A mother's nightmare

After Thursday night, both of my children have officially been to the emergency room as infants. More on Kennedy's trip later, but first - Brady's trip Thursday night. He has always been a frequent spitter. He spits up quite a bit of his bottles, but I was slightly alarmed when he spewed so much and so far Thursday morning that it hit the back of the seat in my car. He started by just coughing, so I honestly thought he got a little choked and then gagged. The sounds scared me to death, so I pulled over, jumped out of the car, ran around to his side of the car, swung open the door to him soaking wet... but smiling. So I took him and Kennedy to school and asked his teachers at daycare to keep a closer eye on him. I never heard from school all day, but when I picked him up that afternoon - he'd been sleeping a lot more than usual and had skipped an entire bottle. Just 15 minutes later, he threw up in the car. So I decided it was time to call the pediatrician. I was told to give him Pedialite in small doses and if he couldn't keep that down, head to the ER because babies dehydrate much faster than adults.

You know where this is going. My mom (Nina) met us at the ER to help manage my sweet (but rambuntious) Kennedy. Chris was out of town, so I was flying solo on this journey. Nina stayed with me and Brady and then my dad (Papa) came to get Kennedy to take her to their house for a sleepover. We had no idea how long we would be at the ER.

It's funny how different doctors have different reactions. After two hours of being there, the doctor told us he wasn't dehydrated. He still had saliva in his mouth and was charming the doctor with his adorable smile. The doctor sent us home. It's better to be safe than sorry. And as a mother, the worse nightmare is having to rush a child to the emergency room for fear that he/she might be very sick.

When Kennedy was five months old, our ER experience was the complete opposite. She cried her eyes out while we waited FIVE hours in the middle of the night to see the doctor. They ran tests and came to no conclusion. They sent us home. The following night, after a healthy dose of Nyquil, my phone rang. It was the emergency room doctor saying our tests had come back positive for bacteria and to come to the hospital immediately so she could be admitted. Talk about being scared!

She stayed in the hospital for three nights... the longest three nights of our lives. She was hooked up to monitors, had an IV, had breathing treatments, nurse-administered suction treatments. It was a frightening experience and I sympathize for those parents who have chronically-ill children.

I thank God every night for my healthy children. They are truly gifts from above and if these two experiences in the ER are all we have to endure, I'll consider us the lucky ones.