we're still breathing...

Dad and Jaden in the hospital waiting for some tests.

Last Tuesday our little family found out the hard way what happens when Jaden decides to scare Mom and stop breathing.
(Note: we found a hard way, but thank heavens not the hardest way...)

Here's basically how it goes.

Go to the pediatrician in the afternoon to check out a little cough.
Everything is fine.
Heart is good, lungs are good.
Paranoid first time mom.

Fast forward to evening.
Dad's away at a meeting for scouts.
Jaden wakes up from an evening snooze in his swing, hungry and mad.
He starts having a coughing fit, which makes him more mad.
He holds his breath for awhile, then lets it out.
Then stops breathing.
For several seconds.
Goes limp.
Eyes bug out.
Turns pale, starts to turn blue.

Mom freaks.
Runs with baby to find her phone.
Calls 911.
Puts baby on the couch.
Gives the man information.
Starts CPR.
Jaden comes to for a minute, then goes back out.
A couple times.
Then starts crying.
Paramedics come.
Jaden's crying--they think he's fine.
No big deal?
They think he doesn't need to go to the hospital, but give Mom the option.
Mom decides to wait for Dad and keep an eye on Jaden.
Paramedics leave.
Mom stays cool until Dad gets home.
She hands over the baby and cries. A lot.
Dad gets Jaden to bed.
Mom calls the pediatrician.
Doc is concerned--tells Mom it's serious and to come in first thing in the morning.
Mom doesn't sleep.

Getting ready to go--Jaden gets REALLY mad and hungry.
Mom is super shaky and scared, but gets him fed and in the car.
Bad start to Mom's day.
Get to the doctor--wait for about an hour.
Doc sees him, thinks he's fine, but wants to get tests done.
Long story short--Doc ends up ordering an ambulance to take Mom and Jaden to the ER.
(More for Mom's sake than baby's, as embarrassing as it is to admit.)
Dad comes straight to the hospital and brings Mom some food.
Jaden gets LOTS of tests done.
Urine sample, blood work, pertussis, EKG, x ray, upper GI.
Gets an IV with a splint so he can't move his little arm.
The hospital pediatrician throws around possibilities of dealing with apnea.
She decides to admit him overnight.

Because of his pertussis test, Jaden gets to spend the night in isolation.
Mom and Dad don't have to wear masks and gowns, but the nurses do.
Jaden gets hooked up to monitors in his room that watch his heartbeat and he's good to go.
Dad runs home to grab dinner and clothes and such for an overnighter.
Mom and Jaden finally get a much needed nap.

The hospital stay goes smoothly--no repeat episodes or apnea problems.
The nurses teach Mom and Dad infant CPR.
(because Mom most definitely did it wrong, but at least it got him breathing again)
Tests come back in the morning looking great.
Kind of a double edged sword--
so happy to hear there's nothing wrong with the baby,
but also no way to know it won't happen again.
Apparently it's a common thing in babies,
but it's something they take very seriously, especially if CPR has been performed.
They have Mom schedule a follow up appointment with Jaden's pediatrician for the next day.
It goes just fine--no problems.

We're hoping it was just an isolated incident.
Mom's making changes to Jaden's diet--
nursing is done because he doesn't have patience for it.
So it's pumping and supplementing with formula.
Not Mom's plan, but since when do babies follow your plans?

So anyway, Jaden is fine.
But Mom's been a wreck.
However, thanks to Steve's mom coming out for a week long visit to help, plus some good ol' time under our belts,
Mom's starting to get her confidence back as a mother.
Scary stuff.

But we're all still breathing.

Jaden's EKG

SO tired of tests and being poked and prodded everywhere.
Check out that IV and splint!

He even got a little Jaden-sized hospital gown :).

So happy to finally be able to cuddle my baby and sleep because there were nice ladies keeping an eye on him on the monitors just outside the door.

Dad brought Jerry the Giraffe to the hospital to give Jaden a friend to play with.

**Side note: A couple weeks ago Steve's sister asked me to update my blog more often.
I told her that we didn't have anything exciting enough going on in our lives but I'd try to come up with something.
Um, I'm sorry Em, but I'd rather have absolutely nothing to blog about ever again than go through this kind of excitement, ya know. ;)
But hopefully we're past this and we can go back to fun posts.
Love ya girlie :)**