Friday was already a busy day, because as I'm sure most of the readers of this blog remember, Monday is Mike and my wedding anniversary. It's hard to properly celebrate these things during the week so Rooney's Aunt Annie was going to have Rooney do a little sleep over at her house Friday night. The plan was that I would drop Rooney off at her house Friday afternoon after she and I went grocery shopping then Annie would bring him back Saturday afternoon when we both went to Dana & Renae's to be there while Natalie got ready for her prom (can you believe it?!).To burden the day just a little bit more, Courage was also scheduled to go to the Vet to get Phase II of anal gland cleaning done. Poor baby. Friday morning it was evident that Rooney was not feeling any better and possibly worse. His appetite had decreased (I took him off baby food Wednesday but continued just to feed him formula) and he had a very nasty diaper rash. The frequent diaper changes were traumatic for us both, but otherwise he was happy but was only running at half steam. I called the MD office, and after surfing the electronic operator, found the nurse line. Of course you have to leave a message, which is what I did at 9:30am.
At this point I called Annie and said I did not think it was a good idea if Rooney spent the night. We could celebrate our anniversary another day, or with Rooney, if need be. I thought we could still go grocery shopping though & planned to be at her house by 2pm. A couple hours went by and still no word from the MD. I needed to know if I had to take him in. I did not think he was dehydrated but I wanted to be sure. I called the MD's office again, chose the "Emergency or Setting Up an Appointment" option and got a live person. I told them Rooney's problem and she said she'd have a nurse call me back. Wait! I already went through that option. OK now I have 2 messages in. Finally, an hour or so later the nurse calls me back, she asks me alot of questions about how many dirty diapers have I changed, was there urine and why am I such a bad parent? OK she didn't ask the last question but the implication was there when I did not readily and precisely have the answer to the other questions. I guesstimated and after lecturing me on what to do the next time this happens, she felt Rooney needed to go in because he was at risk of being dehydrated. We were scheduled for 4pm.
In the hours previous to going to the MD, Rooney stopped pooping, had a diaper of all urine, took a little nap, ate and became alot more chipper so when we got to the office I wasn't so sure anymore if he needed to be there. We heard the MD was running behind but there were several babies in the waiting room and they all ended up playing with each other. It was really cute. This made the time pass easily until we finally got called in. While in the waiting room, Rooney had an indiscreet moment, so when we got into the office I had to change him, showed the nurse his awful diaper rash and then she weighed him again. Since our Wednesday visit, where I asked them to unofficially weigh him, he lost about 1 lb. I was concerned again. I was able to get a new diaper on Rooney but I was supposed to leave his clothes off so the MD could examine him. Around 5:50pm the MD finally got to us. By this point I had fed Rooney, played with him, made a blanket for him out of my sling (remember we've been waiting in there with Rooney practically naked) and he was trying to fall asleep. Mike had taken Courage to the vet (soon to pick him up) and I had received several phone calls on my whereabouts. The MD comes in and calls Rooney, Ally. Everyone screws up his name, so I didn't pay any mind to it- I was just glad the MD finally made it. Then I saw the chart & the MD had some kid named Ally's chart. I was heartbroken to say "This is Rooney, not Ally". Ugh they misplaced his chart. The nurse asked how long I'd been here & I said 1-1/2hrs (but later realized it was closer to 2hrs at this point). Seems they refiled his chart!
By the time they found his chart, we had been there 2hrs. The MD came in said Rooney has Rotavirus. The MD seemed to think Rooney was fine, wasn't dehydrated but any additional liquids we could get him to drink wouldn't hurt. The diaper rash was another story...we needed 2 prescriptions for creams to clear it up. Other than needing another nap, Rooney was already feeling alot better. It was a long day, many plans were canceled but both my boys (Rooney and Courage) were home from their MD appt's with good news, so I was happy.
If you are wondering about our anniversary celebration, Mike and I, were able to go out for a great dinner (thanks Annie). Also, by Saturday Rooney was feeling well enough to go see his cousin Natalie get ready for prom. Here's a few pictures:
Isn't she lovely?
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