Monday, July 16, 2012

4 Month Immunizations & 1 Mad Baby

We had a bit of a scare with LB this weekend. He went for his 4 month check-up on Friday and all was well, but AFTER he came home from the doctor, he wasn't quite himself. He was mad and crying (he's usually super happy and he hardly ever cries unless he's hungry or needs a new diaper). We suspected he was a bit fussy from the shots, so we gave him some Tylenol, but that didn't help either. He also started coughing and his nose started running. He was so mad that he would barely eat anything.

We weren't sure if the coughing and stuffiness was from all the crying or if he might have picked up a virus while he was at the peditrician, but the fact that he was barely eating was really concerning. Our instructions from the metabolic clinic are that if he eats 1/3 less than he normally does (they call this "the rule of thirds"), it is cause for concern and we should give them a call. All weekend long, we were practically force feeding the poor kid and he was within an ounce or two of the rule of thirds. I got nervous and called the clinic on Saturday night. They reassured me that he would be ok as long as he didn't drop below 20 ounces for the day (he normally eats 30-32 ounces). They also suspected the shots combined with a possible cold were to blame. We kept him dosed with Tylenol and reverted to our routine of waking him every 3-4 hours during the night instead of every 6, just to make sure he had enough nutrition in his system.

We had a couple of tough nights, but by today, he was right back on schedule. It's amazing how quickly kids bounce back from illnesses.

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