Oh, What a Night!

Early January, back in '11...  Reagan showed us what parenthood's all about and earned us 20 bucks in the process!

On our way home from dinner last night, we stopped by Wal-Mart to pick up a few groceries.  Our sweet little guy was coughing, but it was only occasional and sounded really sweet, so I figured he just had a little tickle in his throat.  Then, all of a sudden, we heard the dreaded sound of throwing up.  We were already in the store parking lot, so we quickly parked, got him out and Richard kept guard while I changed him.  I had noticed a large SUV with its tail lights on one row over, and I motioned to Richard to keep an eye on it.  (If you've ever been with me at night in a parking lot, I'm like a hawk--looking around constantly, so I can be totally aware of my surroundings.)  Right about the time we got Reagan back in his car seat and were getting ready to head into the store, a woman got out of the SUV and walked over to us, with her cell phone up to her ear.  Her car wasn't starting and she needed a jump, but she was keeping her sister on the phone for safety reasons (and she said when she saw we had a baby, we seemed safe enough to ask).  We quickly got her car started and she thanked us, then handed me a bill.  I handed it back to her and told her we didn't need it, that we helped because we wanted to.  She insisted and put it in the stroller.  (It was $20!)

We went on into the store because Reagan was smiling and acting like nothing was wrong.  However, he threw up 4-5 more times while we grabbed enough stuff to hold us over for one night of food.  When we got him home, he continued.  I was really worried because he had never thrown up before (and he rarely spits up).  This was food he'd been fed 5 hours before.  I started wondering if he'd ingested some of the Vaseline I'd been putting on his face to treat his eczema, so I called poison control.  The woman on the other end assured me that he would have to consume a large quantity to be poisoned and that he would've had diarrhea from it instead of throwing up.

Our poor little boy continued throwing up for another hour, 15-20 minutes of which we were on the phone with an after hours nurse from our pediatrician's office.  I kept telling her he was only upset while throwing up, but laughing and playful the rest of the time.  Much laughter ensued when she instructed us to check his temperature in a way we'd never checked it before.  I tried to get out of it by telling her our thermometer was for under the arm and she told me it could be used this other way.  Reagan was such a good boy and cooperated better than I expected.  I tried to nurse him to sleep, but he got sick again--on my side of the bed.  (Convenient time for our washing machine to be broken...)  After cleaning myself and changing his clothes for the 4th time, I put him down in the pack 'n play next to our bed to listen for any other sickness.  He slept like a champ!

He woke up this morning, nursed, went back to sleep, and then I had to wake him up to get dressed and leave for his doctor's appointment.  He weighed in at 19 lbs., 2.6 oz. and measured 26 3/4" (a little over 1 lb gain and 3/4" growth since his last appointment Dec. 10th).  This means he only has 2 lbs., 13.4 oz. left in his current car seat (or 2 1/4"), whichever comes first.  The appointment was made to check on his eczema and come up with something to help with the itching.  The doctor said we can put 1% hydrocortizone cream for the itching (sparingly, to avoid thinning his skin), double antibiotic ointment to help heal the open wound from him scratching, and Eucerin to keep it moisturized.  Let's hope it works!  I told her about the previous night's events and she said to keep an eye on him, but that it sounded like something had just upset his stomach.  She also said he was very alert and observant and she was surprised by how well he paid attention to her.  She also said he was the happiest baby she'd ever met and that she had to leave before she tried to steal him. :)  I love my boy and am so happy that he's okay!