Down With the Sickness

**this may or may not be TMI about baby puke...complete with some pictures...just as a warning**




On Sunday (the 17th) Mike had to work off duty all day (and night), so Blip and I loaded up to spend the afternoon at Grandma and Grandpa Buvala's house.  Aunts and Uncles and David were all still in town for the big 50th Anniversary, so we thought it would be fun to visit with everyone.

As we headed south on 67th Avenue toward the 101, I could hear something from the backseat that I knew was not a *good* sound.  Initially I thought the baby was shaking his bottle....getting smelly formula all over the car.  So I turned around to tell him not to shake the bottle (because he would have understood exactly what I meant?).  Blip still sits rear facing in his car seat, so there is a mirror on the headrest of his seat (the real big person car seat), so I can see him.  When I turned around...all I could see what a stream of white coming out of his mouth.  

I pulled the car over in to the closest parking lot...after hearing several more of those "sounds".  I jumped out and ran to the car door, flung it open only to be horrified by what I saw.

My sweet baby boy was covered COVERED in puke...so much puke it was dripping down from inside the carseat and down the seat in the Yukon to the floor.  There was even puke on the car door.  I stood there in shock for a few seconds...I just looked at Blip...and he looked at me with no expression on his face.  He didn't make a sound, but he looked pathetic. 

I shut the car door, walked to the other side of the car, climbed in, and drove home.  I didn't know what else to do.  There was SO much puke...there was no way to clean it up.  His entire outfit was soaked...his carseat was covered in it.  I hate puke.

I pulled in to the garage, carefully removed Blip from his seat, and carried him upstairs to have a bath.  He just sat or laid in the bathtub while I washed him.  He still had no expression on his face, and he didn't make a sound.  I thought for sure he was getting the flu...or something awful.  I got him dried off and put some comfy clothes on him...then I set him up in the swing to watch The Lorax while I figured out what to do with his carseat.

I got it all torn apart and washed while Blip slept off and on in the swing.  He still didn't make any noise...and I was sure he was going to be sick. He had never puked like that before...and he never just sleeps off and on in the swing for a few hours at a time.

After two movies, several short naps, and no more puking, he started acting like himself again.  He acted hungry, so I started with the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast).  He ate a little and seemed fine the rest of the afternoon, so for dinner he ate what I ate.  Teriyaki meatballs and rice with veggies.  He ate a good amount of dinner, and then we played for a while before bedtime.  He seemed 100% normal, so I figured the puking thing was a fluke.  Maybe even car-sickness?  The pictures are of him eating rice for dinner...and he even tried using a spoon!!  How could he be sick!?

I didn't give him another bath, but we read books and listened to our normal music while I rocked him and he had his bottle.  The very second the last drop was gone from his bottle Blip puked up every ounce of it and his dinner all over himself, me, and his rocking chair.  I was in shock at first, but mostly because Blip had been almost asleep laying in my arms...and when he puked, he was laying down, so not all of it came flying out of him like it would have if he was sitting up.  

I was looking at his sweet face when the puking began...and all I could see were his eyes.  He looked horrified...like he was choking and couldn't get air.  I flung him forward so the rest of the puke and undigested food would not get stuck and block his airway.  We sat there for a minute, and then I walked him into our bathroom for another bath.  He was covered, I was covered, the rocking chair was covered, his blanket was covered....what a disgusting mess.  I undressed him, got myself out of my gross clothes, bathed him, took him down to the swing, and started cleaning up the mess.

I knew I was in for a LONG night.  Mike finally came home from work around 2am...and we were still up.  The baby was starving, but I didn't know what to feed him.  I ended up giving him 2 or 3 ounces of his infant formula.  He kept that down, so he finally slept, but woke in the night for another couple ounces.  He kept that down, so I thought his new toddler formula was the culprit.

Two days before the puking started we had finally made it to 100% toddler formula.  We took three weeks to switch from the infant formula to the toddler formula.  He did great on Friday and Saturday, but by Sunday...ugh.  It was the only thing that had changed, and although Blip hadn't had any issues with the toddler formula thus far...I couldn't think of anything else it could be.  Mike agreed that it must have been the toddler formula, so we decided to keep him on the infant formula instead.

