Last Thursday night Annabel's heart started racing. To our knowledge, this is the first time it has happened since the day she was born. I happened to be out to dinner with friends celebrating Shannon's soon-to-be arriving little girl. Jon called me in a panic, but I reminded him of the maneuvers we're supposed to do to get her heart back to a normal rate. He did this and all was fine. We checked on her and prayed all night that her heart wouldn't go into another fast rhythm while she was sleeping. I called Little Rock first thing the next morning. The doctor she normally sees was out that day, but I was able to talk with a nurse who corresponded with her doctor via email to find out what we needed to do. I was fervently praying that they would not freak out (because this would have freaked me out even more) and that they would increase her dosage of medication rather than increase the amount of times she has to take it throughout the day. Both prayers were answered! The nurse told me this was very normal because babies grow so quickly and so much in the first year. That it was just time to up her medicine and that it was nothing to worry about. She also just changed the concentration of her medication, so we still only have to give it to her 3 times a day just like before. I felt a sudden wash of calming over me after this that can only come from Jesus. I knew He was looking out for us. I know He loves Annabel even more than we do and I have a peace that all is going to be fine. Anyway, they sent a heart monitor for her to wear for 24 hours this week to make sure the new medication dosage is doing its job.
Poor baby had to wear this big contraption for 24 hours! However, another answered prayer. It didn't seem to bother her at all while she slept. The only time she got mad at it was during the day yesterday. She has turned in to quite the roller and every time I'd put her down, she'd roll over on to her tummy then get mad that this was pushing in to her chest. We go for her appointment in Little Rock next Thursday. I'm hoping that since she wore the monitor this week that they won't send us home with another one again next week.
And moving on to our next baby. If you all forgot about this, back in November we had Adeline allergy tested because she had had a couple reactions to peanut butter. She tested positive on the skin test to a peanut allergy. They sent us home with instructions to avoid all peanuts and tree nuts and to get a blood test to test the severity of her peanut allergy. Well, it was December before I got around to the blood test. A few weeks later we got the results back that she tested NEGATIVE for any peanut allergy. Not at all what we were expecting! I was so excited, but still very hesitant. The allergist suggested we come in for what they call "the peanut challenge." So we did that today. Talk about a long, drawn out process! They started with touching a tiny bit of it to her lips, then waiting 20 minutes. At that point she had a few red streaks on her neck. The allergist asked if I was ok with proceeding and I felt comfortable doing that since we were in a controlled environment with lots of doctors and nurses around. They then gave her 1/8 tsp of peanut butter and waited 30 minutes. By this time, all the streaks were gone and she was asking for more. We continued this process by doubling the amount every 20-30 minutes until we got to 2 teaspoons. She had ZERO reactions (besides the red streaks that we think might have just been her scratching from dry skin). So we have to watch her for 24 hours and then we can start adding peanuts and tree nuts in to her diet! Yay! I'm so excited and I know this is a God thing. I can't wait for my girl to experience the deliciousness of peanut butter!
Isn't it amazing that God listens to our prayers about medication dosages and peanut butter? He loves us so much and that makes me want to shout with joy!
We have such a loving God and I am thankful to him for all these answered prayers!
ReplyDeleteMuch love to you all!!