Our Hospital Stay

Sad but true, Baby Madison has already spent several nights in a hospital at only 5 weeks old! Here's the story...

She wasn't her normal sweet self over the weekend...way more fussy than usual and had a hard time sleeping. I didn't think much of it, thought it was a growth spurt. Then Tuesday morning Nolan left to work on a machine in Colorado. She was super fussy all day, cried more than ever. After one of her naps I noticed she was really hot. Luckily, Lyndsie came over to help me take her temp...didn't want to try the dreaded rectal temp alone for the first time! It was 101.5! I freaked out, called the on-call pediatrician who said I need to go to the ER right away...then I started balling and freaking out even more! My sweet sis-in-law was amazing at trying to calm me and she called my mom to help. My mom came right over and we took her to Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children's Hospital. She was taken right away for a chest X-Ray, they drew blood, got a urine sample via catheter, and attempted a spinal tap (tried 3 times and never got a clean sample). Then they admitted us to a room where they stared an IV, antibiotics, and put her on a heart monitor. It was AWFUL!!! Hearing her scream while they poked her tiny little limbs trying to find a vein...and Nolan was out of town...I was an absolute mess!

We stayed at the hospital until Friday. I spent every night by her side, sleep deprived, and annoyed by LOUD beeping monitors. My amazing mother would relieve me during the day so I could shower and get a few hours of sleep. Finally, all of her tests came back negative for bacterial viruses. Turns out she has Enterovirus Meningitis, sounds bad but it is pretty much just a typical flu. It is very common in babies, especially in the summer. Because babies have underdeveloped immune system they always admit them for at least 48 hours since the viruses can move very quickly.

We are home now, (Nolan got home Friday night, he missed it all), and she is doing great! You would have never known she was sick. Unfortunately, she is still considered very contagious so we are confined to the house for 2 weeks! It's ok...just more time to spend with my cutie pie!

She is starting to smile and coo and it just melts my heart...I see so much of Nolan in her tiny face and I just love it...knowing we made this beautiful baby just makes me love him more. He spent his first Father's Day in bed with her watching golf and baseball all day! It was adorable!

Also, thank you all for your well wishes, prayers, hugs and kisses...they were needed more than you know...and for those of you just finding out we know you love us too! It was such a whirlwind event I only had time to post quick messages on Facebook.