Not even 6 weeks and already at the ER

Sapphie didn't get her first cold until she was well over 6 months old. I knew that Teo would be different though - Christina has prepared me for all the sicknesses that come through the house when you have more than one child. So, I wasn't surprised when Teo got a runny nose a couple of days ago. Sapphie has had one since Christmas it seems, and even though she washes her hands a lot and we are always wiping her nose, she is all over Teo. She loves him so much and likes to snuggle him very closely.
Tonight, I decided to take his temperature because he felt a little warm to me. He's also been really fussy since yesterday. Sure enough, he had a fever of 101. Not a huge deal for a toddler, but for a baby under 2 months a fever can be life threatening. You're not even allowed to give them medicine without seeing the doctor, because the fever could indicate a serious bacterial infection that needs to be treated. So, I called the doctor and she sent me to the ER. Kevin was getting Sapphie ready for dinner, and I had to call Soe and cancel our hot date for Brasil night. I felt bad but I was so worried about Teo. Lukey had RSV (that's respiratory syncytial virus) when he was Teo's age, and he was hospitalized. I know that was really scary for Christina.
Anyway, I packed us up and headed over to the ER. As usual for a Saturday night, the waiting room was totally packed. Most of the people didn't look sick, they looked drunk. It made me sad. There was another mom there, alone with her two young toddlers. Both in PJ's and very cute. One was sick and looked really scared to be at the hospital. Teo and I got called in pretty quickly, and they took his vitals.

Look at this cool thing: it just attaches to his foot and, without puncturing the skin, it measures the levels of oxygen levels in his blood! It tells some other things too because 3 different numbers come up. The nurse told me but I don't remember what they were.

Then, we waited for the doctor. And waited and waited. Teo got sick of waiting and decided to go to sleep.


The doctor finally came in, took a look, and said she needed to have some tests run. Urine, blood, nose swab, and maybe a spinal tap and a chest xray. I thought she was crazy! She explained they need to be sure the fever isn't caused by a bacterial infection. But, she thought Teo looked pretty good so maybe they wouldn't need to do a spinal tap. She left, and about 5 minutes later a very charming doctor swept in. Hey grabbed the stool and sat on it, then rolled really close to me. He said:
"hey. sorry you've been in here forever. Has the resident been in yet?"
I said "yes, and she said she wants to run some tests."
He said "well I run the place, so I want to have a look too."
I said "sure"
This doctor was pretty hot I have to say. He was arrogant and pompous, yes, and clearly the boss around, but in a way that is attractive and not annoying. He grabbed Teo and said
"wow, he's going to be a big boy. You and your husband will have to buy an extra fridge. I have two kids close in age too. It's fun."
Then he told me he wanted to send us home with some Tylenol and call it a night. I liked that idea. But, he said since my pediatrician had sent me in, he needed to call her. She wanted a urine test and nose swab...but no spinal tap thank goodness.

Then the nurses came in and used a catheter to get a urine sample. He was so good!!! They absolutely loved him.

Then we sat and waited for the results. For 40 minutes!

The nurse came back, and said we were free to go! We'll get more results back tomorrow, but they did confirm it isn't bacterial. So, we got a dose of Tylenol and hit the road to home. We ran into 2 drunk people on the way out, both walking aimlessly around and hiccuping.

We didn't waste any time getting back to our cozy house. Now Teo is sound asleep and I'm thinking about going to sleep myself! I'm so glad he's okay. What a relief. We are very lucky to have two healthy babies. I can handle a cold here and there, and a 3-hour trip to the ER once a year, no problem. I guess this is only the beginning...they'll always be keeping us on our toes...