Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Don't worry, babies never get strep.

Sweet Baby P-Nut went down HARD yesterday. Man, oh man, was it a toughy to witness!

Sunday evening I noticed she had flushed cheeks and was drooling like a mad woman. She was in great spirits, eating fine, and her temp was only 99.9 so we assumed there was some teething going on... We were wrong.

She woke up in the middle of the night and threw up. Not baby spit up, full-on vomiting. We were able to get things under control and we eventually got her back to sleep. In the morning it was as if nothing even happened. She ate her bottle and kept it down and she was once again in a happy and playful mood. I had already called in to work thinking I'd have a sick baby to deal with but at this point I thought she pulled a fast one on us and was just fine... Until she wasn't.

In the middle of playing with her toys on the floor she reached up to me and practically climbed in my lap to rest her head on my chest. She did not want to move. I thought she was ready for a nap so I tried to put her down but she would not have it. So back to my chest she went.

Within seconds, not hours, not minutes... seconds, she became so hot but started shivering. I wrapped two warm blankets around her as I held her to my chest and it didn't seem to help. Then she start moaning. Her eyes were closed but she was not really sleeping. Hubs came over to look at her and it didn't take long for him to call the Pediatrician and say we were on our way. At this point her lips even started to turn slightly blueish-purple and it took a lot for us to get her to open her eyes. 

We were seen right away, her fever was 104.8 at this point and they tried to administer Motrin to help lower her fever and bring her some relief from pain. Of course she threw it up instantly. :( Her oxygen levels were good and her poor little heart rate was racing due to the fever. 

After her full assessment it appeared she had a virus of some sort and I could tell they were about to send us on our way and tell us to "tough it out." But as the doctor was getting ready to head out she said "I'd like to do a strep test just in case." "Don't worry, it is very rare for an 8 month old to get strep. I'm positive it will come back clear, but lets run it anyway."

And wouldn't you know... it came back positive! Next they said they were going to prescribe her amoxicillin and that's where being a 2nd-time mom was in my favor. I very sternly and politely said, absolutely not! I'm allergic to amoxicillin and so is Little C. We found out the hard way with him and I was not about to put P-Nut (and Hubs and I) through the same mess on top of what she was already dealing with. I'm sure the odds of her being allergic as well are pretty slim, but so are the odds of an infant getting strep and here we are!

We were prescribed some different antibiotics and sent home. She finally was able to keep some Motrin down and once it kicked in she went down for a much needed nap. We were able to administer the antibiotics, she started keeping fluids down and by the evening we had a whole new baby on our hands! Not 100% by any means but light years away from where she was.

Thank God for modern medicine and antibiotics! Now we just need her to get back to 100% and we are crossing anything and everything that we can possibly cross as well as taking every measure we possibly can to ensure Little C doesn't get it. Especially because I leave for a business trip tomorrow and I don't want to leave Hubs with a sick toddler.

You guys, what a crazy month it has been! Hubs and I have had some stress to deal with regarding our jobs, P-Nut was sick less than two weeks ago, I came down with the sinus gunk last week, Little C has the cough now, and then baby strep! The lack of sleep we've had lately is down-right laughable but we have handled it all so well. You'd even be proud of me because with this whole strep thing I really didn't get worked-up at all! I honestly was able to CTFD and take it all in stride. Of course I was worried about my girl and when she was almost unresponsive I did start to panic a little but soon snapped out of it and remained calm. I knew she'd be okay and I knew she'd be better soon. There was no point in getting worked-up.
After getting through Little C's allergic reaction to amoxicillin, his numerous tummy problems and taking into consideration the lesson's I've learned in dealing with it all, I'd say I handled this episode like a boss! 

Here's hoping things start calming down for us and we can stay healthy for a good stretch of time!

Have you had a baby with strep? Everyone happy and healthy with your fam? Any triumphs lately with being able to CTFD?


4 comments:

  1. Oh geez! We've had a bug at our house with A for about ten days off and on. Just can't seem to fight it off!

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    1. It's that time of year for sure! Hate it when they're sick!

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  2. My child had strep sooooooooo many times that we had her tonsils/adenoids out when she turned 2. That made a huge difference.

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    1. Oh man! It is a bummer you had to wait that long! I'm hoping this isn't a sign we're headed that way ourselves. Strep is no fun! Glad to hear your child has been doing better since the surgery. :)

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