WOW! Didn't think this day would come so soon!

So, having a boy I figured that I would not be a stranger to the ER, but I definately didn't think my first visit would be when he was only 5 weeks old.

Let me back up.  I've been dealing with sinus junk for the past few days.  Holden started getting congested too on Monday, more so than normal.  Normally he's just a little congested at night.  So Monday night I started the home remedies.  Sat in the bathroom with the shower really hot to steam up.  Did the saline drops and suctioned his nose several times, took temp and used humidifier.  When it was better yesterday I called the pediatrician who recommended that I continue to monitor his temp and use the saline not only before feeding, but also several times each hour.  So, I did that.  Holden had been sleeping more than normal the past few days, probably because he doesn't feel all that well.  So it was a chore to get drops in his little nose while he was trying to sleep, but I managed.  His temp had been steady around 99.2-99.5 degrees, so I thought everything was going ok and that he was just congested.

Well when I checked his temp at about 4:30 it was 100.2.  So I called the pediatrician back as recommended that morning.  The nurse wanted to speak with the doctor before advising me on next steps, but suggested that I re-take his temp again as when it registered 100.2 he had just woken up from a swaddled nap.  In the meantime, he was feeding.  So when the nurse called me back I was expecting her to say just bring him in and we'll check him out.  Wrong, instead she said that with him being so young, Dr. Kim wanted us to go straight to Children's Medical ER.  I immediately got worried.  I felt so helpless.  I had already called Chuck to give him an update, however, didn't think I would be calling him back to tell him to skip the gym that we were going to the ER.  But that's what we did.

I checked his temp before we left and it had gone up to 101.7.  I packed a bag for overnight just in case and we headed out.  Dr. Kim had already called the ER so when we got there the check in process was easy.  In the short time it took us to get there, his temp had broken and was back down to 98.8.  What a relief, but then I was concerned that my home thermometer wasn't accurate and maybe this was overkill.  I was a
nurvous ninny in the waiting room, but not Holden and daddy.  They will just relaxed like nothing was the matter.

We got into a room and the doctor was in really soon.  They started an IV, took urine, blood and nasal samples to check for all sorts of stuff.  My poor baby cried so hard.  They had to insert a catheder to get urine sample, so you can imagine how that went.  But man, nothing was like the scream we got when they took the nasal swab.  My little man is tough though.  They had his little hand wrapped up like Ft. Knox to keep the IV in.

My sweet baby.  Mommy never left his side.  I just kept holding his little hand, kissing him and rubbing his head while they poked on him.

Once they got the IV in, he went for xrays.  They wanted to make sure that there wasn't anything hiding in his lungs like nephonia.  He was suck a trooper.  Only cried for a few minutes when they took his pappy from him.  Pappy is what I called my passy as a little one, so we're calling it that too.  Other than that, he was so good.

Then it was the waiting game for all the test results.  Holden didn't let it keep him from his evening routine though.  After he nursed, it was daddy time.  Holden and daddy have their time in the evening when mommy is getting dinner ready and then before his bath.  So naturally we wanted to keep with our routine.  He is so precious, was so relaxed and safe in daddy's arms.

Thank our awesome God!  All the test results came back clear so we didn't have to have a spinal tap and we didn't have to be admitted.  Nothing was detected to indicate that he had anything other than maybe a cold and congestion.  I'm very grateful that our pediaitrician is overly cautious.  With Holden still being so young a high fever can be very scary.

We left with instructions to continue to use the humidifier and saline drops and to follow up with Dr. Kim.  We got home around 10, got him ready for bed and he was down for the count by 11.  He slept and nursed well throughout the night.  I hate hearing him cry though.  He does not like his little nose to be suctioned out, but I know I have to do it so that he can get back to being my happy little man as soon as possible.

At least I know that I was doing everything right!  Thank goodness for google, experienced friends and my mom to give good advice on a sick baby.  I hope that we dont have to visit the ER for many years to come.