The One I Haven’t Wanted To Write….

I’ve been milling this post over in my mind for a week and a half now, trying to come up with the right words to describe the fear and horror of watching you’re baby struggle for air. I’ve decided that there are no words strong enough, so instead I will just tell you what happened.

If you’ve followed my blog you might remember a few month’s back when Noah had a bad experience with cheese. If not you can read it here. Well, the ER doctor had told us at the time to wait a few months and then try dairy again. As Noah approached 8 months we decided we would try it again soon so I bought some organic baby yogurt. I was so afraid to feed it to him that it set in the fridge until like 2 days before it expired. Anyways, we decided to try it on Monday of last week (I think it was the 14th?) We only gave him 4 baby spoons full of the stuff (and of course he LOVED it) because we were afraid to give him to much. Well ya’ll apparently 4 spoonsfull was WAY too much. Almost exactly 1 hour after he had it he started sneezing like crazy. There was snot everywhere! Then the hives appeared, and boy did they come fast. Well we immediately gave him benedryll and called the doctor. The doctors said to bring him in right away so we loaded him up. Noah had been screaming the entire time, but by the time I got him in his carseat he was having difficulty holding up his head.

At this point his entire body was bright red and it sounded like he was having trouble breathing. By the time we got out of the neighborhood he had stopped crying and was seriously struggling for air. Thank God we live like 1/2 a mile from the hospital so we just booked it there since we were already in the car. I am SO thankful for my husband who remained calm the entire time, because you guys I LOST it. Billy had to walk me through things to try to get him to cry so there I sat trying to tickle his feet and begging him to “just cry for mamma.” As soon as we got to the ER I scooped him up and ran inside. While the receptionist was trying to get his info a nurse saw us and yelled that she was taking us and she rushed us back where they immediately started working on Noah.  It was so overwhelming watching them wrap my baby in a blanket to hold him down so they could put an IV in him. I had actually walked away, but then Noah looked at me with this fear in his eyes and I realized just how selfish I was being. I immediately returned to his side, where all I could do was sing “You Are My Sunshine.”

The nurses and doctors were amazing! They got his IV in first try and immediately gave him epinephrin and more Benedryll. He also had a breathing treatment right away which he did not like but I took his fighting it as a good sign; at least he was breathing. After the breathing treatment they gave him some steroids. Actually, he ended up on steroids for 6 days. All of the drugs worked their magic very quickly and soon Noah was flirting with the nurses and being his regular happy self. Unfortunately about half an hour later he started itching and screaming again so they had to give him another dose of Benedryll. Noah seemed completely stoned for about 10 minutes and then he was BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS CRAZY. Apparently he reacts to medicines the same way my father does (Benedryll makes him hyper, novacain doesn’t work -which we learned from his circumcision)

After the last dose of meds the doctors told us they wanted to keep him for observation overnight so we were moved upstairs to the pediatric ward. It was amazing the difference in the nurses up there. They are some seriously amazing people and Noah absolutely loved them, but really the kid loves everyone. Luckily my mom came up to visit and brought us up some things. By about 9 o’clock the crazy effects of the drugs had started to wear off and Noah fell asleep. He had a hard time getting comfy with the IV (he was sleeping on the cot with me  while hubby slept on the pull out couch) but did pretty well. At 1 am his IV went bad but since he was nursing and peeing fine they said they could just leave it out. At that point Noah fell alseep and didn’t budge until about 7 when a nurse came in. (He slept straight through the nurse checking him at 4.) She told us that Noah looked great and as soon as the doctor looked at him we should get to go home. We were so excited. Unfortunately it took until about 1 pm for the doctor to see us and another hour and a half for the nurse to discharge us, but we were thankful none the less.

The whole trip only lasted about 24 hours but it felt like a week. I honestly don’t know how parents of seriously sick children do it. My heart goes out to them. I can’t even imagine their struggles. We left the hospital with a healthy baby and a prescription for a junior Epipen. The doctor told us he actually had to look it up and see if Noah could have it because he had never given one to a child that small. It’s scary but it’s also a relief just knowing that it’s in the diaper bag at all times.  We followed up with our pediatrician yesterday and he’s getting us a referral to a pediatric allergist. Until then we just have to hold off on trying any new foods. My hope and prayer is that he outgrows this. Dairy is in EVERYTHING. He has had pancakes and things in the past that have dairy in them so we are hopeful, but I guess only time will tell. Here are a few more pictures from our hospital trip to close this post out. Sorry everything is blurry!

By the way Noah thought this crib was the bee's knees and ever learned how to pull himself up on it!

Eight Months Into Mommyhood….

I did have plans to write this post on Wednesday (Noah’s actual 8 month day) but things don’t always turn out as planned so here it is a few days late.

Can someone please tell me how it’s scientifically possible for eight months of life to fly by in the blink of an eye? Seriously? Anyone? I can not believe my baby is eight months old already. It does not seem possible! When I was pregnant it seemed like time sped up but now I feel like it’s on warp speed. I really wish it would stop that already.

Anyways, we celebrated Noah’s 8 month day by buying him a big boy car seat. Honestly I’m still amazed that we got that long out of his infant carrier. The boy is a chunk and I thought he would pass the weight limit sooner. I’m also disappointed that we didn’t get to use it longer (those things are not cheap.) I had literally spent hours and hours on the computer researching all of the best brands and safety features and what not and we finally decided to spend the extra money for the peace of mind and known reputation of a Britax Boulevard. We sat Noah in several different makes and models and this honestly seemed to fit him the best. It must be comfy because he passed out as soon as we started driving.

Doesn’t he look adorable?

Anyways, I really hope this makes a difference in how Noah feels about the car. I don’t know how much longer I can handle the screaming from the front seat. See he does just fine when the hubby is driving and I’m sitting in the back with him but if it’s just us and he is back there alone he acts like I am torturing him. It’s gotten to where I think twice before loading him up and driving more than a few miles.  Hopefully he will be able to see more and be more comfortable in the backseat.  But here is my question for you. How long did you continue to sit in the back seat with your baby? It’s definitely more convenient to be there to hand toys and snacks as needed but at some point I would like to sit in the front seat with my husband again. Maybe someday…

Before I close here are a few of the things Noah is doing now!

*Rolling like a mad man. I’m pretty sure if he was motivated enough he could crawl, but I think he lacks the interest.

*Self feeding w/ the pincer grasp. I love watching him feed himself puffs! Of course he’s still only successful about 60% of the time and often forgets to let go of the food before taking his fingers out of his mouth but he’s getting there

*Drinking from a sippy cup and a straw! We started with the Nuby sippy cup with the silicone nipple and he did great. Now we’re using the Nuby with the silicone straw and he loves it. He also loves to bite the straw

*Teething like crazy. He’s had his bottom 2 teeth for about 3 months and now he suddenly has 4 top teeth breaking at once. OUCH!

*Pulling himself up. He can go from sitting to standing with little to no assistance. He’s always loved to stand on his legs and I know it won’t be long before he is walking. (Someone please hold me I am definitely not ready for that)

*Standing on the furniture. If I stand him up agains the couch or anything else he can totally stand on his own and for several minutes.

*Eating table food. He recently decided he was done with purees and only wanted to eat things he can chew. So far his favorites are diced up squash, zucchini, and green beans. We still haven’t tried dairy again but I did by some organic yogurt to try soon.

*Saying Momma, Dadda, and Poppa. He’s actually started saying Momma when he’s reaching for me and I melt every single time!