Our Poor Baby Boy!

Well, we jut got home from our 3 day hospital stay with Brandon. It all started on Friday. I noticed Friday evening that Brandon felt really hot. I took his temp and it was 102, so I called Brian and we headed to the ER. When we got there, his rectal temp was 100.5. Anything over 100.4 is your body fighting an infection and with him being only 5 weeks old they were concerned. They ran a number of tests to include a spinal tap, chest x-rays, a urinalysis, blood tests, influenza culture, and an RSV test. He was admitted to the hospital to be monitored, and to make sure that none of the labs came back positive. The initial labwork came back shortly after we were admitted and was all normal, but they watch some of the tests to make sure that nothing else grows within 24-48 hours. Poor guy was hooked up to an IV which had to be done in his head because the vein in his arm blew and the vein in his hand collapsed. We were told that it is normal for babies veins to collapse or blow because they are so tiny. His temp went down shortly after we got there with the aid of tylenol, but he had to be fever free for at least 24 hours. He was put on IV antibiotics every 6 hours. The last evening, his IV stopped working, so they had to remove it and instead of sticking him again with an IV needle, they decided to give him shots of the antibiotic. It was so hard watching him get poked and prodded at the whole time he was there, but we know that it was for the best. He is doing great and is back to his smiling, happy self. They are guessing that it was a virus because all of the labwork did not show anything to worry about. The only concerning thing that we were told at the hospital was about the little dimple on his back. He was born with a dimple on his back right above his butt. Apparently, they forgot to mention to us that it could be a sign of spina bifida! The pediatrician doesn't seem too concerned because all of his reflexes are normal and the spinal cord and nerve endings are not exposed. There is a condition called spina bifida occulta which is an extremely mild form of the disease. In this particular form of the disease, no other symptoms present themselves and many people have it their entire life and never even know. So, I guess if he does have it, that there is not a lot of reason for concern. We are scheduled to get an ultrasound to get it checked out on the 17th. We hate waiting that long, but that is the military healthcare system. As soon as we get the results, we will let you all know. So, we are glad to be home, and that Brandon is healthy. Thanks to everyone for all of your concern and help!!

A super special thanks to the Roberts' for watching Emily and Kitters for us on such short notice!!! We love you guys!!!! :)