A tour of ERs- this time in Wichita

We had a family road trip this past weekend to visit one of my best friends, Lauren, at her new house on Wichita.  It started out as any old weekend and we picked the kids up from school and headed south. The drive went great and Charlie told us when he had to potty and it was timed well for us to be able to stop!!  We got there and gave the kids a bath and put them to sleep and they surprisingly did ok- Maddie in the pack n play and Charlie got to sleep on the floor in his new sleeping bag Nana got him for Christmas (that he was SO excited about!).

We went to bed later and Maddie woke up, so I just pulled her in bed with us in an attempt to not let her cries wake Charlie up.   She was laying on my chest and at midnight she started moving around and then puked all over me.   And it smelled horrible.  Like nothing I've ever smelled in baby spit up.  Oh wait....that's because she got a bottle of someone else's formula on accident at daycare Friday afternoon.  She's never even had formula, but apparently sucked it down ok...but it didn't seem to settle well in her tummy. 

I changed and thought it was just a one time thing.  Oh nope.  She did it again two times before it was an acceptable time to get up (aka 5:30am)...and after the third time...the sheets and pillow were soaked too (the first two times she somehow just puked on me...).  So we got everyone up - of course Charlie had ended up in our bed too!

She was acting just fine. Laughing and crawling around, etc.  I was worried because she had not had any wet diapers since a little wet one after she threw up at midnight.  I fed her around 9:00 and prayed that she would keep it down and have a wet diaper.  I was outside playing with Charlie while she was inside chilling with everyone else.  Around 10:00 she was good!! No fever, no vomit but still no wet diaper.  I picked her up and it was almost an instant vomit all over me again. I mean I was out of clothes to wear at this point!!!  Poor girl.

I decided to call our pediatrician's office and see what they thought. When I told her she had not had a wet diaper or bowel movement since around midnight- she kind of freaked out and said we should bring her in now.  Ok- but we are 2.5 hours away. She recommended an immediate care clinic in wichita for us to go to - but said she needs to be seen in case of dehydration.  So I'm torn because I feel like she's feeling just fine, but the urgency in the nurse's voice made me nervous. I called the urgent care to make sure they saw babies and they said yes, so off we went...just as Katie, Barry, James and baby William got there from Oklahoma.  Talk about bad timing.

Twenty minutes later, we are checked in and waiting.  She gets her weight taken, temp taken, etc.  we go back into the exam room and she instantly falls asleep.   The doctor walks in, I talk to her for 5 seconds, she slightly takes Maddie's pacifier out and says - "Yep, she's dehydrated and needs an IV.  We don't give those to kids under 5 here so you need to go to the ER."  And then literally walked out of the room.  No exam, nothing else. Weirdest thing ever.  I even stopped by the check in to make sure we didn't need anything else.  

The hospital ER was next door, but I was just so frustrated.  I felt like she wasn't even examined and the last thing I wanted was for her to go to the ER again (I mean she's already been twice!!).  Part of me just wanted to hang out and see if she threw up or finally would have a wet diaper, but then the other part of me was thinking how I would never ever forgive myself if she really was dehydrated and I just ignored the doctor and then God forbid something worse happened to Maddie.  Mommy gut told me to just suck it up and block out the practical side (telling me it's to much $$, time, etc) and just take her in just in case.

So in we went.  Maddie's third time to the emergency room in just 8.5 months.  For real, sister??! Let's hope that record doesn't continue!!!

We got a room and she was happy as a lark.  No temperature, perfect oxygen levels- just hanging out in the ER.

The nurse was super nice and almost immediately the PA working came in and was fabulous.   She took a look at her and said, nope...she's not dehydrated.  I about LOST it.  I mean seriously?! Not that I wanted her to be at all- but what the heck since the last doctor said she was and said to get her immediately to the ER.  So frustrating!!!  They were very nice though, as we were still concerned because she still had not had a wet diaper or bowel movement since midnight.  She suggested that I feed her and see what happens next.  

So I fed her.  She fell asleep.  And I sat there.  My phone was barely working and running out of battery quick.  I was starving, had to pee and thirsty.  But I wasn't about to leave my sweet babe.  So I sucked up any selfish emotions and just sat with her. Let her sleep on me while the crazy ER world hustled around outside our curtain.

After and hour and a half of just sitting there and relishing in our closeness, I tried to wake her up to see if I could get her to pee.  Girlfriend didn't want to wake up- maybe it's because she didn't sleep he night before with all her puking!!

Finally she got up and we played with my empty water bottle.  Blew bubbles and practiced saying "mama".

Then mid-playing. She passed out like this. Haha. Poor thing was beat!!

The ER doctor finally came in and it was the first time we got to talk to him. He looked at her, also confirmed she was not dehydrated.  We discussed if her throwing up could have been due to the fact she was accidentally given a bottle of someone else's formula at day care (unlike Charlie who we did have to supplement him early on, Maddie has never had anything but breast milk...so quite a shock to her tummy.).  He said not likely but unsure.  Probably just a quick stomach bug.  He gave us a prescription for zofran to help with her nausea and that was it. Pretty anti-climatic for the time we spent there (and one expensive nap miss Madeline!).  However, the two hours I spent sitting there holding my baby and listening to everything else going on and others getting bad news about their loved ones- I kind of felt like all this happened to remind me to be constantly thankful for the health of my loved ones and especially my kiddos.  So while we left with no real ailment defined- it was good for us both.

Even though I did feel kind of stupid for taking her in.

And guess what? I had been checking and praying for a wet diaper the whole time we were sitting there and I checked one last time before we left and there it was!!!  Good timing Maddie!!

In the mean time, Charlie and James had a freaking blast playing on Lauren and David's amazing swing set!!  It turned out to be a gorgeous day too!!  When Maddie and I got back, we all headed to an amazing park just up be road from their house to play. Pretty much their future kids are set with all this fun around them!!!

After the park, James was about ready to meltdown since he didn't take a nap and Katie and Barry headed back to Oklahoma. I was pretty sad because I barely got to see them and didn't even hold baby William (because I was super worried about any germs that Maddie had spreading to him- at only 3 months old, that's a no no!).  So Katie- can we set up another get together please???

Lauren, Charlie and I went to the store while the boys entertained Maddie.  The Big 12 tournament games were on, but David was DVRIng them to watch after our kids were asleep in their amazing theater room!! We grilled and ate WAY TOO much food but it was so good.  

Luckily, Maddie didn't throw up anymore, but as we guessed, we were in for a long night.  So when she woke up at 5:30- we were ready to hit the road by 7:30. Mainly because we were like ruining their new house we felt like!!!  The drive back was easy and the kids did good- so that was so nice.

Highlights of the trip-

- of course getting to see Lauren and David and their new house! We miss them in KC but such an easy drive to visit!

- getting to see the Ruddick clan and meeting William in person- he's adorable!!!

- James and Charlie reuniting- they seriously love each other!

- Charlie being obsessed with Lauren and David's pantry and their step stil.  He pretty much owned David all weekend and demanded he lift him up so he could examine the food on the highest shelf.  Embarrassingly rude,  but hilarious

- of course...a third ER visit and puking baby was not a positive thing, but a highlight of the trip

- confirmation that a swing set is an amazing investment (getting one soon with our upcoming backyard redo!)

- getting zero sleep with all 4 of us in bed! Ha! I'm still catching up on sleep and I went to bed so early- these kids!!

Next visit I'm hoping for no sick kids, more beers on the amazing patio and more quality time with friends!!  Thanks for a great visit Hart's and hopefully you will have us back despite having to do like 4 loads of laundry!!!