Tag Archives: fever

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Medical Update #3

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Monday, 8 September 2014; One Year and Twenty Three Weeks Old.

We spent another night at the hospital last night.

On Saturday night Ayla developed a medium-high temperature which wouldn’t go below 38 degrees even with Panadol and Nurofen.

Then all day yesterday, Sunday, Ayla’s temperature continued to climb and as it got higher Ayla got weaker, floppier and scarily lethargic.

With no other symptoms apart from having eaten literally NOTHING for three days, my Mum and I made the call to take her back to the ER. While the logicial answer was that Ayla had caught a virus during our Friday night hospital visit, with her lack of eating, aneamia and other digestive concerns we knew we didn’t really have an option but to be safe.

By the time we got to the hospital, Ayla’s eyes were rolling back in her head and her temperature hit 40.5 degrees. When we saw the doctors thier first reaction was also a virus, but without any other symptoms they needed to rule out urinary tract and bowel infections.

I was freaking out. I was so worried that poor Ayla had contracted a bowel infection during her Friday night proceedures and/or I was terrified that the temperature was simply a consequence of Ayla having eaten less than 1000 calories over an entire week, causing her body to shut down through lack of energy.

The hospital was, again, amazing. Unlike the hospital care we’ve recieved previously in our home town, the doctors here were proactive, thorough and vigilant. They asked us to catch a urine sample (which is always fun, luckily I’ve become a seasoned pro at catching baby wee over the past 9 months) and while we were waiting for that they conducted a nose swab to confirm categorically it was a virus.

SIDENOTE: Never before did I know that a nose swab could identify a virus! In all the times I’ve visited doctors and hospitals back home with Ayla, or myself for that matter, no one has EVER suggested a nose swab; prefering instead to wave their hand non-commitally and proclaim “ahhh, some sort of virus”.

Anyway, while Ayla was sitting on my lap naked from the waist down, my mum sitting with a urine sample cup ready in her hand in the chair across from us, we heard a stange noise come from Ayla’s tummy. Then out from her little bottom shot a horrid, watery projectile that scattered for about a metre.

The doctors seemed pleased. To them it looked like confirmation of their virus theory but to be safe and sure they proactively took a sample of the smelly mess. I was mortified, secretly panicking that this new development was a sign of damage from Friday night or that all the stress and impaction over the last four months had finally reached a peak.

I was also worrying about how all this would impact Ayla’s proceedure on Friday. But, after 5.5 hours at the ER we were told we could go home. Ayla had narrowly missed having a catheter inserted thanks to her finally passing urine as the nurse was setting up, and within a few minutes of sending off the sample we had a positive result; no UTI.

While the swab and stool samples will take a few days to come back, Ayla’s temperature had come back down to a managable level after some Panadol and there was nothing more the ER staff could do for us.

It was a sleepless night, and today Ayla is still unwell although no where near as bad as she was yesterday. She’s still has some signs of a gastro bug and is still refusing to eat but the colour is coming back into her face and her smile is returning. I know better than to count my chickens, but thank goodness.

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Did I tell her

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Tuesday, 8 April 2014: One Year and One Week Old.

Oh. My. Goodness… This morning was awful!

Ayla is still crook and after her late night last night she seemed a little worse for wear when she woke up.

But with no temperature Ayla was in generally good spirits and happy to eat some breakfast so it was off to “school” for both us of.

When we got to day care though, Ayla clung to me like a terrified koala.

After two attempts of trying to get her to let go, the day care mum had to prise Ayla’s little arms from around my body.

As soon I was out of Ayla’s grasp she started reaching out for me, and when I didn’t pick her up Ayla’s eyes started to well with tears.

The day care mum gave Ayla a cuddle as I tried to nonchalantly make my exit, but every step I took seemed to cause Ayla physical pain and I could see her little heart breaking as she screamed for my return.

When I reached the foyer I peered back down the corridor, through three glass-panelled doorways, and saw my Baby Ayla’s face staring back at me over the day care mums shoulder, tears streaming down her cheeks.

It was then that the panic set in! I couldn’t remember if I’d told Ayla that I loved her when I left; what if something happens and ‘I love you’ aren’t the last words I said to her! What if she thinks I’ve left her there because I don’t love her! Should I go back?! Or just pretend it doesn’t matter… When it does!

Thankfully I was able to quell the anxiety and pull myself together, only releasing one solitary tear in the process.

After a deep breath and a few quick words of positive self talk I set my course for the office and tried to stay calm.

My second day at work was as good as the first and although I’m already starting to see work pile up on my desk, I can feel my brain fill with ideas and opportunities for the future.

I’m also getting used to expressing breast milk in the tiny store room out the back, and I think I found a way to discreetly store little bags of milk in the communal fridge.

