointments, dentist appointments, getting in daily exercise, trying to de-clutter our small apartment, planning Grayson's birthday party, and more- I have found little time to blog.

I thought I could start by explaining what happened with Grayson.

It started on Monday, April 11th. Grayson started having (WARNING- possible TMI coming) poops that looked like newborn, breastfed baby poops- even though he is weaned and having lots more solids. They smelled of sulfur. I thought before this that I knew what rotten egg poop smelled like- but now I REALLY know what it smells like.
That night he was up all night, not feeling well. Had a fever of 101 even after fever reducer. We contributed all this to the fact that he was cutting 4 teeth at once (and later we realized it is 5 teeth).
Tuesday afternoon he started refusing bottles. I called his doctor who said to get him to eat what we could and I syringe fed him.
Wednesday, still refused all liquids and foods, was sleeping non-stop, not active at all. I considered him pretty close to lethargic.  I called his ped again, and they said to bring him in.
They said it looked like he had a stomach virus. Keep an eye on him to make sure he stays hydrated, etc.
Well, by Wednesday night, Grayson couldn't even sit up, he would just lay in the same spot whether awake or asleep. He had not made a full wet diaper all day. I was still forcing fluids by syringe. When he would cry, he wouldn't have tears.
Mike and I decided to take him to the emergency room. I won't get into this visit as looking back it infuriates me. Let's just say- I should have fought more for what I knew was wrong in my heart. Unfortunately, Mike sided with the ER doctor (I think this is because he has a family member who is a real hypochondriac and he fears of becoming one with Grayson) and so I let it go. The ER doctor basically said he was fine and didn't need an IV or anything and to just keep pushing fluids by syringe.
Thursday, I thought things were getting better because I got Grayson to take a couple ounces here and there by bottle. However, he ended up throwing most of it back up. He was still just laying around. We knew he was sick because we could lay him somewhere awake and he would just go back to sleep. He normally fights sleep- even after he is asleep. He wouldn't roll over, talk, anything.
Friday morning he was still acting like this. I called the pediatrician again. They wanted to see him right away. I got a different ped than his (because they wanted me in so fast) but I really liked her. She realized how worried I was, even though she didn't think Grayson was too bad off, she sent us to the hospital to be admitted for an IV. She was sure it would only be a few hours.
Well, they gave a bolis (?) IV to Grayson which is where they flush in saline to really fill him up with some fluid, then they switched to the regular IV (with the electrolytes like they give a woman in labor or someone having surgery). After 5 hours he still hadn't perked up any so they did another bolis. Finally, 8 hours later he was feeling a little better. He still refused to take a bottle or food.
When the labs from his bloodwork came back it showed he was SEVERLY dehydrated. I was actually told that they were glad he was in there because his kidneys could have failed soon. I was told I was lucky I was force feeding him by syringe and that probably saved him.
I had told every doctor about his poops and how they smelled, and every doctor dismissed it. Even the resident doctor. Then the resident doctor was in the room when Grayson had a poopy diaper. And he smelled it. It triggered something in his memory to test it for.
Grayson tested positive for Clostridium difficile. C Diff is a bacteria in the same category as those that cause botulism. It causes diarrhea and dehydrates the body quickly. Especially a tiny little baby's body.
So they started antibiotics and continued the IV. Saturday Grayson threw up a lot of his bottles and kept refusing them so we ended up not being able to come home until Sunday.
He lost a lot of weight, had to take some nasty antibiotics, and more.
After over a week of this, I was very excited when he started smiling and laughing again the middle of the next week. For a long time I had to feed him a few ounces at a time, eating every 1-2 hours, but now he is back to almost the same feeding amounts as before he got sick.
I learned a lot about following my mommy instinct, and Mike learned not to question me when I feel so uneasy after a doctor says everything is fine.