Originally, he was to have an iv put in automatically, and a catheter put in for a urine test. Having had many children (and pregnancies), I have learned over the years, that a lot of the 'routine' stuff they do, is not necessary all the time. As a result of this, I am constantly questioning why they have to do things. The IV was to prevent dehydration. Since he was still nursing really well, and having wet diapers, he was allowed to skip the IV. She also did a preliminary test on uring collected in a bag, rather than doing the catheter. I tried to have the blood work delayed as well, but they had to get that started right away, just in case it wasn't the urine.
The preliminary urine test came back looking like that was the cause of the fever, so he had to have a catheter sample taken. His blood was also drawn. This of course, was really tough to watch, but knowing that there were no other options, made it bearable. Later that night, it was determined that it was a UTI, and that he needed IV antibiotics for two nights. This meant an IV after all, but they had a wonderful lab tech that was able to get it in first shot. However, I was told that due to thier small veins, IV's tend to not last on newborns very long. So, I was still glad he hadn't had it earlier, as this gave us more of a chance to not have to do it twice.
That night, we had friends come visit us, and the husband assisted mine in giving Eric a priesthood blessing. The entire ward was also praying for us, as an email was sent out to everyone letting them know what was going on. By the next morning, his fever had broken, and he was feeling much better. I am so grateful for blessings and prayers.
The next day, we went for an ultrasound to find out where the infection was. Turns out, as I mentioned in the beginning, that it was a kidney infection. That night, we were all done with the tests and all the procedures, and were just there to get the second dose of the nightly IV medicine, so we were both able to sleep. He slept almost the whole night!
Due to barely nursing the entire night, he had lost four ounces. Since he already had an IV in anyways, we agreed to giving him a few ounces of fluids, just so he could rest better, without having to wake him up to nurse. The day before, he had nursed a ton, as they kept waking him up all the time to do tests, and vitals, and just check on him. After a day of constantly being interrupted sleeping, he was wiped out. He slept most of Friday till we left around 2pm.
The nurses there were amazing! They were so helpful, and empathetic. One of them even left the room when they were doing the bloodwork, as she started getting teary eyed, when they couldn't find the vein the first time. They always tried to do everything as minimally invasive as they could. They did most vitals while he slept or nursed. After the first day (when I wouldn't let anyone hold him - including my mom who met us there), they even held him so I could eat, or freshen up. They even stopped me on the way to the kitchen, and would insist that they get whatever I wanted.
We left on Friday afternoon, and he was on an antibiotic for ten days four times a day. Then he switched to a very low dose antibiotic to keep him infection free till we go to Childrens hospital to find out what caused the kidney infection.
The amazing part of this whole thing was that I was extremely blessed to know that everything would work out okay. I never panicked. I was very protective of him, hence my not letting anyone hold him till they were all done with the invasive tests, but I was not a wreck. I never felt like his life was in danger. I am very grateful for the support that the Lord gave me. I cannot imagine going through something like this alone - without His help and support. I truly felt uplifted and strengthened, and comforted
I am so glad that he is OK!
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