Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Sick Baby

Charlotte has been fighting off some sort of sickness for a week now. It started early last week with a runny nose, then escalated into a fever of 103.2, extreme fussiness, coughing, hoarse throat, and very sparse and interrupted sleep. It was rough. When I took her temperature and saw how high it was, I called the pediatrician right away, even though it was 3:30 in the morning. I know that fevers are just the body's way of fighting off the infection, but I also know that at some point it is dangerous, and I wasn't sure how close Charlotte was to that point. I got a call back from the pediatrician a few minutes after I left the message, and I could tell that she was not pleased with being woken up for this. Her exact remark was, "I don't understand why you are calling..." Now, I really love the office Charlotte goes to and appreciate the care and time they give to us (even though it is always a wait of at least half an hour for a scheduled well-check). They like to suggest homeopathic and natural remedies before prescribing antibiotics, which I think is wonderful. But the comment of "I don't understand why you are calling..." just rubbed me the wrong way. After some suggestions of things I had already been doing, she asked, "Do you have a book or resource that you can go to? Because you need to do that before you call." Well, yes, I do have a book and I have looked at it, and it wasn't like I was just waiting for an opportunity to call you and wake you up in the middle of the night, but my child has never had a fever this high, and while I do understand that a fever is not necessarily a bad thing, I know that it can be and I wanted to make sure that she was not to that point! So that's what I wanted to say anyway. What I actually said was, "Okay, thank you, sorry for calling so late." Should she ever get a fever of 103.2 again, I won't rush to the phone. But I definitely don't think I was wrong to call and, even if all that is needed is an assurance of "Your baby does not need to go to the E.R.", I will probably call again when one of the doctors will not understand why.

::steps down from soapbox::

Charlotte is doing much better now. She still has some lingering congestion and a cough that is worse in the mornings, but it seems to be getting a little better each day. Yesterday after she had a few big coughs, she started softly patting her chest as if to tell me, "I've got some junk stuck in here." And a few times while hugging Jared, she has patted him on the back. Yeah, she's precious.

7 comments:

Jon Sheptock Family said...

Just wanted to throw a little mom sympathy your way! I to have more than once woken up an annoyed doctor in the middle of the night for advice. I think it shows such a lack of compassion & professionalism on their part when you cannot feel comfortable enough to call your childs doctor for some reassurance every once in a while! And the doctor I called who was very rude actually also goes to church with us! Anyway just wanted to encourage you to call as much as you feel needed, you are the mom and no one else has the instincts you do. And not to encourage you to change doctors or anything but we did change doctors and are now very happy with our new doctor. Glad to hear she is feeling better and hope that fever stays away. Our 2 youngest ones have been fighting off congestion and cough for a week or so also.

luke and wyatt's mom said...

Brittany, you were so right to call! When I read that in your blog, I got angry on your behalf! How dare a child's doctor be so inconvenienced when called upon to offer advice/diagnosis/help and do their job! That's what doctors get PAID for! (And they get paid ALOT!!!) Good for you-call again!

I am so glad to hear Charlotte is feeling better!! And, BTW-I love the new topper-I'll never get over how cute, sweet and smiley she is! :)

Unknown said...

Brittany,
Over the years, I always called with my older children and then as I gained knowledge along the way, I called the Dr and visited the emergency room less and less.But even though I had a ton of books and good resources I still panicked in the middle of the night. My biggest fear with the high fever was meningitis and I can tell you, in the middle of the night it always seemed like they had all the symptoms.

You should not feel bad at all that you called. Most illnesses turn out to be nothing but sometimes there is no way of knowing what you are dealing with.

Btw, we all get such a kick out of Charlotte. She is a little celebrity at our home and Nicholas's also.

Hannah (Nicholas's wife) is overdue by a few days with Georgia.
I can hardly wait to meet her.

Anonymous said...

Brittany,
You were more than right to call the doctor. It isn't as if you call her everyday and night. If a doctor does not want to be called in the middle of the night when they are on call, then they should find another profession.

I am glad she is feeling a little better. If you need anything, I am only a phone call away (day or night).

Also, patting her on her back may help losen the congestion a little.

Love you,
Mom

Arin Rollins said...

OK, so I echo everyone's comments! Well done Mommy. I called Ella's orthopaedist abour her hip at 3:00 in the morning also but luckily they were pretty civil. I also called Mom Rollins at 2:30am for Anson one time and woke up the whole house!:o)But Mom, of course, was very sweet! Like Aunt Cindy said, night time illness is the worst! I'm sorry she's been so sick and I hope she gets back to her normal sweet self soon! We can't wait to see you in a couple weeks!!

Brittany said...

That doctor was rude! Does she have children? I would have called too. Thankfully, our office has a doctor who is on call at the hospital so they are awake when you call in the middle of the night. Don't ever be afraid to call! It is better safe than sorry. 103 is a high fever!

Anonymous said...

Okay, I WOULD HAVE CALLED TOO! And I am not as nice as you are...my husband deals with them all of the time at work and has to remind me that they are brilliant but, more often than not, have no people skills!

You totally did the right thing!