Albino Pumpkin

This is the first (and hopefully the last time ever) that we will see the inside of a hospital room!

At about 1200pm yesterday afternoon Clay started vomiting. It wasn't just a little vomit - it was 7 times vomiting in a span of an hour. So, I called the doctors office (blah - another post to come) and they said they could get him in tomorrow at 4pm. (Which would have been today at 4pm) Meanwhile, being the nervous and anxious person I am, I called back and asked to talk to a nurse. She told me to offer Clay pedialyte and if he couldn't keep it down to go to the ER. I called Casey and had him come home because I had a feeling we would need to go to the ER. I couldn't get Clay to stop vomiting long enough to offer him anything. He was pitiful! (And I was a mess. Surprised?)

Long story short - we ended up at Children's in the ER with a very dehydrated little guy. They started an IV, drew some lab, took a couple of XRAYs (in a scary looking contraption), and admitted us. It took Clay getting several fluid boluses to even muster up enough fluid in his body to pee. (12 hours later of getting fluids, he peed! And, yes, we did a dance.) We got admitted into our room and went to bed shortly afterward. Clay stopped vomiting at about 7pm last night, but the diarrhea soon followed. And let me just tell you, his poots and poop stinks worse than anything I have smelled in a long time.

Diagnosis - Stomach virus. Treatment - fluids, fluids, and more fluids until it stops. We don't know when we will be leaving the hospital and we don't mind staying. At least we know he's getting enough fluid in his little bitty body! He got to start breastfeeding this morning and he did well. He ate at 845am and it is now 1015am and he has only spit up just a tiny bit! So, hopefully we are on the mend!

P.S. He did so much better than I did when he got his IV. Yes, he cried, but I cried harder. He did great getting his XRAY. Yes, he cried, but again, I cried harder. And he has not cried since. They came in 4 or 5 times last night to take his blood pressure, take his temp, and he didn't bat an eye! He is such a happy little guy even when faced with illness. He has won everyone's heart here. People come in our room just to see his sweet little smile! (Even when he was vomiting his little brains out, he would smile right afterward with vomit on his mouth. Such a trooper.)

Casey said he looks like one of those little white albino pumpkins because he is so pale! Made me laugh when I needed a laugh.