Daily Dependence

Each day I read a Parent's Devotional on my phone. It's a great reminder that God is in control and that my children are just on loan from Him. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I'm humbled and honored that he would trust me to be the mom of three beautiful girls. Even on the tough days, I am truly blessed.

Today's devotional really hit home, and it can be applied to many of life's circumstances whether you have children or not, so I wanted to share a part of it with you:

"We often long for God to reveal the whole path before us, but He usually gives us only one stepping stone at a time. It can be tough to choose a path of daily dependence on God in our lives and the lives of our children. We desperately want to plan, orchestrate, and manipulate all the details because it gives us a sense of control. The illusion of control however, can tempt us to rely on ourselves instead of God. Are you holding tightly to your sense of control, or are you depending on God for guidance? Trust your children to God each morning. He knows what He's doing."

What a great word! Now if I can just remember to trust my children to God ... every morning... for the rest of their lives. There's a challenge for you!

Heart Murmur, Reflux, the Flu ... OH MY!

Our sweet Miss Parker has really come into this world with a bang. Maybe she will be our drama queen because she sure does like to make a statement.

First, at birth she scared us with a Heart Murmur. Full story: http://morrisonlife.blogspot.com/2012/02/miss-parker-gave-us-little-scare.html)

Second, at 3-4 weeks she was diagnosed with a bad case of Acid Reflux. Full Story: http://morrisonlife.blogspot.com/2012/03/one-tough-week-with-old-faithful.html

Third, at 5 weeks she was diagnosed with the flu. Full Story: below.


On Saturday, March 10th, Parker woke up at 3:30am to eat. I was thrilled that she has slept that long before waking up to eat for the first time. While feeding her, I noticed that her head was hot. I checked her temp and it was 99.9. If a newborn has a fever over 100.4, then that's considered an emergency and you must get them to the doctor. I prayed over her and she fell back asleep after eating. She didn't wake again until 8am to eat. She still felt hot, and her temp had risen to 101.2. It never fails, kids always get a fever on the weekend. I called her doctor and the triage nurse told us which Urgent Care to take her to that could handle an infant under 12 weeks.

Long story short, when we were seen by the doctor (thankfully newborns see a different doctor than the other 200 people in the waiting room so we got in fairly quickly) he told us that he would have to run some standard tests to find out why she had a fever. He then said it could be as simple as a virus or as bad as Bacterial Meningitis that's eating away at her brain. REALLY?! Why in the world would you say that! Sure, those may be the facts, but that is not what two worried parents need to hear. From that point on I tried not to completely lose it.

We were there for 3 hours while they inserted an IV in her tiny arm, drew blood, took a chest xray, and tried three times before finally getting a urine sample to test for a UTI. While we waited they gave her IV fluids to keep her hydrated because her temp had risen to 102. I shed many tears as we waited to hear some results as to what was wrong with Parker. By that afternoon, most of the tests had come back negative, which was good news, but we still had no answers. The last of the blood work, the info we really needed, was messed up in the lab and the results were inconclusive. REALLY?!

At that point, the doctor called across the street to St. Francis and got us directly admitted to a room for further testing. Thankfully, he knew some of the doctors over there so we were able to bypass the ER, etc. After we checked in, a team of two doctors came in to talk to us about what was going on. They already had all of Parker's paperwork and they knew exactly where we left off at the Urgent Care.

They took a sample from her nose to test her for RSV, the flu, etc. The test would take 3 hours to get the results ... so, we waited. After 2 hours, the two doctors and their boss (the head pediatrician) came in to tell me that they rushed the test and would have an answer in 10 minutes. They did this because they needed to proceed with further testing if that test came back negative. The test came back negative. The next test was a Lumbar Puncture (or Spinal Tap). They do this to test the spinal fluid and check for Bacterial Meningitis and something else. I was allowed to go with Parker for this test, but I chose not to. Greg had gone home to check on the big girls, and I needed a moment to myself. I watched everything else that they did to my innocent newborn that day and I couldn't bring myself to watch that test as well. So, I handed her to the doctor and I lost it. It was the first time that I just let go and cried. I cried hard and I prayed hard. The test only took 15-20 minutes and Parker was back in my arms.


