ER: Birthday edition

Why must each of my pregnancies include a trip to the ER?

Last October, I was thirty-three weeks along with Kara, and dehydration had brought on irregular (and very painful) contractions. On Saturday, I was thirty-one weeks along with Baby Brother, but once again it was Kara who inspired a trip to the hospital. Twenty minutes after lunch and about an hour and a half before the start of her first birthday party, she threw up her lunch in the much the same manner that Linda Blair spewed pea soup all over her bedroom. I think. I never saw The Exorcist. Still, though, I can say with confidence that watching my daughter regurgitate spring vegetables all over herself was probably a lot scarier.

Luke and I took Kara to the hospital at the urging of our pediatrician's on-call nurse, who said that vomiting and tiredness (a symptom she displayed at lunchtime) were often signs of a head injury, a head injury I almost forgot to tell her about when I called after the first round of puke. Kara's hit her head on our end table dozens of times since she learned to walk, and the bump on her forehead was considerably smaller than ones she's had in the past. Her fall that morning was the furthest thing from my mind come afternoon. But paired with her behavior, it couldn't be ignored, so we ended up at one of the city's most popular children's hospitals, where she had her first CT scan to check for internal damage.

Being pregnant, I couldn't go in with Kara for the scan, for which I was equally distressed and relieved. I so wanted Momma to be the one to comfort her, but seeing her in a hospital gown was bad enough; I can't imagine what it would have been like to help restrain her so she could go through "the giant doughnut-hole of the scanner"--my husband's words, as he was the one who had to do the honors. She threw up again twice while we were there, once before the scan and once after, minutes after we were discharged with a clean report and the doctor's reassurance that we were most likely dealing with a virus that would run its course after a few days' time.

We came home three and a half hours later to a full house of party guests who couldn't wait to watch the birthday girl eat cake and open her presents. We had to skip the first part in case it upset her tummy, but we did sing "Happy Birthday" and go through all of her gifts, and soon after everyone was gone and Luke and I were finally allowed to collapse into each other's arms and sob over what a shitty day it turned out to be.

(For a longer recap, check out my Parents entry here.)

Things are almost better now, though Kara woke herself up to vomit on Sunday night, and a reintroduction to carrots caused her to throw up again this evening, so Luke and I are wondering if it's a good idea to go through with our plans for her actual birthday tomorrow, which involved a trip to the local children's museum and a meet-and-greet with Santa Claus. At least I have the day off so we can all be together.

I have more to say, but first! Pictures!

Before the drama:

 

Auntie Frema loving on baby Danny, my adorable nephew courtesy of my sister Samantha and brother-in-law Dan. They drove in from Chicago on Friday night to attend Kara's party. With Samantha's lips and Dan's eyes, he's the perfect combination of his parents.

Dan and Samantha steal our child for a picturesque family moment.

 

Her birthday outfit never stood a chance.

 

The show must go on.

 

Kara's beautiful cake. Luke and I were so Done we totally forgot to light our candle, just cut up slices and passed them around to our guests. (Without ice cream, even! For shame!) We had our pieces after dinner on Sunday. Poor Kara probably won't ever get hers, though Daddy has pledged to make special banana cupcakes once we're sure her stomach can handle it.

 

A unique set of party favors.

 

Kara enjoying her first popsicle--the only form in which Pedialyte was deemed even remotely acceptable.

 

Thankfully, being sick hasn't dampened Kara's spirits. Here she is playing with her babydoll stroller, a present from Grandma and Grandpa Dunscombe.

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Can you tell my heart isn't into this entry? Because my heart is SO not into this entry. I wanted my next post to be about my wonderful house that's finally in order or the photo shoot Luke, Kara, and I staged for our Christmas card or that we're finally at a point where we can start preparing for Baby Brother's arrival in seven weeks, MY GOD. The last thing I wanted to ramble on about was my baby being sick enough to abandon her first birthday party. But I have to, because even though I wrote about it for Parents, this is the site that promises to have a longer shelf life, and I already hate that so little of what I think about and do lately gets recorded here. It seems like every time I try to update, Kara wakes up or I'm nodding off at the computer or something something something. This is one Something I couldn't let pass me by.

Luckily, this post won't have the chance to bring me down for very long, because tomorrow is Kara's actual birthday, the day God officially brought her into our lives, and we all know that a blogger baby can't have a birthday without a video montage to mark the occasion. Not that I can take credit for it--Luke actually made an awesome clip to unveil at the party, but it's twenty-five minutes long, and I'm smart enough to know you all don't love my kid THAT much. Wonderful man that he is, he put together a shorter version for me to post on my blogs, so that will go live tomorrow (or today, depending on when you read this entry). I swear. I'm uploading it to YouTube right now.

Comments

[Steph T]

Happy Birthday Kara! It's a pleasure to share my birthday with such a precious little girl.

Bree, I'm glad you survived the traumatic trip to the ER.

[eva]

Happy birthday Kara! You definitely like to make the grand, dramatic entrances (into the world) and exits (from your first year, sob sob). Can't wait for the montage....I'm getting my kleenex ready!

[Mrs. Higrens]

Happy Birthday Kara!

Bree: It seems like only yesterday that you were stating your intent to start trying and now here you are with a 1 year old and another on the way. Amazing.

[AJU5's Mom]

I am glad that even when sick she likes to play! Hope she is feeling better today and can have cake sometime soon!

[Fraulein N]

Happy Birthday to Kara! Wow, she looks like such a big girl in that popsicle picture. Glad the illness was nothing serious.

[Jen L.]

Poor, poor Kara, but also poor momma and daddy! Glad she's on the mend.

[daddyd]

Everything is fine. It was a great party. I am glad to have been there. Joy of Joy.