I got a text from Mike Monday while I was at work letting me know that he no longer believed the toddler formula was the culprit.  He loaded Blip into the car and drove towards his parents house. He stopped to help his dad with a boat issue, and when he got Blip out of the car...he seemed like he didn't feel well.  Mike said he was holding the baby close trying to figure out what was wrong when the entire bottle of milk came up...and all over Mike, the baby, the car, etc.  Mike stripped off the baby's clothes and headed for his mom's house.  He was able to clean up there and wash their puked on clothes before heading home.

So now we really had NO idea what was wrong.  We didn't want to call his GI doctor quite yet...in case Blip had a bug of some variety.  Neither one of us thought he was sick from a bug because he acted perfectly normal...except for the puking.  We decided to give it a few days before rushing to the doctor. 

Tuesday brought another call about more puke.  This time Blip was in bed...and Henry was the recipient of the unwelcome liquid bath.  Poor Henry.  At least we can bathe.  I didn't know what to do with Henry.  Finally I un-stuffed him, took out his sounds, removed his heart and barcode...and washed him.  I tied him inside a pillow case and then put him in the washer on the gentle cycle.  He was flat...and there was a Target bag FULL of his insides.  I laid him flat to dry...until we could take him to be re-stuffed.

I had to stay home most of Wednesday because Mike was home sick with a stomach bug.  I worked in the afternoon, but only after Mike came downstairs and said he was fine.

On Thursday Richelle called me at work a few minutes before I would normally leave and asked if I was on my way yet.  She sounded super stressed out, so I told her I could be on my way if I needed to be...and asked what was wrong.  Blip had puked EVERYWHERE again.  He had no extra clothes because she dressed him in the extras before leaving our house with him...not realizing those were the extra clothes.  And his carseat was drenched in puke.  Ugh.  

I left work immediately.  Luckily a co-worker carpooled home with me, so we made it pretty quickly.  I grabbed the baby, his puke filled seat (so glad we bought that extra seat!), and headed home.  I got Blip settled, and then I started in on cleaning the carseat.  By this point I was tired of cleaning up puke...and I was getting more and more worried about what was happening.  

Because of the puking we lessened the amount of formula Blip had each day.  from 18-24 ounces to about 10 ounces.  He is stubborn about a sippy cup, and he won't drink anything other than milk/formula from his bottle.  The amount of wet diapers he was having started to get fewer and fewer.  Even in the morning his diapers were barely wet...and normally they are heavy and soaking wet.  His lips were chapped.  The amount of solid food had been decreasing all week.  He was mostly back to eating pureed baby foods, if he ate much of anything.  He didn't seem miserable, but I know how quickly babies can go from okay to dehydrated, so I decided a week was long enough.  

Dr. S (his GI doc) is with PCH, so I wanted to go to PCH...that way they could reach Dr. S if needed.  Richelle told me about a PCH Urgent Care close to the house, so that's where I ended up. There was only one other family in the waiting room, so I was encouraged we wouldn't be there ALL night.  We finally got taken back...they weighed Blip (with his clothes and shoes on?) and he was barely 24 lbs.  That was discouraging.  That means he's lost weight (again) since our last appointment...and that was WITH clothes and shoes on.  I went from feeling a pretty mild worried to a feeling of slight panic.  I know what happens to babies who don't continue to gain weight, who refuse food, who lapse into a failure to thrive issue.  Blip also had a very (very) slight temperature that they took rectally. It wasn't even high enough to be considered a "fever," but it was higher than a regular temperature.

When the doctor came in she introduced herself (Dr. Geyer), and asked why we were there.   I felt she needed a brief background to understand why we were there...and why we didn't think he had a bug/virus.  While I was explaining to her the formula issues/reflux issues/etc, she actually rolled her eyes...and was seriously willing me to be done.  I'm not sure she actually listened to anything I said.  She quickly said she thought he had a virus...and that a stomach virus was going around.  I told her I didn't agree, but what I thought clearly didn't matter.  She quickly looked Blip over...skipping his ears completely.  I didn't even realize until later that she never even checked his ears.  