Around 9pm that night, a nurse came in the room and said that Parker had the flu. The flu? How? That test was negative. Apparently, when the test is rushed it can come back with a false negative reading. After the test was able to run its full 3 hours, it came back positive for the flu. We had never in our lives been so thrilled to hear it was the flu. Our 5 week old had the flu and we could not have been happier ... considering the alternatives.

So, we spent Saturday through Monday afternoon in the hospital. By Monday, Parker and I were both ready to go. Here is a picture of our sweet girl once she started getting a little more peppy:

The brace on her right arm was protecting the IV that was left in there in case she needed antibiotics, fluids, etc. Thankfully, it was never used at the hospital.

We left the hospital with Tamiflu and directions to bring her back if she ran any more fever. We have lived the last week "in a bubble" inside our home to allow her to get back to 100%. Not to mention the fact, that my sweet girl gave me the flu and I'm still recovering from that. :)

Thank you to everyone who prayed for Parker's health. You have no idea how much we needed those prayers. This was one of the scariest things we have gone through and I'm not sure that we could have gotten through some of it without those prayers of support. Thank you also to everyone that helped take care of the girls and us, and to those who brought us food. You know who you are and you are amazing!

I read a Parents Devotional on my phone. While in the hospital, my devotional verse was Psalms 46:10 - “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Amen!

One Tough Week with Old Faithful

Saturday, a week ago, Parker started projectile vomiting after at least one meal a day and sometimes two meals. Around the 1 month mark, we knew that spitting up could start so we weren't too concerned. Bailey had acid reflux and some projectile vomiting so we kind of knew what to expect; however, we did start to get concerned once Tuesday rolled around and the projectile vomiting was still going on. By projectile, I mean, it could spray about a foot out and soak everything in it's path. I would have to change my clothes and Parker's clothes, along with wiping down anything else that got in the way of this explosive fountain. The worst part was that I never knew when it was coming so I wasn't able to prepare for it. Who am I kidding. There is no way to prepare for that kind of output!

I called her doctor on Tuesday and spoke to one of the nurses. She gave me some tips to try to eliminate other possible problems. I tried the tips that day and night, but they didn't help so I called back on Wednesday and made an appointment for that morning. After speaking to Parker's doctor about my concerns, he decided to have her GI tested to make sure that she wasn't having any internal problems that could be more than just acid reflux. He chose to do this test because she had only gained 1 lb since leaving the hospital 25 days prior, and because of the consistency of her projectile vomit. Her test was set up for Thursday morning at 7:00am at the hospital.

Wednesday evening I was a little anxious. My parents took the big girls for the night so I had nothing to do except to focus on the test Parker would have to go through the following morning. All we knew was that she couldn't eat after 4am (you try telling a newborn when she can and can't eat), we had to check in at 7am, and the test would consist of putting a camera down her throat to take pics as she swallowed barium.

Here is what I pictured as a possible worst scenario:

• Parker and I get no sleep because the vomiting is irritating her insides.
• She screams sometime between 4am-7am because she's hungry.
• I cry through the whole camera swallowing procedure. 
• The outcome of the test means she has to go through a surgery to correct the problem.
• Mind you, I usually have a level head, but when I don't get much sleep, sometimes the "bad" sneaks into my thoughts.

Here is what actually happened:

• We got a great nights sleep, or at least as good as it could have been considering we have a newborn.
• I woke Parker at 3:30am for her "last meal" to try to hold off her hunger through the 7am test.
• I got three encouraging text from friends at 7am. Those texts meant more to me than they'll ever know. Thank you, again!
• Parker was calm during the whole morning and the procedure.
• An old friend from high school was our nurse (what are the odds of that). She explained everything and made us feel a million times better.
• The entire test was done by xray - NO camera swallowing. Huge relief! I didn't cry.
• We got to watch everything on the monitor and we knew right away that her little body was perfect. The result is that she just has a bad case of acid reflux.
• We got medicine for her reflux, and she will grow out of this in the next month or so.

Thank you again to our friends and family that prayed for us that evening and for the test the following day. We felt your prayers and God's presence throughout every moment from the peaceful night's sleep to the final test results. What a blessing it is for us to put our faith and hope in the Almighty Healer.

We have given her the medicine 4 times now and it seems to be helping. She still spits up a little, but that is to be expected at this age. So, for now, Old Faithful has settled down ... hopefully for good!