We got home Sunday, November 15 after being in the hospital for 9 days! Yep – that was 9 days of no going outside for Mom or Kian. Poor Kian had a stomach virus that just totally wiped him out. He was vomiting for an entire day and was very lethargic the next day which was also the same day that me and Jamie started puking ourselves. It was so bad that both of us ran to the bathroom in the peds office to throw up in the middle of telling the doctor what was going on. The doctor decided to admit us to the hospital because it was Friday and she was afraid that Kian would really get dehydrated. They started an IV on Kian so he wouldn’t need to eat but he could if he wanted to. Since I was sick my milk pretty much dried up – I couldn’t keep even two sips of Sprite down so it was good he had the IV in for a few days. Thankfully there was a bed in the room that they just let me and Kian sleep in together so I could rest and be with Kian. Co-sleeping helps milk production anyway so I didn’t mind :)
The next day I was able to keep food down and I started taking my herbs again for milk production (I had found out the day before Kian got sick that my milk supply had decreased by half due to some odd sucking Kian has). From all the vomiting I did, my milk was dried up anyway and needed a boost. In the mean time, they put an NG tube or a feeding tube down Kian’s nose that went right to his stomach so they could dump food into it. Kian was refusing a bottle – he was having an oral aversion to anything foreign in his mouth. Kian hated the tube…he was gagging on it at first and then started vomiting…the nurses slowed down how fast they were giving him the formula and the doctor told them to lower the amount. At first she had him getting 4.5 ounces when he hadn’t had any food in 3 days at all in his stomach and before that he was only used to 2 ounces anyway. For the next 5 days I tried not to pick him up or move him at all when he was eating to help him not throw up. It was so sad :( I would play with him or cuddle with him to go to sleep.
They ran tests on his poop to see what kind of virus he had but they all came up negative. He had x-rays to see if there were blockages and a radiology test to see how things were going through his digestive system. Everything came up fine. Part of his small intestine was inflamed from the virus and all the vomiting so that is why he continued to vomit. The last four days we were in the hospital Kian stopped vomiting and I started to breastfeed again and supplement what he didn’t get either with a syringe or through the feeding tube. I would weigh him before and after I would feed him so we would know exactly how much more to give him.
After 9 days of being there I think I know all the nurses names on the unit! We were so ready to go home. Kian has slowly been gaining weight. I think I have weighed him every day this week either at the doctors office or at my lactation consultant’s (LC) hehe
Last Tuesday I went to my LC and found out that Kian got 4.5 ounces from me! That is exactly what he needs :) She told me to stop force feeding him with the syringe and just get back to normal with him. I talked to the doctor yesterday and he said to also stop force feeding him. I was so glad as it took about an hour and a half to do all of that! Not fun for all of us.
Then on Friday I weighed Kian and he was back down to the weight he was when he left the hospital. My LC suggested mixing cereal with fruit because he won’t take the food with formula or just water…he just wants my milk. Since I had already given him sweet potatoes and he reacted well to them and liked them I decided to start giving him that mixed in with the cereal and he has eaten a lot more of that and I can actually sneak in some formula to make the calories higher.
This last week we have also been getting meals from some wonderful ladies at church. I would have no idea how I would eat otherwise. It’s so hard being so far away from family and being in need of help. Also, the moms from my Mom’s Group have been SO wonderful too – I honestly don’t know what we would do without these ladies. Jamie is still working a lot of hours right now. It’s been pretty exhausting taking care of Kian and myself to make sure my milk is doing good.
It sure was a rough 9 days for us. Especially because Jamie’s Mom, sister and aunt flew out here from Kentucky for a visit that has been planned for months. I felt so bad for being the germ Nazi, but I think that everyone understood my fears. Hopefully next visit they will be able to spend more time with Kian and he will be well.
Kian sure charmed all the nurses in the peds unit! Sometimes it was hard to believe that he was sick because he was so happy and talkative. It sure made those 9 days easier to bear with a child who was in good spirits.
This situation has really taught me a lot. It has taught me to really enjoy Kian. For a while there we weren’t sure what was wrong with him and part of me still wonders if he could have CF, which was something that doctors were going to look into if he didn’t gain weight in the hospital. It was amazing to see that in a matter of moments I wasn’t worried about how much Kian was sleeping and where or if he was rolling over or not from back to front – I was worried about him and the thought of losing him or some disease would be too much for me to take. I realize now that all the things that I think are petty now are just details. The most important thing is Kian – period. I am here for guidance, teaching and love – he will sleep through the night when he is ready, he will roll from back to front when he’s ready. Right now all he needs is my love and attention and the rest will all fall into place someday. I just feel so grateful to have Kian and such a wonderful husband.
I have heard people say that when you have a child your heart lives outside your body – my heart laid in that bed for those 9 days praying for recovery and my heart still is with him as I pray that he gains weight and remains healthy.
We took some photos of Kian while he was in the hospital for his baby book – I will post them as soon as Jamie has uploaded them.
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