She looked down his throat, and then told me his mouth was too moist to be dehydrated...and that he had too much energy to be dehydrated.  She again told me she thought he had a virus.  Her recommendations were to give him Zofran to help with the nausea.  After the meds, she wanted to see if he could keep down a bottle of formula...and then we could leave. (I really hate that we are treating the symptom...and not the actual problem.  We can fix the freaking symptoms all night long, but the actual health issue will still be there. *frustrated*)

The Zofran was given, we waited 20 minutes, and then he happily drank a 6 ounce bottle of his beloved "milkies".  He kept it down, so she sent us on our way, but not before trying to smooth everything over with me.  She must have heard me on the phone with Mike when I was telling him how disgusted with her I was.  How she didn't listen to me, care what I had to say, and brushed aside any mommy-instinct I had.  It didn't work. I don't care for that doctor, and I will a) never be back to that Urgent Care and b) make sure to let Dr. S know what's going on at that specific urgent care.  He's the Medical Staff Section Chief of GI at PCH, so I hope he can do something about her behavior.  I'm sure I'm not the only eye roll she's given out.  Or health issue she's brushed off.

So we left...and everything seemed okay.  He went to bed okay...no more puking.  But he has NEVER puked after EVERY bottle.  It's random...and there's no knowing why or what the cause it.  THAT'S the issue with treating the nausea!!  Ugh.

Friday was a great day.  We spent time together as a family...and although the baby didn't eat a lot, he didn't puke either, so kind of a win/win...lose.  Mike left super early Saturday morning for a weekend fishing trip with a friend from work, so we woke up and had a good day.  We went to Carsen's birthday party and went swimming.  He ate almost an entire hotdog, some Cheetos (maybe he actually ingested 1 Cheeto? LOL), he refused all fruit, but ate a few other little things here and there.  Not a ton of food, but better than the days previous.  He napped the entire way home.

Once we made it home, we played for a while and then got ready for bed.  Bedtime went like normal, and he was passed out long before 9pm. I checked on him before I went to bed (so around 1am?), and everything was as it should be.  The next morning around 8-8:30...just like normal...I heard Blip on the monitor. He was making a whimpering sound, so I checked the monitor and everything looked okay.  I sat there for another minute wondering why he was making that pathetic whimpering sound...and not trying to get out of his sling.  Not even trying.  

I knew something was wrong, so I jumped up and made my way to Blip's bedroom.  When I opened the door I was slapped in the face with the smell of death.  I gagged as I made my way over to the crib.  I peered over at my sweet baby to find him covered in dry puke.  It was EVERYWHERE.  His blankets were still covering his body...he hadn't even tried to move.  I quickly worked to get him out of the sling...also covered in puke (including chunks of undigested hotdog...an issue we need to talk to Dr. S about).  I pulled down his blankets...and as I did the smell of poo hit me in the face.  His bedding was all soaked in a brown liquid...and he just continued to whimper.

I wrapped him in a banket and moved him to the changing table.  When I unzipped him...the dry heaving began.  He was covered in liquified poo from his neck down to his enclosed toes in police car jammies.  I carefully removed his legs as to not fling poo anywhere...especially on me, the furniture, Blip's face, etc.  I was dry heaving...a lot.  It was the nastiest thing I have ever done.  Dead bodies bloated in the summer heat are the only comparison I believe come close.

I wiped up his body the best I could, and then grabbed the trash sack from the garbage can.  I put EVERYTHING in that bag and tied it shut.  Then we made a beeline for the bathtub.  I could tell my baby did not feel well...he just laid in the tub while I washed him.  No splashing.  No smiles.  No giggling.  We finished up, I dressed him in comfy clothes, and we headed downstairs.  He spent the day laying on me or in the swing.  

I went upstairs to tackle the rest of the nasty that was Blip's bed, wedge, sling, etc.  Ugh.  The foam $200 wedge was soaked, I thought for sure the sling would be stained, and luckily my sister's talked me into buying the Ultimate Crib Sheet.  I was able to unsnap it and wrap everything else up in that.  It has a waterproof pad on the bottom, so nothing leaked through. Whew. I stain sticked (sprayed) everything and tossed it in the washer.  I remade Blip's bed...and wondered how he would sleep flat.  I took the foam wedge out back and used the hose to clean the small portion that was dirty.  Luckily, it wasn't a big portion.

