Puke and Polka Dots

Parenthood isn't always laughter and lollipops.

Quite frankly, it can be disgusting. Snot. Poop. Projectile vomiting. Yep. That's parenthood.

I had double duty today at the pediatrician's office. Both Drew and Reed needed to see Dr. Hunter, stat.

Here's the scoop.

Drew: Yesterday after his nap, I noticed that red spots were beginning to develop on his cheeks and chin, and by bedtime, I could have played a nice little game of connect-the-dots on his face. They looked like bug bites, but I knew that he hadn't been attacked by a giant swarm of knats, and I was pretty sure that it wasn't the chicken pox. We did begin swimming lessons yesterday, so thought maybe he was having some kind of reaction to the chlorine, but the spots only appeared on his face. And of course, when he awoke this morning, the bright red spots he went to bed with were no longer; instead, they had faded quite a bit and were a lovely shade of light pink. Diagnosis: most likely some kind of contact irritation that got transferred to Drew's face by his hands, and since the skin on the face is more sensitive than other parts of the body, that's why the spots only appeared there. Dr. Hunter said that it almost has the look of eczema, so she prescribed a steroidal hydrocortisone cream and the spots should be cleared up in a few days.

Reed: Oh, Reed. Poor kid. He went to see Dr. Hunter today because he's been vomiting for the past five days. And not just vomit. Projectile vomit anywhere from 30 minutes to three hours after he eats. So, long story short (as most of you are aware of the struggles he's had with reflux and tummy troubles), he is now scheduled to have an upper GI on Thursday morning. This will tell us exactly what's going on inside that little body of his and help the doctor decide the best course of care. I hope and pray that this will give us the answers we need so that our little guy can get some relief already! She also prescribed baby Zantac to help relieve the pain associated with reflux. (Oh, and my "little" boy isn't so little: 17 + pounds of pure boy joy!...No wonder I have a back ache!!!)

We'll let you know his diagnosis when we get the test results. We ask for your prayers as it's nerve-wracking for a little one to have any kind of test that requires hospital personnel.