She weighed in a 7 lbs, 6 oz.Then Kathy called me at 10:37am to tell me that they checked Karissa's temperature (at Kathy's request) and discovered that she had a fever of 101.2, at which point the staff informed her that when a newborn that young (4 weeks or younger) has a temperature over 100.4, it crosses some magical threshold to where the baby needs to be brought to a children's hospital for further tests and observation. It was not a suggestion. Kathy knows Ft. Worth better than Dallas, so she picked Cook Children's Hospital in Cowtown. Boom. It happened that fast. It's a call I wasn't counting on taking - Kathy in a faint and quivery voice telling me that Karissa has been ordered to go to a hospital.
When a newborn is that young, the internal system isn't advanced enough and there is a potential for something bacterial in the bloodstream to reach the brain. So, this was merely to see if Karissa had anything bacterial or if it was just a simple virus that caused her fever to rise. I know I've been hacking and sneezing around the house lately from allergies; Kathy has had her own illnesses here and there related to the pregnancy and breastfeeding; and Kole after he wakes up in the morning or from a nap frequently coughs like a 2-pack-a-day smoker, and of course he will sometimes cough 10 inches from where Karissa is laying without covering his mouth. So, we're all suspect for giving her something.
Our little princess was given a spinal tap, had an IV in one arm and had blood taken from the other. She was a little trooper, calming soon after the pierce of the needle. Being a children's hospital they know a fair amount of tricks - and for a baby Karissa's age and size the trick is to dip a pacifier into a sugary liquid, then as the needles make their entrance the baby is feverishly sucking away. Karissa was doing so and survived the poking well enough. They immediately gave her Tylenol and an antibiotic and her temperature was back normal in no time. Basically, from the spinal and blood work, they'll be tested for bacteria. I don't know the exact chemistry of it all, but I guess from what they tell us samples need to sit in a petri dish for 24-48 hours to culture and see what bacteria, if any, is evident.
Kole and I went up this afternoon, and as much as I want to play down the urgency of Karissa being hospitalized - and how indeed it is precautionary - nothing could have prepared me for the site of my little 2-week old angel with a band
aged right arm where her IV was placed, plus with other wires coming from her - though those were simply adhered to her skin to keep her heart rate. All this not even 12 hours after I sat on the sofa feeding her a bottle at 7:15 this morning.I held her and tried to keep myself together since Joan was in the room, but did find myself ducking behind the bassinet as a shield to have a quick moment with my girl and a quick and stern chat with God and to let my eyes drain a bit. After about 10 minutes everything didn't seem so bad, especially after getting the update from the nurse that Karissa was doing as well as she could and was essentially healthy - but was just spending the night while waiting for tests.
Kathy gets Mom of the Week honors for basically catching this on her own. She was at Dr. Hampton's for the regularly scheduled appointment and had to suggest to the nurse that they take Karissa's temperature. She told them that she felt hot - maybe just from being over-clothed, or something, but she definitely felt hot to her. The nurse didn't say "No", but said something that tried to explain away why she may have felt hot. Kathy wasn't fist-pounding persistent but did follow by saying something else before the nurse finally appeased Kathy by taking the baby's temperature. When they discovered Karissa's fever, surprising even themselves, they credited Kathy's "mother's intuition".
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