I’ve had several Bees ask me why I pack so much in my diaper bag. More specifically, why I always make sure to have a thermometer and Tylenol in tote! So I wanted to tell the story of Baby Jumper’s first time in the emergency room to offer some insight.
Baby Jumper had a pretty bad reaction to her first set of vaccinations at two months old. She spiked a fever of 103 degrees and our pediatrician advised us to give her some Tylenol. We did, but she immediately threw it back up. It seemed that not only was Baby Jumper sensitive to the vaccinations, but to the Tylenol as well. We braced ourselves for a similar fate at her four month vaccinations. I’m happy to say that while Baby Jumper didn’t have nearly as bad of a reaction as she did to the first set of vaccinations, but she did spike a fever. We gave her Tylenol again, and like before, she immediately threw it back up. Fortunately, a cool bath helped with her temperature. Our pediatrician recommended that we give Baby Jumper Tylenol suppositories in the future.
A few weeks later, Baby Jumper woke up feeling a bit warm but was acting very much like herself. We agreed to keep an eye on her and take her temperature in a bit if she still felt warm. We took her temperature at 11am, and it was 99 degrees. Around 1:00 that afternoon, she was acting a bit more sluggish and was super cranky. We took her temperature again, and it was 101.5 degrees, so we decided to give her a Tylenol suppository. She fell asleep shortly afterwards, but woke up an hour later acting like herself again. Her fever seemed to have gone down.
Because she was back to her normal self, we decided to keep our dinner plans with my parents that night. By the time we got to my parents house at 4pm, Baby Jumper’s fever had returned. She was visibly shaking and breathing very, very rapidly. My mom took her temperature while I called the emergency line at our pediatrician’s office. Her temp was 103.5 degrees and because of her high temp and rapid breathing, the nurse instructed us to get to Children’s Hospital immediately.
It took five hours and a multitude of tests to diagnose Baby Jumper with a urinary tract infection. We were relieved to have an explanation, but I was overcome with guilt and confusion. Papa Jumper and I are responsible for her hygiene, and I was terrified that we were doing something wrong. We’re always so careful to wipe front to back, and I never noticed any symptoms of a UTI. Naturally, at 4.5 months old, Baby Jumper couldn’t tell me that it hurts when she urinates — but she never showed any signs of discomfort, either. The doctors and nurses at Children’s Hospital assured me over and over again that this was not our fault. We were given instructions, a prescription for antibiotics, and told to follow up with our pediatrician in the morning. Before we left, Baby Jumper was given her first oral dose of antibiotics.
We got home around 11:30pm and Baby Jumper woke up when we took her out of her car seat. She felt dangerously warm to me, and wasn’t very responsive other than eye movement. Her last dose of Tylenol was at 8:30 and I couldn’t give her more for another hour. So, I immediately drew a cold bath, stripped her naked, and took her temperature while the tub filled.
Panic filled my entire body. I froze. I honestly didn’t know what to do. Papa Jumper called 911. Baby Jumper started shaking so I laid her on her side, on our bed. Her eyes rolled back, and I felt my heart sink. It seemed like an eternity, but the ambulance arrived and whisked Baby Jumper back to Children’s Hospital… for a second time that day. She was given more Tylenol and was sitting up and babbling within a half hour. The doctor explained that Baby Jumper had had a febrile seizure, and while harmless, we did the right thing by calling 911 and having her brought back in. We were overjoyed and relieved that she was safe and healthy. The hospital discharged us around 4:00am and we went back home for a second time that night.
We’re very fortunate that Baby Jumper’s illness, while scary, was only temporary. She responded to the antibiotics, and her follow up appointment 10 days later revealed that the infection was gone. Since she is so young, and UTI’s are so uncommon in babies her age, our pediatrician is worried that this will become a recurrent issue. AAP guidelines indicate that no follow-up testing need be done until she has a second UTI before she’s 2 years old. The main concern is kidney scarring and reflux.
Baby Jumper is now seven months old and so far, she is infection-free. We’re told that if it’s going to recur, it will most likely be within 12 months of her first infection. We are extra vigilant about changing her diapers now and only use Pampers Sensitive with the wetness indicator. We use more diaper wipes than ever before, and don’t let her take bubble baths. So because Baby Jumper seems to spike high fevers that are seemingly out of the blue, we never leave the house without a thermometer, Vaseline and Tylenol.
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
Oh wow, how scary!! Totally understand why you would pack so much in your diaper bag! I’m glad she’s doing well and hope she stays infection-free!
