Oh what a night -- at the ER ;0

Short version: I noticed last night that Cooper felt like he was burning up so we took his temperature and found it to be 101.2 - ugh! We called the pediatrician and left a message and waited for the return call while Cooper screamed and screamed. He felt hotter to me 30 minutes later and lo and behold he had gone up to 101.5 (taken rectally - poor kid!). The pedi doc on call called us back, listened to the symptoms and told us to go to the ER where they ran blood and urine tests which were negative for infection so they sent us home with instructions on what to watch for, to keep him on Tylenol, to call his doc in the AM for further instructions and the pedi doc said that it's probably a reaction to the polio vaccine, or he's coming down with a virus. We were also instructed to give him pedialyte between feedings, watch for additional symptoms and check his temp every 4-5 hours. His temp was 100.7 when we left the hospital but spiked back up to 101.5 just 2.5 hours later. By 9am this morning it was down to 100.4 and I woke up feeling congested so we're thinking it's not a reaction to a vaccine but rather something we caught at daycare last week. ;0

Detailed version: I noticed last night that Cooper felt like he was burning up so we took his temperature and found it to be 101.2 - ugh! We called the pediatrician and left a message and waited for the return call while Cooper screamed and screamed. He felt hotter to me 30 minutes later and lo and behold he had gone up to 101.5 (taken rectally - poor kid!). The doc on call at his pedi office called us right then and we chatted about the shots he received Friday and his symptoms and she advised that due to his age and the fact that the temp was increasing we needed to take him to the ER. She said she'd call the hospital to tell them to expect us and to request that he be seen right away so we wouldn't have to wait in the waiting room long. She also told us to go ahead and give him .6 mL of infant Tylenol before leaving the house (and that she'd advise the hospital that she instructed us to do that in case we got there and his temp went down from it - which would be a good thing for Cooper but might cause them to look at us like exaggerating/paranoid parents).

The doc also mentioned that, according to his chart at their office, he was already running a low grade fever at the pedi office Saturday morning when we went in to discuss his AR meds and related issues (nobody told us that at the time) and that because he was on Tylenol at the time of our visit (b/c he got it for 24 hours following getting his shots the day prior), that the temp they saw at the office was probably lower than it would have been if he wasn't on Tylenol and she felt bad nobody caught onto that even though we told them he had Tylenol at 6:30am about 3 hours before we arrived there.

Once at the hospital they brought us to an isolation/private room to keep Cooper away from the other sick people (that was nice) and the doctor on duty came and talked to us about his symptoms and said he'd already spoken with our pediatrician (very cool) to determine the best course of action. After the ER doc talked to us, the pedi doc called to speak with us to explain what she asked the ER doc to do and answer any questions we might have (very cool again). She said she has a 3 month old at home herself and wants to be sure we felt comfortable and that all our questions were answered and that we were kept informed all along the way.

They put in an IV line to draw blood for blood work (testing for white blood cell count elevation) and to give him fluids because he's been barely eating (as in half or less than half his usual amount) for the last 48 hours. Then they taped his little arm to a foam board to keep it straight since he kept flailing his arms around and we worried he'd cause himself more pain by pulling on the IV. Next, they attempted to cath him to draw a urine sample but he was dry so they installed a urine catch bag (he's had that before at the pedi's office) just in case he pee'd b/w then and when they would come back to try again after giving him more fluids. Cooper freaked out during each of these procedures but thankfully the nurses did a great job and got things "installed" on the first try. Once each procedure was done, Cooper whimpered and pressed his face against my chest and fell asleep.

The ER doc came in to tell us his white blood cell count was excellent and that meant they didn't *think* he had an infection but we had to wait for him to provide a urine sample so we could check that too. Cooper pee'd in the catch bag shortly thereafter so they took that away for testing. As we waited for the results of the urine test, the pedi doc called to talk to us again - to provide moral support and tell us that the bloodwork looked really good. She said that if the urine comes back "clear" she'd have them send us home with instructions to keep him on Tylenol and other fever management measures and she said we're to call her in the morning with an update on how he's doing but to go back to the ER if his temp doesn't stay down. She said the most likely cause of the fever is either 1) reaction to the Polio vaccine he got on Friday morning, or 2) he's coming down with a virus. We wouldn't know which it is until we see how he does over the next couple of days.

We were at the ER from 9:45pm-1:30am. They instructed us to give him pedialyte between feedings to keep him hydrated, and Tylenol every 4-6 hours and gave us additional detailed instructions on how to help reduce his fever if the Tylenol doesn't bring it down or what to do if it keeps going up. They suggested he sleep in his car seat in case he becomes congested (in case it's a virus) since his AR could aggravate the slightest congestion and make it tough for him to breathe. When we left the hospital his temp was 100.7.

Cooper fell asleep on the way home so we kept him in the car seat at home until he woke up to eat again. He was up by 3:30am so I fed him and then he started screaming again. I took his temp and he was back up to 101.5. UGH. We called the pedi doc and when she returned the call a few minutes later she suggested a warm bath and/or luke warm cloths to his forehead and tummy. She said although he has a "good fever" it's not super high and the tests at the ER ruled out infection so she felt good about us staying at home and working to lower his temp here and regrouping later in the morning to see how he did.

We did the luke warm compresses which made him really mad ;0. Then we stripped him down to just a diaper, turned the A/C temp down and turned the ceiling fan up. Since he was congested by then we also turned on the cool mist humidifier as she had also suggested.

I held him all morning because whenever I tried to place him in his car seat he freaked out and screamed. He would sleep for about 15 minutes then scream for 5-10, and so on - this went on from about 4-9am. But by 9am his temp was down to 100.4 and he seems much calmer - he is now asleep in his swing thankfully. He was definitely congested and getting crusty mucus in his nose which I had to use the saline drops and nose bulb plunger to remove a few times throughout the morning.

Another thing I observed at 9am - I'm sick - my head feels congested/stuffy and my throat is scratchy. So.....I THINK we can rule out a reaction to the vaccine - Cooper and I probably caught something at his daycare center on Wed/Thu of this week - or he caught it and gave it to me or vice versa. Either way - what a bummer!!! I suppose the bright side is we're getting the first daycare illness out of the way while I'm still home with him and hopefully this will help boost his immunity to these things.

Unfortunately, since he's so young and small (one week shy of 3 months old and less than 12 lbs), the ONLY medication we can give him to make him comfortable is infant Tylenol drops every 5-6 hours.

On another happy note...besides the fact that we know he's going to be OK (albeit miserable for a while - but hey, what's new - right!? With his reflux he's usually miserable lately), we were really impressed with the on-call doc at the pedi office - she was so wonderful throughout the night/morning - calling to check in and explain things the way she did - calling us 2-3 times at the ER even. The ER doc even told us that he takes his kids to the same pedi office and he thinks they're the best in the area - that was nice to hear, esp after we had a not so great experience recently with one of the docs regarding Cooper's AR meds - though the one we saw Saturday morning about it was awesome.

We're hoping that whatever he and I have caught passes quickly. If this virus or cold or whatever it is doesn't improve or seems to get worse, I feel good that the pedi docs and the ER docs will be totally on top of it to help us get it under control. They took really good care of Cooper and us last night/this morning.

Please send prayers and positive thoughts our way - for a quick and smooth recovery from whatever it is we have caught and for Cooper's comfort in the meantime. The poor kid has been through enough already and deserves a break from feeling so terrible.