On New Years Eve I had to take my just under 4 month old DD to the ER with a fever of 101.5. They did a lot of tests/collected samples from her including inserting a catheter for a urine sample, inserting an IV for fluids and to take a blood culture, did a chest x-ray, and a nasal swab. The nasal swab came back positive for RSV (a respiratory virus), and they said she had a possible UTI but wouldn't know until the next day. She was given a shot of antibiotics and they sent us home.
When we got home, she got worse (I'm still not sure why they released us when she still had a fever) but she stopped urinating and wasn't eating much. She'd latch on for 2 minutes and then pop off screaming, and twice she threw up. We couldn't calm her down, she still had a fever even with Tylenol. We tried hydrating her pedialyte but she doesn't take a bottle (and was spitting out anything from a dropper), so that didn't really work. We ended up going back to the ER that night, where they spent 4 hours trying to get an IV line in her. They missed 6 times before getting a vein...and of course the whole time she was screaming and crying. If she wasn't dehydrated before that, she was after all that. They finally admitted us to the hospital and got her started on fluids. She hadn't slept for nearly 12 hours at that point, and was so exhausted by the time we got her a room. I thought she'd crash out, but she only slept for 2 hours before waking. I fed her, and then she'd sleep again for another hour or two, then wake for more food. We stayed in the hospital for 2 days, and continued that schedule the whole time we were there. The poor thing couldn't relax enough to sleep for more than 3-4 hours at a time with all the tubes/wires, and beeping machines. While we were there, they determined that she did have a UTI and has been put on antibiotics for the next 14 days.
Since then, she's been on a 2-3 hour feeding schedule, with 1-2 hour long naps and still hasn't slept more than 4 hours. Prior to this incident, she was on a 3.5- 4 hour eating routine, with 1-2 hour naps & sleeping 7-8 hours or more through the night. For the first few nights back home, I continued to feed her on demand since she still was dehydrated, but its been a week now and she's feeling much better and almost back to her normal self. The only problem is that she still seems hungry after 2.5-3 hours. Normally this wouldn't be a problem if she was sleeping through the night, but she is waking every 2-3 hours at night too and taking full feeds!
Am I asking too much for her to start getting back on a normal sleeping/eating routine this early? Do the antibiotics make her hungrier/thirstier? Should I just wait until she's done with her meds to start trying to get her on a 4 hour routine? I just dint want to let her get into a pattern that will be hard to break.
Also, once she started feeling better, she started taking really short feeds during the day (between 3-10 minutes) but will take really long feeds in the evening (10-30 min) to make up the calories. I am trying for the life of me to give her more calories during the day so I can eliminate the night feeds but after she takes her initial feed, and I offer her again, she will arch her back and start crying (indicating she is not interested). Ive tried winding her down before the feeds, feeding her in a dark, quiet room, but she's still not having it. Any tips or should I just not mess with her while she is on the mend? Thanks!
