First stop hospital, second doctor's office

Warning...long post.

Day Seventy-nine: Ariel had a busy day today...and I did too since she doesn't do much on her own at one. We had our seasonal visit to the hospital.

We woke this morning at 6 am to get ready for her appointment at the hospital. Thankfully, we were able to stay with my parents last night, so we were only 20 minutes away (not including traffic). We were on the road to CHKD a few minutes after seven and arrived at the hospital about 7:45. Jason dropped me off at the door (drive-by style due to a painfully impatient car behind us--seriously, I'm glad I didn't get hit walking across the street), so that I could sign us in and Ariel wouldn't be in the waiting room as long. She's not a big fan of waiting for things she doesn't like.

We went back for her abdominal ultrasound pretty quickly and she started crying almost immediately upon being laid on the bed. Last time, we came the technician warned me that for the next year or so Ariel would not tolerate the ultrasound very well, so I needed to bring extra hands. Boy was she right. The child is strong. Jason held her arms and upperbody and tried to say soothing things to her. I held her legs and hips. I couldn't help but laugh after a while. It was horrible. The technician was sweet and did her best to be quick, but Ariel was the furthest she could possibly be from cooperative. She cried, she screamed, she SCREAMED-the from your toes, deep down, gutteral kind, she turned red, she had multiple coughing fits, she made scrunched-up-angry faces, she said "No, no," she kicked, she grabbed at things, she flailed. She tried everything she had in her little bag. But we were stronger. The pictures that we needed were taken.

Though, Jason did mention his shoulder was sore afterward and my arm muscle tried to cramp up on me in the middle.

Then, we were off to the lab for blood work. I thought we might have time to feed her in between the two, but we were the first in for the day and were taken right into a room. (Ariel has to have her ultrasound done on an empty stomach...another thing that makes this day a little difficult.) We sat down and immediately the technician explains that Ariel seems a little dehydrated. I reminded her where we just came from and explained that yes she probably was...I was a little tempted to ask for a few minutes to feed her and hopefully get some more fluids in her, but I doubted it would work that quick so I kept quiet and hoped for the best. Well, she stuck her little arm and wiggled the needle around for a minute or so, then decided to try the other arm. Ariel didn't enjoy this any more than the former event. The only difference this time was that I was the only one trying to hold the distressed child. I had my legs wrapped around hers and my arm around her waist and arm, but still it wasn't enough. She cried and screamed and coughed and flailed and kicked, but again we got the necessary blood. Then we cuddled. Poor baby. It's all for her health.

In case you aren't aware from my previous posts, we are screening her for an overgrowth disorder called Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome. She has these tests every three months and we see a specialist twice a year. So far, we've found nothing to concern us. Thank you, God!!

This was not the end of our medical-ness for for the day. Throughout the whole hospital experience, Ariel's persistent cough nagged at me. She had a cold for about two weeks a month ago a couple days after that seemed to start clearing up she showed signs of allergies. Allergies made sense with the seasonal changes, so we just watched and waited. But now, she's been coughing for too long and it doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. Jason agreed that it was time to make an appointment to see her doctor. I figured why wait till tomorrow. Let's just get it all done today. Bless the child's heart.

We went by the house for a clean diaper, a small snack, and a quick internet search to reassure me that I was doing the right thing. We signed in on the sick side of the office and took our seats. We were called back within 5 minutes and the doctor was in with us in 10 and we were on our way in 10 more. WOW!! Well-baby visits are never like this.

Dr. S-C said it seemed likely that she was suffering from mild seasonal allergies and suggested Zyrtec or Claritin. She also discovered ear infections in both ears. That seemed to explain the extra clingingness and fussiness this week. However, I felt bad for not knowing. I asked about my thought process over that last few weeks and if I had waited too long. Our wonderful doctor said she would have done all the same things exactly. Relief.

We went straight to Wal-greens after picking up my prescription from earlier this week...two birds with one stone. We were told we had to wait 30 minutes, so we stayed. We waited over an hour. Oh well. I found some good deals. We got the meds, ate some lunch, she took her meds, and now she is sleeping. Incidentally, she hasn't coughed at all since she took the claritin either.

Ariel did great today. I know her distress at the hospital sounds awful, but it was very isolated. Otherwise, she was truly delightful (as long as she was being held). She's amazing.

Thank you, God, for Dr. S-C as our pediatrician. I really feel comfortable with her and Ariel usually does too. Thank you for CHKD being available to us. Thank you for my parents living so close to CHKD. Thank you for Jason's flexibility with work allowing him to go with us today. Thank you for antibiotics and antihistamines. I know they aren't cure-alls, but they will likely bring quick relief in this situation. Thank you for the research that shows us how to screen for problems resulting from BWS. Thank you for treatments that are available should we need them. Thank you for our lack of need thus far. Thank you for being with us.

What's this about? I decided on my birthday to make a commitment to being intentionally thankful. I challenged myself to post one thing I am thankful for everyday this year.