Cabell's Health

Hi everyone,

It's been a very rough week in the Stewart household, especially for the newest member.

We took Cabell to the ENT last Monday (3/23) for another video endoscopy of his throat. Cabell HATED the tube going down his nose (Who wouldn't??), but fortunately he was fine as soon as the 40-second procedure was over. His LES was still red and swollen, consistent with reflux. The goal is to see that redness and swelling go down over time as the Prevacid does its thing. He goes back for another one in May.

On Monday night, Cabell had a hard time breathing as he had a very wet, chesty cough all night long. Bradley took him to his pediatrician on Tuesday afternoon, who immediately admitted him to the hospital. They thought it could be either pneumonia or bronchitis. Before going to the hospital, Bradley had to give Cabell a breathing treatment using a nebulizer, which Cab understandably did NOT like.

I met them at the hospital just after they checked in and we spent the next couple of hours watching our baby get poked and prodded. He was really dehydrated and had to get on an IV. It ultimately took THREE TRIES before they managed to get the IV in his foot. They wrapped it up into a little boot to keep it in place.

We ended up staying in the hospital Tuesday-Thursday. Cabell spent his 3-month birthday laying in a hospital crib :( His pediatrician saw him early Weds. morning and said he could be discharged later that afternoon, but Bradley and I insisted on a doctor seeing him right before discharge. Another doctor from the practice came over and wasn't satisfied with his oxygen in blood content, so she said we should stay another night. I'm so glad we insisted on seeing a doctor again! We were ultimately discharged Thursday morning and Cab took a nice long nap when we got home.

Well, after returning home, his appetite still had not improved and we were so worried about ending up in the hospital with another IV. So I took him to see Dr. Shelly, the on-call doctor at his pediatrician's office, on Saturday morning. Dr. Shelly didn't like how Cabell sounded, so he ordered him back to the hospital for another 24-hour observation. By Sunday afternoon , he not only sounded better, but he was eating better. We think his food strike was due to his nasal congestion, which has been eased with the use of liquid Claratin.

In the two days since his release, his appetite has remained steady, which is a GREAT thing. He also sounds a lot better, with the occasional cough and raspy breathing. We will continue using the nebulizer (which he now loves- he tries to lick the gas!) until the bronchitis has completely cleared (which could take 4-6 weeks!), but HOPEFULLY the worst is behind us.

On a more fun note, Cabell continues to develop at a rapid pace. He is beginning to put toys in his mouth and drool more, which means that teething is just around the corner. He is also a smiling and laughing FOOL and loves nothing more than socializing with people. In the hospital, he managed to charm his fair share of doctors and nurses :)

We didn't take any pictures during Cabell's hospital stays (our mental images are more than enough), but I will try to get some pictures of Cab playing with his nebulizer up soon!