August slept well last night, so today seemed like it was off to a good start when he slept until 7. But then he fell back to sleep after nursing, which seemed a bit odd. When he woke up again he started crying and the crying got worse and he was wiggling around in obvious discomfort.
Of course, this happened on a Sunday, the only day our pediatrician office isn’t open. So around 8:30 we hop in a taxi and head to the hospital – the same one that sewed Carly’s fingertip back on a couple years ago.
He didn’t have a temperature, so their guess was bowel obstruction, and they wanted to do an x-ray. I had the job of helping the technician hold August still as they took an x-ray. They saw “fecal matter” but nothing of big concern.
So, they gave him a little baby enema, he fell asleep in my arms as we walked around the emergency room, and after he woke up he pooped and was instantly back to his normal self.
It was all rather odd, in that he had pooped quite well on both Thursday and Saturday. And the recovery was so quick that the brunch plans we had cancelled from the hospital were now back on.
In hindsight, we probably could have held off on the hospital; it would have been nice to avoid the x-rays germs in an emergency room. And, if it was any other day, we would have waited until the pediatrician was open. But we kind of just expected it to be an ear infection, we’d get some medicine, and be on our way. Also, people go to the hospital all the time here in Korea, so it wasn’t unusual. And did I mention the whole thing cost 34 dollars?
We took a cab home and Skyped with Chuck and Cherie. August was clearly back in peak form based on his excitement.
At noon we met our friend Meg and hopped the bus up to Nowon to go to an American brunch placed called the Ugly Stove. Carly was there once back in the fall, but I had never been. August fell asleep on the walk there from the bus and slept through most of the meal still strapped to me. Meg brought back some awesome handmade colored pencils from Hawaii for him. She’s an art teacher and wanted to give him his first art supplies.
After lunch we walked around Nowon and then walked home, buying a new set of stacking cups for August at a rather disheveled and dusty toy store we found along the way. The rest of the day has been perfectly normal; seems odd that we we were at the hospital just this morning.
The one photo I took at the hospital. Carly didn’t want photo evidence to embarrass August with in 15 years. So no photos of me carrying around a half-naked baby with a rag covering his bottom:
Here we are, two hours later:
Our brunch:
The awesome colored pencils Meg brought from Hawaii for August:
The new stacking cups we purchased on our way home:
Happily eating a dinner of the delicious soup Carly just made:
Playing with the sheet while wearing his bib: