Feel free to "boo"!
G man started running a fever Thursday morning, low-grade, I assumed it was just another teething fever. By Friday morning his fever was a little higher, but as I hadn't noticed any other symptoms I was guessing it was still just teething taking him down. He nursed Friday morning and we headed out for errands. I noticed while we were out and about how lethargic he was but figured it was just the fever wearing him down.
When we got home Grayson wouldn't eat lunch but more concerning he wouldn't nurse. I also noticed him drooling which isn't common for him. {I honestly can't ever really remember him drooling, just not a drooler I suppose.} I began to have suspicions at that point that something was wrong and began wondering if his throat was bothering him. Grayson spent the afternoon extremely fussy, nothing seemed to help him, even if I got his fever down he just wasn't himself. The nursing strike continued as well as the drooling and when I noticed him actually gag and start crying I decided to check his throat. It was super hard to see but he did seem to have some white bumps on the back of his throat.
By this time it was early evening just as my doctor's office was closing. I tried calling them but didn't have any luck. I decided that I would take him to urgent care first thing in the morning. That evening things began to get worse. It had now been several hours without any hydration, and he had only two wet diapers all day. It got to the point where he was nearly inconsolable and I doubted he would be able to make it until the morning to go to urgent care. Of course by then urgent care was now closing.
It got to the point where I was debating if he should go to the ER. He had gone so long without nursing and peeing I was worried. I caved and called the on call service around 9:30 to see if they had any tips I could try to get him to nurse. They said a nurse would call back but that the wait time was as long as 2 hours. {Of course! Any other time and they call back right away!} By this time he was crying non-stop. Mel finally got him to sleep but he only slept around 40 minutes before he was up crying again.
I was worried for him! I knew the crying had to hurt his throat. :( I could tell he wanted to nurse but he just couldn't and it killed me. He would latch on for a few seconds and then when it came time to swallow he would just scream. I was a mess over it.
Finally the on-call nurse called back right around the 2 hour mark and Grayson was so inconsolable I had to have Mel take him from the room so she could hear me. She said normally they would tell me to just take him in, in the morning, but because he had gong so long without nursing or peeing that we should get him in to the ER.
I picked up my mom and we headed to uptown to the children's hospital.
It turns out Grayson has "Hand, Foot and Mouth's Disease". He never got any blisters on his hands or feet** but his poor mouth and throat are covered in them. They're very painful which is what caused the nursing strike. :(
They gave him ibuprofen and a dose of lidocaine and FINALLY Grayson nursed. It was sweet, sweet relief on SO many levels! {Apparently Grayson has gained and it was time to up his dose on ibuprofen and Tylenol but I hadn't realized so I wasn't giving him quite enough the whole time! :( }
Finally around 4 we were discharged.
Today he's still having a hard time nursing. I have to wait until it's time for more ibuprofen or Tylenol and then try and usually he's okay.
Luckily the doctor said the pain only lasts 24-48 hours.
Hopefully Grayson will be back to himself in no time!
So there's the story of G's first ER visit. Definitely one of my least favorite firsts.
**G had a couple of blisters pop up on a hand and foot this afternoon. :(
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