First of all, they hold the reunion during lunch time and nap time. Thanks. It wasn't easy feeding the girls. They don't like hamburgers (they always spit out ground beef), and I don't really like feeding them hot dogs but the only other option was baked beans and corn on the cob. What a nightmare. So, they ate a hot dog. Luckily I brought along a lot of grapes to supplement. The girls won't drink cold milk, so I only gave them water. As I usually do, I left them in their stroller for most of the reunion. It's too difficult to chase them around - especially when I'm alone. However, I finally decided to let them run around.
They were all having a great time walking around. They'd been out of the stroller for maybe 10 minutes or less. I look over and Maggie is lying on the ground face down having a seizure. I couldn't believe my eyes. It lasted maybe 5 seconds or so. I scooped her up, but she didn't want to be held. So, I put her down and her legs gave out. She couldn't stand up. I was about to lose it. What was I supposed to do? I'm alone with three kids. I was trying not to cry, but I just couldn't hold it in anymore.
You'd think I was in the perfect place for something like this to happen - at a hospital. One of the NICU nurses went over and got the nurse practitioner. She basically just looked at her and said she looked fine. She said, "if you're worried about her, take her to the ER." Seriously? That's all you've got? A few minutes later another one of the nurses saw me crying. She went over and got one of the doctors who was there. He came over and looked at her. And when I say looked, I mean looked. He didn't touch her or anything. He just said, "She looks fine to me." Thanks.
A great big thank you to Jackie and Dolores who watched Katie and Izzie-B while I was dealing with Maggie. Meghan, Heather and Kerry were a big help too. I really appreciate your help, kind words, offers to come over, etc. It's so nice to have such great friends!!
I left a few minutes later. When I got home, I read about febrile seizures. One of my former co-worker's daughter had one, so I had heard of them before and I knew that they aren't necessarily serious. I also read the Owner's Manual (yes, that's what they call it - they're into the car metaphor) that my pediatrician's office provides. The girls were all very cranky. They didn't get a proper lunch and they only slept in the car on the way home. I then decided to take rectal temperatures of the girls - a first for me. They ALL had low grade fevers. Maggie - 100.5; Izzie-B 101.5 and Katie - 100.9. I finally decided that I should call the pediatrician (particularly because the Owner's Manual said to call if they have a seizure). I'm not someone who is concerned about low grade fevers. I've never even given the girls any medicine before.
Dr. Jim called me back within about 2 minutes. He told me exactly what I anticipated. Don't worry about it. Keep an eye on her. If it happens again, call back. If there are no other problems, he doesn't even need to see her next week. After speaking with him and because they were all SOOO cranky, I decided to give them all a dose of ibuprofen - another first for me. Katie and Maggie loved it. Izzie-B, who had the highest fever, spit most of it out. Great.
I sat and played with the girls all afternoon. Amazingly, Maggie was doing so well. She even said her second word. She was holding a sippy cup and dropped it. She said, "uh-oh." She then continued to say it - appropriately - all afternoon. So cute. She seems to be doing fine now - she walked around all afternoon, she could identify different body parts, she said her 2nd word. All seems well. Thank goodness!
Dinner was a nightmare. Katie screamed and screamed. She ate her meal and her strawberries, but she refused the raspberries and yogurt. Plus, she only drank half of her milk.
I finally got through dinner. Before bed, I took another rectal temperature - Katie - 99.6; Izzie-B - 99.7 and Maggie 98.9. Looks like the ibuprofen worked.
What a day.
I just heard Izzie-B whining/crying. I went up to check on her, and she is soaking wet with sweat. Granted - I do have her in a sleep sack due to the poo incident. I had to scramble to find something cooler for her to wear that would still prevent her from getting her diaper off.
Here are some pictures. They're not very good.
This is Heather with Alex. Alex was in the NICU at the same time the girls were. She was born at 27 weeks. Isn't she adorable!!
That's Ryan with Alex's twin brother Graham. Such a handsome boy!
Katie at dinner tonight. Lovely.
No comments:
Post a Comment