It may be my imagination, but I am convinced that the night before every hospital appointment I get unusually little sleep. Last night was no exception.
Toby cried and fussed for quite some time before I gave in and took him a bottle. Babies are supposed to sleep through the night at this age, but what does that mean? And how do you let them cry it out ( I so would) when they are keeping others awake?
Which brings me to Emma. After returning from Toby's room I could not sleep for Emma's coughing and crying. About 4.30 am, after a half hour or so I went in and asked her what the problem was - Emma, not the nurse! She whined and cried and coughed but gave no real answer. It was clear though that her belly was distended with gas.
I sat with her for about an hour trying to get the gas out, but it was not budging. She'd had 3 increasingly loose poops during the day yesterday, and one overnight. Something wasn't right.
After she settled a bit I went back to bed but only semi-slept after Scott left for work, wondering why I could hear Emma and the nurse chatting. And the bath running! They know Emma's supposed to stay in bed, preferably sleeping!
When I did get up (not a minute before shift change at 7am) I learned what happened, or I smelled what happened! Emma had a huge blow-out and all her bedding was being dutifully rinsed off in the bath by the nurse. Emma, perky as can be was laying on her floor having been washed off first and redressed! Awesome!
We needed to leave by 8.30am to get to Emma's opthamology appointment. Not only did that look dubious, but I didn't know if it was wise to go at all!
After managing a quick shower I gave Em some water and got us ready to go. As far as appointments go, it went very well. Emma was pretty relaxed, Toby too. As usual I had little patience with a resident who asked a stupid question about Emma's eyes. After so 8+ years in college you think they'd get the concept of doing your homework!!
What was really exciting (to me anyway) was that Emma got to do a regular eyetest, where she had to name the shapes she saw as they got smaller and smaller! She's only really clear pronouncing circle or triangle though so it was interesting. I guess they didn't think she'd be able to do the letters like older kids - duh!!
They dilated her pupils (two drops, take 20-30 minutes to fully fix the pupils at full dilation.) and sent us out to wait in the waiting room. What are you supposed to do with a 2 year old that doesn't blink and now can't see clearly, with sensitivity to light!! Thankfully she was a little sleepy and sat on my lap watching the TV. I did cheat - brought her pacifier with me!! Best move yet.
In the middle of the appointment, when Emma had a fussy moment on my lap and Toby joined in from his stroller I texted Scott: "You so have the easy job!" He responded: "I know."
We saw her actual doctor about 90 minutes after arriving. He was thrilled with her eyes. She is a little far-sighted, but well within normal range and if she stays there, won't need glasses! I learned that being outside in the bright sunlight will not harm her eyes, even if it is not comfortable. Looking at the sun isn't a good idea for anyone though!
No follow-up needed for a whole year - incredible!
When we got home though, despite no food and only a bit of water, she had some diarrhea. And it was super pale - I heard white is v. bad. I gave her some milk and water with a probiotic, which came out shortly after!
The poor girl may have caught Scott's bug, but she is in very good spirits anyway.
Toby cried and fussed for quite some time before I gave in and took him a bottle. Babies are supposed to sleep through the night at this age, but what does that mean? And how do you let them cry it out ( I so would) when they are keeping others awake?
Which brings me to Emma. After returning from Toby's room I could not sleep for Emma's coughing and crying. About 4.30 am, after a half hour or so I went in and asked her what the problem was - Emma, not the nurse! She whined and cried and coughed but gave no real answer. It was clear though that her belly was distended with gas.
I sat with her for about an hour trying to get the gas out, but it was not budging. She'd had 3 increasingly loose poops during the day yesterday, and one overnight. Something wasn't right.
After she settled a bit I went back to bed but only semi-slept after Scott left for work, wondering why I could hear Emma and the nurse chatting. And the bath running! They know Emma's supposed to stay in bed, preferably sleeping!
When I did get up (not a minute before shift change at 7am) I learned what happened, or I smelled what happened! Emma had a huge blow-out and all her bedding was being dutifully rinsed off in the bath by the nurse. Emma, perky as can be was laying on her floor having been washed off first and redressed! Awesome!
We needed to leave by 8.30am to get to Emma's opthamology appointment. Not only did that look dubious, but I didn't know if it was wise to go at all!
After managing a quick shower I gave Em some water and got us ready to go. As far as appointments go, it went very well. Emma was pretty relaxed, Toby too. As usual I had little patience with a resident who asked a stupid question about Emma's eyes. After so 8+ years in college you think they'd get the concept of doing your homework!!
What was really exciting (to me anyway) was that Emma got to do a regular eyetest, where she had to name the shapes she saw as they got smaller and smaller! She's only really clear pronouncing circle or triangle though so it was interesting. I guess they didn't think she'd be able to do the letters like older kids - duh!!
They dilated her pupils (two drops, take 20-30 minutes to fully fix the pupils at full dilation.) and sent us out to wait in the waiting room. What are you supposed to do with a 2 year old that doesn't blink and now can't see clearly, with sensitivity to light!! Thankfully she was a little sleepy and sat on my lap watching the TV. I did cheat - brought her pacifier with me!! Best move yet.
In the middle of the appointment, when Emma had a fussy moment on my lap and Toby joined in from his stroller I texted Scott: "You so have the easy job!" He responded: "I know."
We saw her actual doctor about 90 minutes after arriving. He was thrilled with her eyes. She is a little far-sighted, but well within normal range and if she stays there, won't need glasses! I learned that being outside in the bright sunlight will not harm her eyes, even if it is not comfortable. Looking at the sun isn't a good idea for anyone though!
No follow-up needed for a whole year - incredible!
When we got home though, despite no food and only a bit of water, she had some diarrhea. And it was super pale - I heard white is v. bad. I gave her some milk and water with a probiotic, which came out shortly after!
The poor girl may have caught Scott's bug, but she is in very good spirits anyway.
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