Or
Level 1: Small
Level 2: Medium
Level 3: Oh My God
Or we could make 'em smiley faces like the pediatric pain scale. I vote for:
Level 1: 
Level 2: 
Level 3: :eek:
And reveal that the Tinklepenis was the topic of a discussion on standard sizing.
On Thursday, the baby felt hot to me, and I noticed his temperature stayed between 99.5-99.9 all afternoon. I was somewhat concerned, but thought maybe he had just gotten too hot on our long walk. I decided to watch it and see how things progressed.
Then he did not poop.
He didn’t poop for 2 days. Since his nickname is Senator Mudbutt, obviously this isn’t the usual state of affairs. I gave him a 1/2 tablespoon of prune juice yesterday afternoon and waited. When he hadn’t pooped a few hours later, Peter and I decided to utilize the most sure-fire method there is for getting a baby to poop- take his temperature. This method is so good, in fact, I have learned to never ever bend down near the baby’s chocolate starfish while it’s being done. It has an effect kinda like poking a hole in a shaving cream can.
As we were taking the temperature, we saw that it got to about 100 and was still climbing. Unfortunately, he pooped explosively before we could get a good read. After that happened a second time, we called the doctor in hopes of getting a rare Saturday morning urgent care appointment.
We got sent back to Children’s Hospital of Oakland instead.
It was awful. I spent hours wandering the halls bouncing a sweaty, crying, gassy infant in my arms. They used a catheter to get urine. The started an IV line. I had to help hold him. I don’t have words for the trauma it is to watch your child be held down and tortured, and hearing him scream and cry hysterically. He got so upset he did what babies (and sometimes even adults) do when they are severely traumatized- they turn off. It’s not exactly sleep, it’s more like catatonia.
He was given IV antibiotics to control the presumed infection. His quick cultures came back negative, but that happened before, too. His urine is so dilute that it takes a few days to get a good sample for the bacteria tests. They told me they wanted to admit him at least overnight. I refused. I won’t see him go through that trauma and nightmare again unless it is necessary to preserve his life. I argued that he was stable at home, and that the life-threatening possibilities had already been ruled out during the last admission. We knew from last night’s cultures that the infection wasn’t septic (in his blood), and so with the IV antibiotics he had been given he would likely be OK for 24 hours. I offered to drive him to CHO every day for tests and IVs if I had to, as long as I could take him home and have him live as normally and sanely as possible.
And so that’s what we decided to do. He needs to go back tomorrow morning for another round of antibiotics, and then we will see from there. The big test, the VCUG, is on the 22nd. That’s the one that should give us the most answers.
sigh
I am so sorry, I know how it feels to have your baby in the hospital and how frustrating it is to feel out of control of the situation. We are sending all the positive thoughts your way. I hope they figure this out finally for you.
My email is always open if you want to vent to a stranger who is a mom first.
I know how I feel when I can’t poop.
I hope they figure out what the deal is with Tinkleberry asap.
Me too. 
The pooping thing has nothing to do with anything, BTW. Every so often, he just doesn’t poop for a few days and gets very cranky. It was a catalyst for taking him to the hospital, but had jack to do with why we were there.
Sorry if I wasn’t clear.
5 hours at the hospital today. 
It was really really crowded, and since our baby isn’t an emergency, we were the very last. But it’s Ok.
No IV today! Yay! We only got Keflex to take home and give him for the next few weeks. It is a stronger antibiotic than the Amoxicillan we had previously.
We have now been told by 2 doctors this weekend that our regular peditrician fucked up big time when the baby left the hospital last time. He should have stayed on antibiotics until the VCUG test. This never had to happen again if he had been treated correctly and according to protocol. :mad:
We are taking the baby to a new pediatrician tomorrow. We got a recommendation from today’s CHO doctor.
Also, for shits 'n grins, we counted diapers when we came home last night. We went through ~120-130 this week alone. :rolleyes: I knew it had gotten ridiculous again. For those without babies, that’s the amount one would expect from a set of twins.
But now we are home. 
VCUG is the 22nd, MRI 17th. Tune in then for the next installment of, “Why Does This Kid Pee So Bloody Much?” 
inkleberry, I continue to think good thoughts for the berry family!