Last night the vomiting returned with a vengeance. How many days must this little boy endure all of this?
But this morning things seemed to be turning around for Harrison. For the first time in 7 days he actually ate breakfast without gagging or vomiting. He even manage to sip a few drinks out of his sippy cup which is also a HUGE improvement.
However...this moment of "recovery" was short lived. Just after 11 am this morning, the cycle started all over again.
This afternoon we saw Harrison's regular doctor which was a huge relief for me. To my amazement Harrison has only lost 5-6 ounces since his last appointment on the 15th. This was the only good news of the entire appointment.
It appears the stomach virus Harrison had is most likely gone.
So then what is causing this continued vomiting?
The doctor explained that viruses like the stomach flu effect young children in ways that don't effect adults. For children the stomach flu is harder to fight, often resulting in multiple episodes of vomiting. After the virus is gone children can develop a secondary virus to the virus they had. This is exactly what is happening to Harrison. The virus he has now is effecting the way his body handles food. At this time Harrison is not able to eat able most foods with the exception of rice cereal, Gerber Puffs and some Plum foods.
The doctor prescribed Ondansetron is an anti-nausea medication given to help prevent dehydration and hospitalization. This drug is especially important since Harrison has also developed diarrhea (I changed his diaper 3times in the 45 minutes we were there at his appointment). The doctor also prescribed a pro-biotic to hopefully help with the diarrhea. We are also trying to push pedialyte as much as we can. For the next month Harrison will also be on lactose-free milk. The diarrhea and food intolerance's could last up to 2-3 weeks or even up to a month. But this is not in all cases---so I am clinging to hope that Harrison at least gets the weak end of this virus.
We started the medication this afternoon. The first two attempts began with vomiting. The last attempt about an hour ago was semi-successful. He ate a half bowl of rice cereal and half of a yogurt without a sip of liquid.
As far as hydration.... He has had 3 "wet" diapers today. We definitely still need to continue to monitor his fluid intake. He continues to take large gulps of liquid and then spits it out. So honestly we don't know how he is not shiverled up like a prune. The doctor feels we are doing a good job managing his hydration at this time.
With the days passing slowly and I mean SLOWLY these past 7 days have been some of the hardest days for Doug and I since bringing Harrison home from the NICU. Anyone who has children knows exactly what I am talking about. It's so hard to see your child sick and not knowing what to do or how to make them feel better, it's like you are helpless and this is especially hard because they are so dependent on you.
I just got done rocking Harrison in the chair for the past hour. Sometimes rocking him brings me back to the two months I sat for hours at night in the NICU holding him---holding on to the best thing in the world.
Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.
But this morning things seemed to be turning around for Harrison. For the first time in 7 days he actually ate breakfast without gagging or vomiting. He even manage to sip a few drinks out of his sippy cup which is also a HUGE improvement.
However...this moment of "recovery" was short lived. Just after 11 am this morning, the cycle started all over again.
This afternoon we saw Harrison's regular doctor which was a huge relief for me. To my amazement Harrison has only lost 5-6 ounces since his last appointment on the 15th. This was the only good news of the entire appointment.
It appears the stomach virus Harrison had is most likely gone.
So then what is causing this continued vomiting?
The doctor explained that viruses like the stomach flu effect young children in ways that don't effect adults. For children the stomach flu is harder to fight, often resulting in multiple episodes of vomiting. After the virus is gone children can develop a secondary virus to the virus they had. This is exactly what is happening to Harrison. The virus he has now is effecting the way his body handles food. At this time Harrison is not able to eat able most foods with the exception of rice cereal, Gerber Puffs and some Plum foods.
The doctor prescribed Ondansetron is an anti-nausea medication given to help prevent dehydration and hospitalization. This drug is especially important since Harrison has also developed diarrhea (I changed his diaper 3times in the 45 minutes we were there at his appointment). The doctor also prescribed a pro-biotic to hopefully help with the diarrhea. We are also trying to push pedialyte as much as we can. For the next month Harrison will also be on lactose-free milk. The diarrhea and food intolerance's could last up to 2-3 weeks or even up to a month. But this is not in all cases---so I am clinging to hope that Harrison at least gets the weak end of this virus.
We started the medication this afternoon. The first two attempts began with vomiting. The last attempt about an hour ago was semi-successful. He ate a half bowl of rice cereal and half of a yogurt without a sip of liquid.
As far as hydration.... He has had 3 "wet" diapers today. We definitely still need to continue to monitor his fluid intake. He continues to take large gulps of liquid and then spits it out. So honestly we don't know how he is not shiverled up like a prune. The doctor feels we are doing a good job managing his hydration at this time.
With the days passing slowly and I mean SLOWLY these past 7 days have been some of the hardest days for Doug and I since bringing Harrison home from the NICU. Anyone who has children knows exactly what I am talking about. It's so hard to see your child sick and not knowing what to do or how to make them feel better, it's like you are helpless and this is especially hard because they are so dependent on you.
I just got done rocking Harrison in the chair for the past hour. Sometimes rocking him brings me back to the two months I sat for hours at night in the NICU holding him---holding on to the best thing in the world.
Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.
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