Blip needed a diaper change about every hour or so...and his bum must have been so sore by the end of the day.  When I did have to change him, he moaned when I straightened his legs, so I know his belly must have hurt.

He didn't seem to lose his entire appetite and did seem hungry at times, so I fed him little bits throughout the day.  He even took some formula, just not very much.  He finally drank some purple Gatorade in his sippy...and sadly, that made me very happy.  He ate quite a bit of apple sauce, but didn't want toast or anything else really.  

He slept pretty crappy Sunday night.  He was up often and took a long time to settle.  I was so tired by about 2am that I made a pillow wall around my bed and on the floor, and brought him to sleep with me.  Being propped up on my pillow, or just having his ENTIRE body touching mine was just what he needed.  We both fell asleep...finally.  We slept for a few hours, and on Monday he seemed mostly better.  Still not 100%, but he didn't want to lay on me ALL day, and he ate a little more.

By Tuesday morning, I was not feeling 100%.  I had training scheduled at the academy, so I woke up, got ready and headed out.  The whole way there I was trying to figure out what was wrong with me...I didn't feel sick, per se, but I did not feel good.  I made it through the training and drove myself home.  I was starting to feel worse and worse as the minutes passed.  

I called Mike and told him I needed him to come home and help me with the baby.  He told me his squad was covering for a patrol squad and there were only five guys, so he wasn't sure he could.  He said he would call my sister or my parents and try to get me some help.  I changed my clothes, gathered some snacks for the baby (because I was trying to avoid feeding him dinner), and locked us in the playroom.  I knew if we were locked in that room nobody could kill themselves if I didn't move fast enough.

I ended up feeding Blip some dinner, and the locking us back in the palyroom.  By this time I had called Mike and begged him to come home. I told him I thought I was going to die.  I also told him if this was what he had last week, I was sorry.  I honestly thought he was just exhausted...I even went to work the afternoon of one of his sick days...leaving him to care for the baby.  He said he was fine, but now I know he just didn't want to tell me I couldn't go to work. Ugh.  I felt sooo bad.

Carlys and Raelynn got there to care for the baby, and I went to bed.  By that point, I really did think I might die...I couldn't believe how sick I felt in such a short time.  I had a fever, and could only sleep in-between running for the bathroom.  It was awful.

I was in bed all day on Wednesday.  I slept most of the day.  Mike was home taking care of Blip.  Gisele ended up coming over to pick up Blip so Mike could get a few things done at work.  She took him to lunch with her grandkids and then to the park.  She has been such a huge help to us.  Always willing to sit with Blip...always understanding of our ever-changing schedules.  She loves the baby...and the baby loves her right back.  It's been an easy two months with the babysitting "issues" behind us. :) She has been a true blessing in our lives. 

By late Wednesday, I was slowly starting to feel not dead.  I slept late on Thursday...hoping the rest of the pain in my belly would go away.  I was still afraid to eat or drink much of anything.  Thursday night came and I felt quite a bit better...after sleeping most of the day away.  I even got out of bed.  I went down to the couch, fell asleep...and when I woke up...I headed back to my bed.  I really needed some time with my son...and he was very clingy, so I think he needed that time with me too.

By Friday I felt like myself again, and was so thankful Mike was able to stay home and take care of the boy.  I could not have done it.

Hopefully that stomach bug is gone for good now that we've all had it.  I still don't know what made Blip puke so much the week prior, but I don't believe it was the same bug.  Or a bug at all.  I guess as long as he's done...it doesn't really matter.  We started weaning him today from his infant formula to toddler formula again.  Instead of switching to Enfamil, we are switching from Similac Sensitive to Similac's Go and Grow formula.  Maybe sticking with the same brand will help? Who knows.  I'm still nervous every time I give him a bottle...and he just started getting six ounce bottles again.  So far, so good.  I guess we'll wait and see how the switch goes this time.

I'm glad, for the moment, my little family is healthy and happy.