An Adventure

First of all, let me say this: everyone is fine.

A couple days ago, Kate went to the lactation consultant because she was having problems breastfeeding. In short, any time Aislin had to eat Kate had to cry because it was uber painful. Blisters. Swelling. Cracks. You get the idea. The consultant suggested trying a different type of bottle, nipple shields, and a topical ointment called gentian violet. It was kind of funny after Kate put this stuff on because Aislin looked like a little goth baby with a purple five o' clock shadow. We got some pictures and I'll add them to my facebook page once I've reclaimed some of my lost rest.

Last night it got interesting.

At midnight, Kate was in bed and I was awake finishing a video game I rented from Hollywood video (Prince of Persia -- a decent game, but I felt the ending betrayed the mood of the rest of the game. Still impressive and bold in it's choice, and I was afraid it would be something like this... anyway.) plus Hollywood video is bankrupt so I wanted to get the game back to them before the doors closed forever. Why don't I just keep it, you ask? Because I have too many games already, jackass. Now shut up and let me tell you what's really important.

Aislin starts to cry. I try to feed her, but she is none too interested. Aha! Diaper. I go into the nursery to change her diaper. As she is lying on the changing table, she vomited a little bit. Blood. My baby girl spit up blood. Never a good sign. I woke up Kate who called Ask a Nurse who said "take her to the ER." So we did. Five hours later, all her blood work, ultrasounds, everything is coming back ok. Meanwhile, Aislin is totally chill. Not the least bit distressed until they start poking her, rubbing cold gel on her, or otherwise detaining her from eating. The doctors are afraid she could have internal bleeding. Kate is convinced it's actually HER blood (remember the cracks on the nipples?), but there's no way to be sure without checking out her stomach lining. I suggest just test the blood she spat up and see whose it is. The only problem is this is real life, not CSI. Stupid Steve.

There's only one option: go to Doernbecker Children's Hospital in Portland. For those not in the know, it's a section of OHSU. It was 5:00 AM. We'd been at the hospital since midnight and I hadn't slept at all. Kate had slept for about two hours. Doernbecker is a scary place for Kate because that's where her sister was treated for her brain tumor and ultimately died. On top of this being a thoroughly exhausting trip, both physically and financially, it becomes incredibly stressful emotionally.

I drive most of the way, but find myself nodding off north of Salem so we switch. In five minutes I'm asleep. We get to the hospital, they run some tests, my parents come up, it's all very exciting. Kate and I also get some sleep on a single-size bed they have in the room. Aislin's totally chill. The doctors and nurses are a little freaked out by her purple mouth. After more tests and blood work, they conclude Aislin's just fine. That means the blood is Kate's, and we can't have Aislin drinking her mommy's blood. That's just not ok. So, we decide to have her frenulum snipped to loosen her tongue. This should improve her latch and make everyone more comfortable; it will also decrease her chances of developing a speech impediment later in life.

We got home maybe an hour ago. It's nearly 6:00. Not ok. We're encouraged by everything, but the possibility of bankruptcy looms in my imagination. I heard Kate telling her mom (who was worried sick for completely understandable reasons) that it was over. I thought in my head that this trip is over, but we'll have to see if the problem is truly solved. Plus this trip will have repercussions we'll have to face soon. Gulp. Over? Probably not.

But we're all ok and Dad's buying us pizza. It was quite an adventure but I'm glad to see the back of it.