. . . all's well that ends well

Before I begin this post, I will tell you that everything is fine and Liam is a-ok.

In my last post I mentioned that we got some great sleep Monday night, which unknowing to us came at a price. Liam was sleeping unusually well, which was great! Except that we later figured out it was because he wasn't feeling well. : ( After his 10 pm feeding, Liam spit up a few times throughout the night, but it didn't seem like anything to worry about. When he spit up, I would just clean him up and he would fall right back asleep. I was in his room from about 4:00 - 6:15 am and he was still sleeping (wow! we were pleasantly surprised!). I went back to bed and told Keith that Liam had been coughing and spitting up, but was sleeping through everything, even when I would move him. Liam finally started to stir around 6:30 and woke up. I came up to feed him and he was in a great mood, smiling at us and not giving his hungry cry or anything. And all of the sudden he threw up. And I will go ahead and apologize for the graphic details, but it was not just throw up, but yellow bile. We were a little freaked out to say the least. After some googling and trying to call the doctor, we decided to head to the emergency room.

By the time we got to the ER, which luckily is right down the street at the same hospital where Liam was born, he had thrown up bile 4 times. Not only that, but he was so unlike himself. Even though he hadn't eaten in 10 hours, he was lethargic, falling asleep, and not his active, alert self. They checked him out in the ER and decided that he needed to go upstairs to the pediatric ward for observation. He did not have a fever or diarrhea, and didn't seem dehydrated, so that was all good. The doctor said it could possibly be a virus, an intestinal infection, reflux, or maybe just a bug.

Still in the ER, I finally fed him for just a few minutes because he ended up falling asleep after 5 minutes (also unlike him). We laid him on the table asleep, and about 20 minutes later he totally threw up everything he had just eaten. : ( He then laid there awake, smiling at us, but was completely still. For him, this was totally uncharacteristic -- his arms and legs are constantly moving. We call it dancing, RLS, riding a bike, practicing his karate, etc. You get the picture: the boy never stops. Except for this morning. He just lay there with his arms and legs quiet, which worried Keith and I.

They finally moved us upstairs and the plan was to continually weigh him. We would weigh him before he fed, after a feeding, weigh him if he threw up, weigh his diapers -- the doctors wanted to know how much was going in and how much was coming out. After moving upstairs he slept for a little longer, and finally woke up to eat. He kept that meal down, along with the next three, which was an answer to our prayers. And he finally started to come around and act like himself more as day turned into evening. The doctor came by to check on him and gave us the ok to go home. Liam was back to normal, acting like his usual self, and we were so relieved.

One thing we've noticed about the all the medical staff we've encountered here in the NL is how interested they are in us as people. From the midwives and kraamzorg to the nurses and doctors at the hospital -- they all spend time getting to know us. One nurse sat down yesterday and asked me all about our move, how long we plan to stay, Keith's work, our lives with the new baby -- she really took time to know us on a more personal level. And it's like that with everyone here . . . it kinda feels nice to feel like they truly care about us as people instead of just a chart and vitals and breezing in and out and on to the next patient. It's pretty refreshing.

So now we are back home, back to normal, and Liam is doing great. I appreciate the prayers of everyone back home . . . God is so good and we are forever grateful for how much He takes care of us.

~ Jessi

So happy, even when he didn't feel well : )

Takin' a little nap