Reid tried to pick up a bee at the playground today.
The bee gave him immediate, negative feedback.
Tag Archives: Reid
Ah-dee's belly
Aidan has long had chronic stomach pain. He used to complain about stomach aches as a two year old, but I figured it was the usual kid stuff. Then one day when he was three, my mom said something to him about not feeling well because her stomach hurt. He replied, “But bellies always hurt, Grammy.” I realized we needed to try to figure out what was wrong.
He’s had many of the simpler tests and nothing showed up. So now we’re on to the big stuff. He had an upper GI this morning, which is a test to try to locate problems in the stomach and diaphragm. He had to drink a lot of barium (which the tech flavored with Hershey’s syrup for him, but which still was pretty gross), then stand and lie in a variety of positions on an x-ray table, sipping the barium the whole time, as they photographed him.
He did a very good job. The doctor told me that he didn’t see any obvious ulcers or tumors, which is good news. Apparently, ulcers in four years olds are more common than you’d think.
After that we went across the street and he had four vials of blood drawn. That was far more traumatic for Aidan, but we had a lab technician there who was quick, no nonsense, and got the stick the first time despite Aidan thrashing as hard as he could, screaming, and having difficult veins because he’d fasted 12 hours for the upper GI. I could have kissed her. This is the same lab where I brought Reid when he was nine months old, and took my time explaining to the tech that he had difficult veins, and that we’d had many problems in the past, and we’d had to tie him down and go into his head, and it took many tries, yadda yadda, and she nodded at me, turned around, and had the needle in his vein in about three seconds. I am never going anywhere else.
Next we have to collect some stool and turn that in. That we get to collect at home, Yay. Apparently, we use saran wrap.
Anyway, maybe something will turn up in these tests to explain his stomach, and maybe it won’t. We have to wait until mid-August to see a pediatric gastroenterologist, believe it or not. But we got a new Zantac prescription, so at least we can make him feel better while we wait to see if they can diagnose him.
I had promised him that if he did a good job at the upper GI, we could go to Safeway and get him a doughnut and a soda. As he’s in the middle of the test, I hear his little voice from the machine, “Mommy, remember, after this I get a doughnut, soda, and candy.” I replied, “I don’t remember saying anything about candy!” The doctor and the tech laughed and the doctor said, “He’s kind of running the show right now, mom.”
Later the tech told me to make sure Aidan got a lot to drink today, “…and things without caffeine.” Feeling like Champion White Trash Mom, I replied, “So, no Mountain Dew, then?” Aidan piped up, “No, I want diet Coke.” And we left, to the sound of dueling banjos in the distance.
Lost and found
I lost my cell phone 11 days ago when the baby got into my purse and spread its contents all over the kitchen area. I’ve asked the boy probably 50 times since then “Where is Mommy’s phone?”
Blank stare.
Well, about half an hour ago he walked up and handed it to me, out of the blue.
About to be two
This morning, Reidie threw himself out of his crib for the first time. It sounded like, “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! [LOUD THUMP] Waaaaaaaah!”
Then, later, he walked downstairs and said, “Hi, Aidan.” Not Ah-dee, as he’s called his brother since he started talking. “Aidan.”
Sigh. Tomorrow he’ll be off to college.
CSI Master Bath
The baby got a hold of a cup of red Gatorade and now my bathroom looks like a crime scene.
Mother lion
Reid was cranky all day on Saturday. But, I didn’t really think much of it, as he is only six weeks old. However, when I gave him a bath that evening I noticed that he had a hard, warm, red lump on his chest. I called our pediatrician and next thing you know, Reid and I were off to the ER.
I chose to go to Reston Hospital, instead of the hospital nearest us, because the one time I’d been to ours I’d gotten a bad impression. What a huge mistake. We sat for hours without them even looking at Reid, something that is hard to fathom when you are dealing with a tiny infant like him.
In all, we were there for more than eight hours. It turns out that Reid had a bacterial infection in his chest, a development that is not uncommon in infants, but still a major concern, obviously.
Reid handled it very well. I handled it slightly less well, but did my best. The ER doctors had a hard time getting blood from him. It kept congealing before they could test it. They had to stick him repeatedly, and of course we had to wait every time.
Then they tried to place an IV, to start antibiotics (five hours after we arrived). They had an extremely difficult time trying to get the IV in place, and actually tried about seven or eight times. It was torture for both Reid and me. I don’t know who cried harder. After the umpteenth failure, over several hours, I actually picked Reid up off the table, as they were looking for another place to stick, and told them that we were done. The two doctors became extremely fussy with me, and one even stomped away in a huff. But I wouldn’t put him down.
At the time it was an emotional response more than anything else, because I felt I literally could not stand to see Reid get hurt one more time. I was actually somewhat embarrassed by my outburst. But looking back, I’m so glad I did it. Doctors can be so intimidating, even when they aren’t actively trying to patronize you. We hate to question them, and they hate it too. But I think sometimes they need to be reminded that they are treating people — in this case a little teeny people — not just solving puzzles.
Finally, they gave Reid oral antibiotics and transferred us, by ambulance, to Prince William Hospital — the hospital I should have gone to in the first place. It was about 5:00am when we left, a quick 30-minute trip with no traffic on the road. I was in the back of the ambulance, dizzy from no sleep, worried, and holding the tiny hand of my son, who was strapped — in his car seat — to a gurney. I think I will remember the sensations of that journey — the gray morning light, the sound of the wind in the back of the ambulance, the feel of Reid’s soft hand in mine — forever.
Prince William Children’s Hospital brought in a neonatalogist, who put in the IV the very first time. I wept with relief. And exhaustion. And guilt.
After a couple of days of wonderful care in the hospital, Reid is fine and we are both home. It was no fun spending my birthday in the hospital, but…the things you do for love.