When Zachary was born, I was breastfeeding exclusively. I had a problem with my epidural, so I was forced to spend an additional day in the hospital. This was a blessing in disguise because my milk came in while I was still in the hospital, and I was able to take full advantage of the support offered by the nurses and lactation consultant. Unfortunately, upon going home, the treatment that I was prescribed to heal my spine led to a rapid decrease in my milk supply. We began to supplement with formula while I continued to pump as much as possible. Knowing that Abigail developed a milk protein allergy in infancy, we knew the signs to look for and were on alert for any problems with Zachary. Unfortunately, about two weeks after coming home, we noticed blood in Zachary's diaper. (Even at the worst point of Abby's allergy, we could never see the blood in her stools...) Needless to say, we were a bit freaked out and took him to the pediatrician immediately. He was diagnosed with a milk protein allergy, and after trying several over-the-counter formulas, we were switched to a prescription-only, hypoallergenic, amino-acid based formula. While he seemed to improve for a few days, he soon began to have sizable spit-ups after every bottle and large numbers of stools (2-3 per bottle). The pediatrician had us visiting her office every few days to check Zachary's weight to ensure that he was not losing too many calories due to his spit-ups and stools. Just shy of his 4-week birthday, at our office visit, Zach weighed in at 8 pounds, 6 ounces. You may remember from this post that Zach's birth weight was a healthy 8 pounds, 3 ounces, so he was almost back to his birth weight. The doctor sent us to the hospital for monitoring.
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| The view from here was breaking this mommy's heart. Zachary at Huntington Hospital - 09/18/2011 |
I can honestly say that I have never been so scared. To see this little boy having trouble digesting what we believed to be the only food available to him that would not make him sick broke my heart and had me honestly worried for his life. I cried the entire way to the hospital, quietly so as not to upset Abigail. Our little guy was checked in and his food intake and urine/feces output was monitored. Aside from some Pedialyte, Zachary was not given any medications, and after one day, his weight seemed to have stabilized. (He even gained just over an ounce!) The doctor discharged us with orders to follow-up with our doctor the next day. Unfortunately, the day we were discharged and that night were absolutely awful, so we were not surprised to discover that the weight Zach put on at the hospital had been lost, and then some. After sending us to a pediatric GI specialist and being wholly dissatisfied with the report she was given from that doctor, our pediatrician sent us to Cohen Children's Medical Center.
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| Zachary with Daddy in the ER at Cohen's, waiting to be admitted. Cohen Children's Medical Center - 09/20/2011 |
Zachary was once again checked in to the hospital. But this time, he was given a full battery of tests to rule out everything from physiological problems to Cystic Fibrosis. The GI specialist at Cohen's was an amazing, caring doctor who took excellent care of Zachary, explained her treatment plan and answered all our questions, and kept Zach's pediatricians in the loop at every step of the way. After one day on IV fluids, we saw slight improvement in Zach, and when we resumed feeding him his formula, he was better able to keep it down and his stools slowed down to a reasonable rate (2-3 per day).
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| After one day of IV fluids, Zachary just looked better... Cohen Children's Medical Center - 09/21/2011 |
I had honestly had enough of hospitals at this point. Unfortunately, we began to notice that Zach was developing a slight cold after the New Year. A runny nose and cough seemed to be his only symptoms, and they didn't seem to bother him too badly. However, Zach was incredibly unhappy at church on Sunday, January 8th, so Carey took him to PM Pediatrics, after-hours urgent care for children. There, Zach was diagnosed with RSV - respiratory syncytial virus, a virus that affects the respiratory system. In some cases, it can lead to worse conditions, including bronchiolitis. Zach was given an oral steroid and a nebulizer treatment at the urgent care center, and Carey came home with prescriptions for these medications so we could continue administering them to him at home. With the exception of the fussy period Zachary had at church, he gave no indication that he was feeling unwell, eating, sleeping, and playing normally. So imagine our surprise when, at our follow-up appointment with our pediatrician on Monday morning, we were told that Zachary's respiratory rate was dangerously high and we needed to take him to the hospital. Again. (The pediatrician counted his breathing at 80 breathes per minute, even after an in-office nebulizer treatment.)
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| No one should be allowed to look this adorable in a hospital gown... Huntington Hospital - 01/09/2012 |
So, we were back at Huntington Hospital. Zachary's treatment plan was much the same as what we were doing at home, but his oxygen levels (which tend to dip lower with labored breathing) and his heart rate (which can increase due to the albuterol from the nebulizer treatments) were closely monitored. Thankfully, Zachary's breathing slowed down after one night in the hospital, and the doctors kept us for one additional night for observation. (Honestly, after what had happened at our first hospital visit, when we were sent home only to have Zachary's condition take a turn for the worse, I didn't mind him staying an additional night...) When Zachary was finally released on Wednesday, January 11th, his breathing was consistently at an acceptable rate and wasn't as labored as before, and he was barely coughing at all. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the worst, the doctor said Zach was a 3, in terms of seriousness of the illness upon discharge.
Since our release, we have had two follow-up appointments with the pediatrician. At our most recent visit on January 19th, Zachary was given a clean bill of health. His lungs were crystal clear - no wheezing whatsoever - and his ears were clear as well. (Ear infections are common in children with RSV due to the amount of congestion caused by the virus, which tends to back up into the head/ears towards the end of the illness.) Aside from some sleep issues - we had a few days when Zach did not nap during the day at all and we've had some recent night wakings - Zach has been doing great. In addition to the hospital stay, Zach cut two teeth, has begun rolling over, and is moving onto more solid foods, so I'm not surprised that the little guy's system is a bit out of whack. I'm hoping that everything will right itself if we just stay the course and try to be consistent with our feeding and nap schedules. We're also very thankful that the rest of the family, especially Abby, seem to have avoided contracting the virus. There were several days when I felt like we did nothing but wash our hands and disinfect Zachary's toys, and Abby was sad that she couldn't give Zach hugs and kisses, but it was worth it to prevent the spread of the virus, which is very contagious.
So, that is why the blog has been a little quiet so far this year. Not because things have been quiet at the Ng house, but rather because things have been a bit too exciting around here. We are definitely hoping that the little guy can stay healthy, especially through the remainder of the winter, and that things will stay nice and boring for a little bit. If nothing else, I'll need some quiet time to count the number of gray hairs that this adorable little man has given me in the past 5 months...
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| That precious smile from that precious boy... :-) At home! - 01/19/2012 |
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