Scare of a lifetime

Many of our family and friends already know about our recent scare but I would like to post a blog about it for posterity's sake.

A little over a week ago Anya had a seizure.

That sentence in and of itself is horrific. The ordeal we all endured was beyond horrible.

I thought Anya was teething because she was running a low grade fever and her appetite was shot. On Wednesday night she started getting lethargic and very crabby so we gave her a bit of Motrin earlier in the evening just to help her sleep a little.

Around 12:45am we were all fast asleep when we heard Anya wail- and I mean a scary screaming cry that would wake any parent out of a dead sleep. I took a peep at the video monitor and saw the blanket vibrating. Myles went rushing in and found our sweet baby convulsing in her crib. He picked her up, I called 911 and we both didn't breathe for a good minute I swear.

We thought we were going to lose our daughter.

The receptionist on the 911 call was fabulous. She kept me focused on her instructions and we helped Anya as best we could. She asked if Anya had a fever that day- of course I replied yes. She then informed me in the calmest voice ever that Anya was most likely having a febrile seizure which is a common side effect when a fever spikes in infants/children. When she asked if Anya was breathing I almost lost it, but it seemed as if she was so I answered yes. She instructed us to take off her pajamas to cool her down and let her have her convulsions in a safe place. The firemen were on their way.

It seemed like forever but it was probably only 5-7 minutes before they got here. By then, Anya had stopped the violent convulsions and was only shaking mildly and staring off in space. To say we were scared shitless would be the world's biggest understatement. We had never heard of febrile seizures and witnessing your child have violent convulsions, eyes rolled back, not really breathing is something NO parent should ever have to experience. The firemen were calm and acted as if this was a common affliction they see from time to time. Anya started coming to and getting scared and tired- her crying was the best sound I had ever heard.

We chose to keep her home for the night and go to the doctor first thing in the morning. There was nothing the ER would be able to do the firemen assured us. We were instructed to manage her fever with Motrin or Tylenol and keep dosing her without letting it lapse. The seizure was caused by her fever spiking very quickly and it could happen again.

No one slept. Anya kept waking up screaming and we couldn't get to her fast enough. When she was sleeping we were watching the monitor- any moan, gasp, grunt - we were wide eyed ready to pounce into action again.

She had the fever for several more days. We spent all of Thursday and Friday trying to collect a urine sample (not the easiest task on a little baby girl). Results were no meningitis, no ear infection, no bladder infection.... then why was she so sick? She wasn't eating anything, slept all day, needed to be held constantly and cried all day long. I was reassured by my pediatrician that she most likely had a virus and she WOULD get better I just had to be patient. I am convinced that if this would have been just a bad fever with a virus it wouldn't have been as traumatizing. But since she had the seizure I was totally freaked that she was sick for good, or never going to return to her happy, smiley, hungry self. They were the longest few days of my life.

Saturday her fever broke and she got a rash. This is a classic sign of Roseola- a virus commonly associated with febrile seizures. So there was our answer.

It is Thursday now and Anya is finally back to normal more then a week later. She laughs, smiles, hugs, and is eating like a horse.

We have done a lot of research on febrile seizures and feel confident that she has not been harmed in any way by this event. We on the other hand are still dealing with the leftover feelings of panic, fear, and gut wrenching love.

After going through this it became apparent that all the medical personnel we dealt with were very familiar with febrile seizures. However- 99% of the parents we spoke to have never heard of them. So if you want more information please visit this site- we found it very helpful.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/febrile_seizures/detail_febrile_seizures.htm

Our baby is fine, we have some war wounds but we are resilient people. We love her more than ever. The emotions are overwhelming at times; I never in my wildest dreams thought I could love someone so deeply.

Kiss those you love- especially the little ones.

Anya's car

We bought a car for Anya. I know this may seem a little premature but it isn't exactly what you think. We actually bought a bigger car for us- but in essence it is for Anya and her imaginary future siblings. It was difficult for both Myles and myself to sell the Subaru but it was necessary. We wanted to buy a new 2010 Subaru Outback but we decided to go big or go home. It's big for us- our Toyota Highlander- not a huge car in comparison to other SUV's or (god forbid) mini vans, but none the less we feel as if we are driving a semi around town.

