At the Hospital

Well, I did not survive much longer past Mr. Bean. Unfortunately, being 7 months pregnant sure adds to the stress of the stomach flu on the body.

I woke up at 3 am on Thursday morning with the stomach flu. I was enjoying some quality time with the toilet in the bathroom until I realized that I was "leaking" out of both ends and perhaps I should enjoy more quality time with a bowl while sitting on the toilet instead.

It didn't take long for me to be vomiting bile, and by 7 am, I was ready to call the OB and find out if there were some meds I should be taking to reduce the nausea and hopefully vomiting. Wouldn't it figure that my OB is on vacation right now? Around 8 am, his nurse told me just to "wait it out" and after 48 hours I should be "just fine."

By noon, I was miserable. I had stopped throwing up around 10:30 am, but I kept hopping out of bed sure I would be vomiting at any moment. The nausea and heartburn I was experiencing were horrible. At 1 pm, Mr. Bean and I decided going to the ER would probably be the best thing I could do to alleviate the pain.

Upon arrival at the ER, I was immediately taken up to labor and delivery so I could be monitored. I was asked for a urine sample. When the results came back, I went right onto IV fluids. I was mercifully given Zofran for the nausea which is a miracle drug.

3 liters of fluids later, I gave another urine sample and still was spilling keytones in my urine (which is indicitive of muscular tissue breaking down - not a desirable outcome) so I was admitted.

Shortly thereafter, Mr. Bean called to let me know that String Bean threw up again at home. This poor kid just can't lick this bug.

When I woke up this morning, I continued to have severe diarrhea, so some additional labs were taken which we are waiting for the results of. Mr. Bean is working on a project for work and String Bean is asleep on the couch in my room.

According to the appearance of my urine, I am still very dehydrated despite having gotten 5 liters of fluid in my IV. We wait to see if I'll be enjoying another night at the hospital.

To make matters more comical, I'm having a lot of difficulty walking around. Imagine having diarrhea, having to carry and IV stand around with you and barely being able to walk. What a sight!

Our ER Trip

At 3 pm yesterday, String Bean massively threw up all over her bedroom floor. I walked in and she began to cry hysterically because her pants were dirty. So, I threw her in the bathtub with all her clothes on and started peeling them off. Crying continued over the dirty clothes and how dirty she was. Shortly then she insisted on water...tears increasing. So, I grabbed her water and my cell phone. While I was grabbing the water and cell, the water sprayer she'd been holding she dropped in the tub and it sprayed water all over the bathroom. (We had 1 inch of standing water in one of the corners.)

With my hip/butt being what it is (read previous posts), just leaning over the tub was killing me. I called Mr. Bean and requested his presence.

String Bean came out of the bath and I wrapped her up and put a onesie on her. We laid down together and she puked all over me and her before I was able to spring into action. My springing is not very springy these days.

Mr. Bean arrived home at 3:15 in time for puke #3 and bath #2. Being the smart mom I am, I blowed String Bean's hair dry and put pony tails on top of her head to avoid having to do another bath if she threw up again. I also insisted we put zip up or button up shirts on the little one so we didn't have to pull anything puke-y over her head.

Little did I know she had much, much more puke in her system.

By the time we took her to the ER around 10 pm, she had puked 17 times in 7 hours. She puked in the parking lot of the ER and again in the waiting room before she was seen.

Almost immediately after being taken back, the nurse administered Zofran orally. Miracle of miracles, the puking stopped immediately. Upon being able to keep down 4 oz of water for over an hour, they released us to go home. (Thereby skirting the blood and urine draws!)

Upon arriving home near 1 am, String Bean asked for her teeth to be brushed and for 3 books in bed with her. She got up once in the night because she was thirsty. (Can you blame her?) And this morning she is enjoying "apple juice" which is really watered down Gatorade.

Armed with our prescription for more Zofran, we are ready to face the day and I am looking forward to physical therapy more than you can imagine!