Viruses and medical updates

Well, after the debacle that was the previous update, I will post this without waiting to add pictures, as I learned to my cost that it simply will not happen if I wait! I am sure we can get a gallery post sorted between us soon, and if not at least people will know the latest.

Virus

So, this weekend was “fun” as Smudge had a day of vomiting, including a couple of projectile versions, so we were keeping a close eye on her. After most of the day of this happening, I decided to try to give her some water to stop her getting dehydrated and give her tummy something simple to process. When that immediately came back, I decided that it was time to call the nurse to see what we ought to do, as I didn’t want her to suffer unduly, and definitely not get dehydrated, etc. I called the on call phone, and the guy who answered said to take her over to the hospital to get checked out, and he would call and let them know we were coming. Our friends were due to be visiting that evening, but we had to cut that short – they literally dropped off bags and boxes of stuff, then we headed out the door!

We went into the hospital, and Smudge was checked out, then we sat for a while waiting to see a doctor. They suggested we try giving her some food, as she was getting pretty hungry, and then they could observe how she got on. We gave her a small bottle, and then she coped with that so we gave her a bit more. Typical, because she was being watched, she was not sick, even an hour or two later! They decided to admit her anyway, because they wanted to see how she was doing. So Gary and I went home and had some VERY late dinner (we were due to eat when we took Smudge to the hospital!), and then I took Gary back to the hospital with a bag of stuff. We packed clean clothes, food, medicines, etc. for Smudge, as well as basics for Gary, and he stayed in overnight with Smudge. I brought Smidge home, and he then had some late dinner – and immediately vomited loads! The wrong baby was sick as the one who was being observed was fine, and the one at home was unwell.

So after cleaning him up, and me, and the sofa, we went to bed, slightly wary of what might happen next, but too exhausted to do anything else. He slept okay, and we were up reasonably early the next day as the Community nurse was due to weigh the twins, and Smidge still needed weighing. He was running a fever, and I thought he might have to join his sister in the hospital, but the nurse gave me some advice which we followed and it seemed to work. We kept him dosed up on Calpol for the day, and it seemed to help. Smudge was discharged while the nurse was with us, so when she left, we hopped in the car and went and collected Smudge and Gary from the hospital. She had been very happy and smiley all morning, which was a total contrast to her brother who was sad and feeling a bit sorry for himself. With good reason, to be fair!

Tummy

Another thing that wasn’t helping poor Smidge was that he had been suffering with his tummy for over a week by that point. He had been constipated, which is apparently fairly common with formula-fed babies, but he was really suffering. Poor baby.

We had taken him to the doctor, and had some medication prescribed, but it only seemed to be half helping, and he was not happy. It was not nice seeing my happy, smiley little boy so upset and grumpy. Hopefully, he seems to finally be on the mend on that front now. Fingers crossed.

Luckily Smudge does not really seem to have been afflicted with this, so let’s hope she gets away with that one.

Hips

Smudge had her appointment for her hips yesterday. After two ultrasound appointments at Basingstoke, they had decided that they were not completely happy with how her hips were developing. They said that her right hip was slightly immature, and so they sent her to the hip clinic at Southampton for a dynamic scan to see how it moved. There were two possible outcomes as we understood it, either she would be okay and just kept an eye on, or she might need to be fitted with a harness to keep her leg in a position to help it grow right. As it turned out, the doctor who scanned smudge was happy with how her hips looked. Apparently there is a slight difference with her right hip, but it is minor, and she has now been signed off and no longer needs checking for that. The phrase used was “she will not go from good to bad, so it is fine”. That is a real relief!

Especially in this heat, I was not looking forward to having to strap our poor baby girl into a contraption that would restrict her movement and potentially make it more difficult for her. Not to mention how she would go in her car seat, carry cot, etc! But it is not an issue which is great.

Overall

The twins still have their cardiology appointments to come, and they are still being closely monitored for their growth. They are now completely formula fed, and with the high calorie, high cost formula. It was not an easy decision to make to switch to fully formula fed, but it was making a difference to their growth which makes me feel better about it. The doctors don’t like the cost, though! The GP is trying to confirm with the dietician whether this formula is the only option, but that is their wrangling and I will just keep on with it until they tell me otherwise.

This week Smudge only had a tiny weight gain (10g), and Smidge actually lost a bit of weight, but this was due to their various illnesses so we are not worried about it.

Smidge has his hernia operation in a couple of weeks time. That will be an overnight stay to keep him in for observation, and one of us will stay over with him. We have not decided who yet, but we will have a twin each that night! We are not worried about the op, but it will be good to have that out of the way and ticked off of the list. Then we will be sure that it is not causing him any trouble.

Other than that, we are just hoping these guys grow well this week, and are healthy. They are taking a little more feed the past few days, due to the heat they want to feed a bit more often. They have also needed feeding overnight which is hard, but we have done it so they do not get dehydrated. I look forward to a full night of sleep eventually! We put their mattress on an angle after Smudge’s night in hospital, as she slept loads better at an angle, so we thought it worth a try. We got one reasonable night before the heat really kicked in!

What next?

To keep feeding them and keeping them cool in the heat.
To go to Southampton for Smidge’s operation and hope it goes well.
To try to sort out all the new items we were given at the weekend which have currently just been put in a pile in their nursery until we get a chance to look at it!
To hope we get back to not feeding them in the middle of the night and eventually get a bit more sleep… A routine would be good but they keep resisting all our attempts with that one!