We took the new car on it's first car trip this weekend to the Hood Canal cabin. We both admitted that it was fabulous to pack and VERY comfortable to drive. So we are happy with our purchase and will be contributing more moola to the oil companies!

We have spent a lot of time recently with friends and family. Anya had several playdates with Lydia when she and Kate were in town recently. We went and visited a new addition to our friend group- Mira Bhatia- a darling little girl born to Anna and Sachin. We spent the weekend at the cabin with Jeni and Scott. Thankfully they slept out in the extra house because Anya was up by 6:15am both Saturday and Sunday morning. When she gets up the house gets up... she doesn't have an inside voice, especially in the morning, but it is mainly sweet giggling and lots of babbling. As parents we think it is endearing even at 6am but to others not so much!We have had lunch out several times and had our friend Zola (and parents) over to brunch.
Brunch is a wonderful invention for parents. This meal allows you to get one good nap under the baby's belt and then head out for the day to enjoy some good eats. We have rediscovered brunch and enjoy it very much!

Anya is saying Dada regularly and still only says Mama when she is whining or wants something like milk/food. She is waving bye bye, claps on command, and uses baby signs for milk, more, all done and ittsy bitsy spider. If she is cranky and crying in the stroller or car I sing song after song and she quietly listens, but if I stop the crying will resume. We taught her to "cheers" with her sippy cup last weekend and she loves it. Her favorite thing to do though is laugh. She laughs to make you laugh and it is contagious. She smiles at everyone in the grocery store and will try to get their attention so she can grin at them. People love this- they come over and talk to her which is exactly what she wants. If they don't look her direction she will loudly say "ga" until they do. Needless to say we take snacks to the store to have something to put in her mouth since she can be a bit vocal and doesn't understand how to be quiet- nor should she!

I have included a lot of videos because frankly they are easier to take now then still pics. She doesn't sit still so trying to get a good picture takes hours I swear.

April Fools

10 months! Where did the time go? Last year at this time I was having baby showers and eagerly anticipating the arrival of our daughter. What a difference a year makes.

If you follow this blog you might have noticed I'm not writing as often. This is a direct side effect of having such an active baby. When she is awake she is moving which means I am not sitting at the computer writing quips about how cute she is. In general the days of sitting are over. I am interacting with her, chasing her, catching her fall off the stairs, and trying to stimulate her little mind. She is learning so much right now. She imitates everything and is testing her environment and her mother.

Up to this point we have avoided using "NO" and try to say uh uh uh to keep her from doing something we deem dangerous or unsavory. Amazingly it has worked thus far. She doesn't touch the dog food or water simply because she knows it is off limits. Same with the wine rack, going down stairs, and decorative items. I'm not naive, I know this won't last, but at least for now I can allow her to crawl into the dining room and know she won't go straight for the wine bottles (unlike her mom).

She is really fun right now. She will gut laugh at the silliest things. Putting her hand in your mouth is apparently hilarious- don't know why. Peek-a-boo is a favorite game and any sort of singing interactive song is welcome;"Itsy Bitsy Spider" is a favorite as well as "If Your Happy and You Know it". She is also very ticklish so it is easy to elicit a giggle whenever she is getting her diaper changed or looks like she needs a few zerberts (SP)?

Anya is itty bitty herself. She is barely 16 pounds but man is she mighty! When she stands up she can roll on the top of her feet to her toes to the ball of her feet to get to her standing position- she has very flexible ankles I guess! She loves to climb up and over obstacles like the legs on chairs, or any raised surface that she can feasibly get over. She ends up high centered from time to time and occasionally does a face plant but she has nearly mastered this maneuver now.

Amazingly she is still sleeping through the night. She has nights when she sleeps from 7pm to 7am without a peep, and others where she makes a little noise but falls back asleep. It is incredible to get a full nights sleep. I am currently up at 6 am writing this while she is still asleep! (see section about me not being able to get anything done while she is awake if you are confused as to why on earth someone would wake up at 6am to update a blog.... )