GOLD / wonderful coffee bean / 18478 posts
That is terrifying – who can blame you for packing all of that in your diaper bag then? I hope she remains infection free and you won’t have to keep worrying about that in the future.
blogger / pear / 1964 posts
Gosh! This is all the stuff you try NOT to think about when you’re pregnant. How scary! Glad that everything has worked out since – sounds like you handled everything wonderfully!
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
It is so scary when their fever spikes that high. Our LO ended up in the ER on her 8th birthday due to a bacterial infection.
On my blog I just wrote a post (based on a post from Parenthetical Me) about a baby hospital ER bag. It was so nice to have a little check list of things to make her stay at the ER more comfortable. Things like snap pajamas without feet and extra socks and the medications you have been giving her.
GOLD / eggplant / 11517 posts
So scary!! I also had a seizure when I was very young (2 years old). My parents found me face down in top of my stuffed animals, convulsing. How terrifying that must have been.
pear / 1764 posts
That is so scary!! I completely understand why you pack those things in your diaper bag! I always have tylenol but now I will consider getting an extra thermometer for my bag. thanks for sharing
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
oh Mrs. Jump Rope, how extremely terrifying We have luckily never experienced a seizure but my heart sank and I froze just READING your experience. My parents never let me take bubble baths when I was young, I think because of recurrent UTIs as well.
We had a UTI scare when Wagon Jr. had a fever of over 104 for 3 days straight. It was so scary and he was SO WARM, but the fever immediately responded to ibuprofen with each dose (went all the way down to 98 or 99 almost immediately) and he was TOTALLY acting like himself, not sick at all, so we just maintained it with ibuprofen. It was so sad when he’d wake up in the mornings though, a little fireball in his crib, whimpering for “wah-yah” (water) and then suck down the entire cup. He was tested for a UTI and it was negative, then on day 4 his fever finally broke and he broke out into the roseola rash. We were so relieved, and even took pictures of his rash!
Just occurred to me that I should probably write a post about roseola
Very very glad Baby Jumper is doing well now!!!!!
grapefruit / 4120 posts
A thermometer is something you never have when you really need it! So I totally agree with keeping one handy. Sometimes it’s hard to judge just by feeling your baby if he/she has a fever. We have also had to resort to suppositories (a kind that combines tylenol and motrin) and wow, do those things work!!! No fun putting them in but the results are there.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
wow that is a high temp and i would have been so scared too! sounds like you were prepared and did all the right things.
ps – we have that same carter’s strawberry sleeper.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21628 posts
Wow, that is so scary!
clementine / 889 posts
That is so scary. DS has had a few high fevers, one that got to 105 and he was breathing rapidly. I was really scared.
I usually have a thermometer with us in the diaper bag as well as infant ibprofen or infant tylenol. DS has had several ear infections, starting just after Thanksgiving last year. He usually has a cold, then after 2-3 days spikes a high fever. It will come down with medicine, but lasts 3-4 days if he isn’t on antibiotics, or goes away within 12 hours of the first dose if we do put him on antibiotics.
That first ear infection gave him a fever of 104. I took him to urgent care right away and they didn’t see anything in his ears, but the next day both ears were infected. He’s had 6 ear infections over the winter, so I don’t leave home without the thermometer and medicine. Plus, the diaper bag is always where DS is, so we always know where it is.
GOLD / wonderful grape / 20289 posts
I thought I overpacked my diaper bag…. but we don’t have any of that stuff. Looks like I’ll be making our diaper bag just a little clunkier and heavier.
GOLD / kiwi / 613 posts
Oh my! I’m so glad they were able to figure out the root of the problem so quickly.
We also have the same sleeper waiting for Baby Kitten!
wonderful olive / 19353 posts
Bless your heart!! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fever reach that number. Thank goodness y’all were prepared and kept calm during the situation.
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
Omg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Reading this totally made me want to cry!! You poor thing! I can’t imagine the terror you must have felt..
So glad your LO is okay and healthy now.!
coconut / 8299 posts
My heart jumped when I saw the 105 temp! You must’ve been sooooo scared! How smart of you to call the ambulance! And poor Baby Jumper! Glad everything turned out well in the end. I’m definitely gonna put a thermometer in my diaper bag now!
clementine / 994 posts
Oh my goodness, reading this was so scary. I can’t imagine actually going through it. I’m glad Baby Jumper has been doing well ever since.
cherry / 226 posts
I’m glad she’s good! I know the feeling. Our little guy went to the ER and had to be medivac to another island, where the children’s hospital is, he stayed there for 1 week. It was painful to hear his cries through a spinal tap, IVs and blood work. Be grateful for every healthy moment!