It’s been a while since my last post, but that’s because my child was giving us a ton of experiences, chalk-full of blog content! In the past 2 weeks, we have been to the ER twice, doctor 3 times, on the phone with doc several times and have chased around a mobile baby! She is a completely new baby from a month ago – crawling (making her way across the room in seconds), pulling herself up (using everything in the house to do so), and she’s even “cruising” (walking holding on to all furniture or human in her path)! I was told when babies get mobile, that’s when accidents start, but I didn’t know it would be right away!
TO ER or NOT TO ER
Of course, you want to always contact your pediatrician with any issue if not life-threatening emergency. Be sure when searching for your pediatrician, that they have a 24 hour call center for when things happen after-hours. Plus, if your doctor sends you to the ER, it’s best if they can call ahead with more information on their assessment (saves the parents some explanations and could time obtaining records if needed).
As general rule of thumb, these articles may help too-better to read before emergency situation:
*What To Expect – When to Go to the ER
http://www.whattoexpect.com/toddler/health-and-safety/when-to-go-to-the-er.aspx
* Parenting Magazine – 10 Common Health Emergencies And How to Deal
http://www.parenting.com/article/10-common-health-emergencies-and-how-to-deal-with-them
~TO ER or NOT TO ER: My Experience ~Even the doctors didn’t seem to agree if we should or not! But when you are talking about my baby’s brain, I’m going to be safe rather than sorry!
On Memorial Day, my rambunctious baby bumped her head very hard. I know it happens, but a bump had emerged, so I called the after-hours nurseline and they basically told me to observe her. Baby was having sick symptoms, so we went to pediatrician the next day. Doc thought she had a concussion from the size of bump. In addition, as they measured her head at each checkup, the doc. found that baby’s head was growing “too fast”, which could also be a symptom of fluid on the brain (a completely separate issue from concussion!). Our pediatrician said to go straight to the ER at our local hospital for a CT Scan after seeing her! The ER doctors made us think we (and our doc) overreacted and that she was fine. The ER did not want to do a CT scan due to the radiation on the brain and they didn’t think it was necessary, so we went home. The next day, we went for a follow-up to the pediatrician, and saw another doc in practice, who ordered an ultra sound of her brain. Our local hospital would not perform it since they thought her soft spot would be closed already and they probably couldn’t see anything. To this, the 2nd doc said to come back next month to measure her head again. How can we go from the 1st doc saying “Go to the ER” to the 2nd saying “come back in a month”?!?!?! This did not sit well with me, plus the baby was acting strange since she was sick (vomiting, diarrhea, teething, cough, and runny nose – so yeh, she was real pleasure!). How could our docs give two extremely different recommendations? I started trying to get a 2nd opinion elsewhere. YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT MY BABY’S BRAIN!!! There we were – it was Friday and I still didn’t know if my baby was okay! I called and spoke to doc who originally saw her, who insisted that we should have gotten a CT Scan and that we should go to the Children’s Hospital ER immediately! Again, are these doctors communicating? I’d rather be more cautious, so we went to the ER! At least I’d get the 2nd/3rd/4th opinion I was looking for. The Children’s Hospital also had trepidation to perform a CT Scan, due to the radiation and also since they might need to sedate her. They also did not think her bump on the head looked bad, as well as, not having concussion symptoms. However, the head circumference made them worry. Thankfully, the docs figured they should at least try to do an ultra sound since they felt that her soft spot had not closed up yet. They were able to see her little brain (safely)! The results came back almost an hour later that her brain fluid was normal! So, after some more time, we were discharged and took our healthy, tired baby home!
No one wants to go to the ER, but I’ll tell ya, after getting the good results back, I finally slept like a baby after several days of extreme worry! I cannot imagine having a sick child and spending more than a several hours in the hospital or even another minute with that paralyzing fear!
The most important thing to remember is that doctors may be experts, but they are not always right! It is up to you as the parent to advocate for your children. Be sure that you are comfortable with their recommendations and agree to treatments. Your baby depends on you to speak up on their behalf, so don’t be shy! Ask questions, look for second opinions and do your research!
Plants Power Purpose 