A bit of this and a bit of that

After reading Dana's post at Just Talk I started thinking about my first day back to school after spring break and Eliza being sick. I started my morning with one boy telling me his head has grown very large. He followed this be telling me it was hard as a rock. During morning message a rascally student eagerly volunteered the word CRAP to our list of -ap family words. I agreed that while Crap is in the ap family it is not a word we use in kindergarten. During guided reading the students were not listening to me so one of my group members declared, "Ms. Tamez is pissed!" I explained that we also don't use the word pissed because it is a not a nice word. He backtracked and just said I was getting angry. Before lunch one student decided to go #2 all over the bathroom. This is always a joyous event because the bathroom is in our room. It really leaves a pleasant odor for the rest of the afternoon. Anyhoo, I guess the toilet was broken because after lunch another little girl flushed the toilet and the water shot up all over her clothes. Let me say there is never a dull moment in my class!

After work I zipped home to get Eliza and took her in for a recheck at the pediatrician's office. At my appointment they informed me I would have to collect a urine sample using a urine collection bag next week. Directly after my collection I need to bring the sample to Quest Diagnostics for evaluation. A urine collection bag and a squirmy 6 month old. I can't think of anything that would be more fun! I think I will hand this one over to daddy Pete!

I did miss 90% of the Oprah show so I can't comment much on what was discussed. However, as strange as I think the situation may be, I don't think it is my place to pass judgement. I can't say if it is right or wrong. There are too many shades of grey. I just say live and let live.

More on Oprah-I am a huge animal lover. I am vegan for cryin out loud. Tomorrow her show is about puppy mills and I am sure it will be heartbreaking. If you share my love of animals be sure to tune in for this Lisa Ling special.

I always have the hardest time thinking of gift ideas and I am sure I am not the only one. I have been meaning to write about this great gift idea for some time. For my mom's birthday I had note pads designed from http://www.picpads.com/. They came out sooo cute. It is really an amazing gift idea. The deadline to order for Mother's Day is April 15. Here is the one I made for my mom. I says Nana's Notes.

I am tired of typing with a wriggly baby in one arm so I am outta here for now.

E.coli anyone?

The results are in...

Eliza does in fact have a UTI caused by E.coli bacteria. Can you say yuck, ew, and gross? The fact that anything is growing in urine is disgusting. The ultrasound that was done on her kidneys did not show any abnormalities- thank goodness. I was so worried about damage to her kidneys. I started reading about things that can go wrong yesterday and burst into tears. The word relief does not even come close to describing how I feel. If left untreated UTI's can cause kidney damage- especially in children under 6.

On the bright side we were released from the hospital today. At first when my husband told me I thought it was an April Fool's joke. Now that would have been cruel. We met with our pediatrician this morning and he wrote a scrip for us. I will administer oral antibiotics to her for the next 7 days. We also made an appointment to see the doc on Thursday for a check. I want to be SURE she is getting better.

How the heck did she get this UTI? That is the questions people keep asking me and I don't really have an answer. Sometimes I say poo poo in the choo choo, sometimes I say day care is the devil, and sometimes I say I haven't the foggiest idea! Of course I have looked into what caused this infection but have not really found any clear answers. I did find that it is most likely not caused by poo in the choo- as many have told me. It is important to wipe from front to back-but if that were truly the cause the rates of UTI would be even higher.

I never would have guessed she had a UTI. The symptoms in an infant are unexplainable fever and urinary findings suggestive of a UTI. I am so happy they chose to catheterize her and take a sample. At the time I was ready to scoop my baby off of the table and rescue her from the men and women torturing her in the E.R. I am so thankful that I let them get the sample. If I had not discovered it as early- I don't even want to to think about that. The only other symptoms were stinky urine and scrunching up of her face and hands. Yes! I originally thought that was caused by the oatmeal but now I think it was discomfort from urinating.

To read more about UTI's and infants check out this site.

I go to the doctor tomorrow. I am hoping it is nothing serious.

We are also looking into alternatives to day care.

Come back tomorrow to see my list of things I learned during my hospital visit.

Still here...Update

I spent my second night in the hospital last night. Pete was going to stay but I couldn't leave my pumpkin. Tonight I might have no choice because I am not feeling so well myself. I think I might have a bladder infection too and I really need some rest. I am hoping we are out of here quickly but I don't think that is going to happen. The doctor said three to five days.

Last night was a little bit rough. We are sharing a room with another mom and baby who is 5 weeks old. I am sure you can imagine how it is at night with two little sweeties in one room. Eliza was up a lot and had quite a coughing spell. The nurse heard her with the door closed and came in to help me out. After that the IV backed up and the nurse had to drain it out- which woke me up. Then at 7 a.m she was out cold and they came in to draw more blood which of course woke her up. I was kinda annoyed-but I know it is necessary. Don't they know you shouldn't wake a sleeping baby? or is that a sleeping dog you shouldn't wake? haha Overall the peanut is in good spirits. She loves all of the doctors and nurses coming in to see her. She is such a ham all smiley and happy. However, it is very hard to entertain her in this tiny room- but we are doing our best.

Eliza has not had a fever since late Saturday night which is a very good sign. We are still waiting for the blood and urine cultures to come back to see what- if anything-grew. We know she definitely had some type of infection because her white cell count was elevated. Depending on the results of the urine culture she might need an ultrasound of her kidneys. She has had some diarrhea from the antibiotics and now they are giving her probiotics to help.

The pediatrician feels strongly that we should take her out of day care. Eliza's little system is just not handling the germ overload well. I wish we had some other option. Pete and I plan on trying to find private care for her.

I just want to thank everyone for all of the well wishes. It really has made me feel wonderful to know so many people are thinking of our family.

We have taken a lot of pics but I haven't been able to get them on the computer. Hopefully I will get to do that soon.

Admitted to the Hospital

So Eliza was admitted to the hospital last night. We decided to go to the medi center because her fever kept spiking yesterday. They were closed so we headed over to the the ER. We were in the ER for 7 hours. They had trouble getting blood from her and had to try in four different spots. They had to put in a catheter to get a urine sample. I was very upset through the hole ordeal. I even had to leave at one point.

The urine was cloudy and had some abnormalities. They think she has a urinary tract infection but it will take 24-48 hours for the culture to come back. She has an IV and is getting fluids and antibiotics.


We found out we were being admitted around 6:00 p.m. and didn't get a room for about another six hours. Pete came up to the room to help us get settled but only one parent was allowed to stay the night. My accommodations ( a chair pull out bed) were less than accommodating. I will have pictures- don't worry!

So we will be here for a while. Pete will be staying the night tonight. I will be blogging via my husband's laptop.