The Life and Times of Tyler and Parker: Allergies, Shots, Dehydration and Weight Loss

Yes my dear Parky, you have EVERY right to whine! You had a hard week - let mommy tell everyone what happened.

We've had quite a week, filled with those fun little "challenges" that come with being a parent. Our first hurdle was during "eating time" when Parker began breaking out all over his face after eating cinnamon apples. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! I've given him the SAME apples with the SAME spices on them before without incident, so what happened? I quickly cleaned him up, removing all of the apple and cinnamon remnants from his skin. Slowly the red, puffiness began going away. He finished by eating some macaroni & cheese and even had some apple juice (which Parker loves). Obviously I discontinued the apples & cinnamon until I talked to someone about his breakout. A couple days later I consulted the Feeding Therapist who immediately responded that she's seen a number of kids break out from DIRECT contact with cinnamon powder. He might be fine if it's mixed into items, but she's seen breakouts from direct contact on the skin. Good to know!

On Wednesday the boys had their next dose of Synagis, the shots for RSV. These shots are hard for us and the boys because there are TWO shots, one per leg, with HUGE needles! Tyler bruises after these shots and I think they're painful because both boys cry longer than they do with flu shots. Poor guys! The dosage is based on their weight, which we were anxious to see because the last time we weighed the boys BOTH had lost weight! Well, to our surprise, the boys HAD lost weight in the three weeks since weighing in on the Pediatrician's scale. ARHG!

On Friday we were scheduled to go in for a weigh-check at our GI's office. I got the boys up from their night's sleep and could smell that wonderful, sour throw up smell just rolling off Parker's sleeper. When we got downstairs, I noticed that Parker was acting lethargic and tired. As I got the boys ready for their appointment, I noticed that the tube directly connected to Parker's button was dry - this is odd because it should be full of formula from the 500 mls that pumps through the tube all night. As the morning progressed, Tyler ran around like a happy, well rested baby while Parker laid on the floor. My mind began racing as I had flashbacks of his summer Rotavirus scare - this was looking a little too similar for my taste. I called John and explained what I was seeing - clearly Parker couldn't go to the GI for a weight check, he was in no condition to be in that office. BUT what happened and why was his tube empty? Rather than meet us at the GI's office, John came home. Upon further investigation he noticed that the medicine port on the feeding tube was open - and was most likely open ALL night. He went upstairs to find Parker's bedding soaked with formula. We've started taping down the medicine port on their tubes because they do periodically come open and the boys have started playing with their tubes. We concluded that Parker not only missed his 500 mls of formula, but probably lost ALL of the contents in his stomach, draining him DRY. Thus, what I was smelling was not throw up but stomach fluid. Nice, huh?

As John took Tyler to the GI for his weight check, I held Parker in my arms and rocked him. He wanted his momma - poor guy was so sad. We hooked him up to the pump and put him on a continual drip to give him 500 mls throughout the day. At night we gavaged a couple of bolus feeds and by the end of the day he only missed about 125 mls for the day. As the day went on and Parker got more liquid in his system, he began to bounce back. This morning Parker woke up looking and acting like himself again - running around with brother, screaming, whining, playing...whew! What amazes both John and me, is the fact that in such a short amount of time Parker went downhill. The boys seem so strong most of the time, but they are still so very fragile. Their little lives are so precious.

Oh...and yes, Tyler lost weight! Doh! We've been putting extra calories in Parker's bag at night, but both he and Tyler are still losing weight. I know that when babies become more and more active they can lose weight - I hope this is what the Pediatrician concludes when they have their 18 month well baby checkup in a couple of weeks. We'll see!

Below are some pics of Parker's adventures! Poor guy - this was not his week!

Parker's allergic reaction: you can see red puffiness around his mouth and even on his nose where food landed.

Visions of Rotavirus consumed me as I watched Parker sleep. That nightmare will haunt me forever.

We hooked Parker up to his pump and fed him formula all day long. He slowly came back to life and by the next morning was completely back to "normal"!