Being a Tuesday I had uni after work so it was nearly ten hours before I got to see Ayla again.

The day care mums said Ayla had been unsettled and irritable all day but fortunately her temperature hadn’t returned and she’d eaten her first meal in days.

Although, by the time we got home Ayla had a fever of 38.9 which meant yet another dose of Panadol and plenty of cuddles.

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Isolation

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Friday, 28 March 2014: Three Hundred and Sixty One Days Old.

We’re still in hospital and although Ayla has perked up a bit her symptoms haven’t changed.

After being on a drip all night Ayla had put on 200grams by this morning and we thought she was on the mend.

The doctors removed the drip and asked us to give Ayla 10mls of an electrolyte fluid every 15 minutes or so via a small drinking syringe instead.

But since then Ayla has had four bouts of diarrhoea and a massive vomit, which meant that by her evening weigh-in she’d lost 75grams in just a few hours.

Ayla definitely seems happier though and despite having a mild fever all day she’s been smiling and waving and blowing kisses at everyone.

But Hubby and I are worried Ayla’s health is simply restarting the same cycle it’s been on for the past seven days; mild fever > upset stomach > lack of appetite > high fever > severe lethargy > REPEAT.

I guess only time will tell (or the test results we’re still waiting on!) and for now it’s another night in the isolation ward.

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Koala

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Sunday, 23 March 2014: Three Hundred and Fifty Six Days Old.

Last night was the longest night ever in the history of Ayla.

Just as we were finally getting into holiday mode and looking forward to the next few days being filled with snorkelling, shopping and sightseeing, Ayla fell terribly ill.

At 8pm I gave Ayla her regular bed time feed and at 8.30pm, just moments after she’d fallen asleep in my arms content with a full belly of milk, Ayla vomited.

Ayla has never been one to vomit, I only recall one other time when she was a tiny baby that she vomited and I thought that was scary, but this time Ayla kept vomiting, and crying and cramping up in her tummy.

Fortunately Hubby and I were able to catch the resort nurse just before she finished her shift and she gave us some panadol to bring down Ayla’s fever that was climbing up past 38.5 degrees.

I then held Ayla and rocked her and comforted her until the wee hours, upright against my chest like a little koala.

After pacing until my back was sore I resorted to setting up camp in the bath tub, propped up by a couple of pillow and tensely awaiting Ayla’s next bout of sickness.

Poor Hubby’s illness also returned during the night so it was long and tedious for all of us.

This morning Ayla seemed a little better but the amount of milk and water we could give her is limited because too much caused her to be sick.

By the early afternoon Ayla was looking much better, she’d had a big sleep and had been able to keep down some milk and water so we decided to sneak out to an air conditioned shopping centre in Phuket Town for an hour or two.

But the taxi ride there did nothing for Ayla except upset her stomach and reignite her temperature, which shot straight to 39.5!

Luckily we’d packed the panadol and were able to address it straight away but it was a frightening reminder that there is nothing more important than Ayla and until she is well again we will happily stay in the confines of the resort.

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Sick little chicken

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Friday 2 August 2013: One Hundred and Twenty-Three Days Old.

Poor little Baby Ayla has been a sick little chicken all day today.

Up at 3am for her usual feed, Ayla couldn’t get back to sleep and stayed awake squirming and grizzling till nearly 5am.

At 5.25am she was up again and her temperature seemed to have settled in for the day.

Although Ayla must have been feeling very under the weather, in true Angel Baby style she still managed some FaceTime smiles for her grandma’s birthday.

It was awful to see Ayla all dopey, tired and off her food, but I was surprised to feel good ol’ mummy guilt rear its head and help me see why some people choose not to vaccinate.

But, I was quick to remind myself how much worse things could be and I simply held my baby closer than ever.

Finally, after a noble 18 hour fight, I gave in to the temptation of baby panadol and tapped out when the thermometer climbed to 38.8 degrees.

So now we wait for peaceful dreams and hope for a happy healthy baby tomorrow.

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Fever

Thursday, 16 May 2013: Forty-Five Days Old.

Since having her immunisations yesterday Ayla’s been fighting her first fever, and she’s handling it like a champ.

The fever’s not bad, it’s sitting in the high 37s/low 38s, but it’s enough to make her want her mummy and daddy.

I’ve talked before about how much I love baby cuddles, and I do, but it’s tiring when you spend all day carrying a 4kg baby around and my back is killing me.

So we’ve spent literally the whole day on the couch. Most of the time Ayla’s been asleep but it’s been peppered with plenty of little cries, the odd girly squeal and short phases of fitful squirming.

I wish I could tell her it’s ok, that the fever is making her stronger and will keep her safe and healthy, but all I can do is hold her tight and kiss her little chubby cheeks.