Coney Island and the rest of the weekend

Most of you know how our weekend ended... so let me start with the beginning.

After another brunch at Nook (this time Greg and I split an awesome fruit bowl with mango sauce and then I had the apple pancakes - yum), we packed up the stroller and the Badens headed for Coney Island. It's about an hour subway ride from our place. Not close, but not too bad. It was a beautiful day to be outside. I'm not sure really what we were expecting, but Coney Island has a definite nostalgic feel. You can imagine the way it looked in the "hey-day". Now however, it's a little confused. It's not sure if it's target audience is the young twenty-something (beach bars and plenty of offers of free refills on margaritas/daiquiris), a place for young kids (carnival rides, cotton candy and of course a Ferris wheel), a place for the weird (Circus type side shows - think two headed animals and sword swallowing), a big giant flea market (that could have been a special thing last weekend) -- but you get the picture. It's an ODD assortment of restaurants, amusement rides, beach goers... but we really had a great time. Coney Island is also where the national hot dog eating championship is held. There's actually a huge sign with a digital countdown until the contest - hosted of course by Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs. We strolled the boardwalk, ate some hot dogs, Greg rode the Cyclone and then we headed to the New York Aquarium. By this point, Atti was a little fussy, but we just attributed it to being in the stroller when he really wanted to be held. The aquarium was nice... not sure it was worth $17 apiece, but it was neat. Atti was still a little too young to appreciate all its wonder, but he did have fun trying to grab the jellyfish and other fish in the windows. The funny thing about the location - the outside sections are huge and spacious and all of the interior displays were crowded as can be... not the best design, but eh, what can you do?

Once we boarded the train for the ride back to the city, we got Atti out of the stroller again. I nursed him a bit on the subway ride back - and we decided that he was definitely hot and not quite acting himself. He was just too quiet. Once we made it home, Greg and I took his temperature. The first reading under the arm said something like 103 and I about had a heart attack. I am always convinced that Atticus is running a fever and I'm one of those paranoid Mom's who takes his temperature practically every day. It's always normal, so 103 freaked me out. We decided to do it the proper way for little people and take the temp in the tush. The first reading was 104 something. The second reading was just over 105. Greg and I were scared. I tried getting ahold of my friend Angie who's a nurse at our pediatrician's office. By the time she was able to call us back, we had already tracked down the closest ER and we were off. It was a confusing system to "check in" -- actually there didn't appear to be a system at all -- (they're in dire need of a consulting firm to improve the system). Once we were finally seen by the triage nurse, we were given a pass to go to the "main" part of the hospital where we were given a room. Actually, it was quite a nice room, private bath, door, etc. You can tell it's a training hospital (ala Grey's Anatomy, but not) because there seemed to be doctors with interns trailing them everywhere. But any who... little man was given a big dose of both Tylenol and Motrin. Within an hour, his temp had dropped to a mere 101 point something. Atti hadn't had much to eat or drink for the majority of the day - so I kept trying to nurse him, but he just didn't feel well. The doctor was really great, Whit Fisher - he was such a character that I recall his name perfectly. Dr. Fisher checked his ears, his throat, checked for meningitis, checked for who knows what else... all came back clear. They tried to get some urine for an analysis - but that didn't' happen while we were there. So... the fever goes down some and we head home. Little man didn't do much other than sleep for the next 16 hours or so. But midday on Sunday, after we had been napping, I woke to find Atticus drenched in sweat again. Poor guy was back up at 105. Dr. Fisher actually called us to check in, said it was OK to double dose him again with both the Tylenol and Motrin and if it wasn't working to head to St. Lukes on the upper west side since they actually have a peds unit. Well, an hour and half or so after both meds, the temperature was still well over 103. We packed up again and hopped a cab to the other ER. At this point, it's really scary. Atti was so lethargic - he was like a wet noodle. The only thing he wanted was to be held. We were trying desperately to get him to eat or drink. Thankfully - he was still nursing a bit, so we knew he was getting some food and drink at the same time. I don't think I've ever been more thankful for nursing... But on to the next ER. This one was also in need of a better check in system - a little too closely related to the first hospital... but at least the triage nurse saw us fairly quickly. We were given a pass to peds and shown to a bed. No private room this time, just a bed with one of those curtain thingies. No one seemed too concerned that Atti's fever was still over 103 after the meds. The doctor we saw was also very nice - and agreed to do the urine test to make sure there wasn't a urinary tract infection. The catch -- little man had to have a catheter to collect the sample. If we ever thought he couldn't feel pain, this let us know for sure that he most definitely can. He's a tough tough little man - but there's no way this was a pleasant experience. The test that night came back as negative, but I have to call again tomorrow now that the culture has had 48 hours to rest. We were told once again to just alternate the Tylenol and the Motrin and to call if anything got worse. What can be worse than a lethargic 10 month old with a fever of close to 105 -- I don't know...

The good news is that by Monday morning, things seemed to be on the mend. I called a pediatrician that was recommended by the hospital and they were able to squeeze us in for an appointment. Ha. Let's just say that the trip to the doctor's office and the office itself were an experience. I decided to take the subway to the office and started walking the wrong way once I got above ground. Not necessarily the wrong way, but the long way. I went up and then over instead of over and then up. By going my way... I ended up having to hike across Morningside Park. And I do mean hike. Oy. With a 24 pound still not feeling well baby strapped to my front side. And then the doctor's office left a lot to be desired. The staff were really nice, but let's just say this isn't a place you'd find in Plano, TX. Not that there's anything wrong with that - I was more put off by the disorganization, the lack of a check in system, the quality of the toys and books that were literally strewn about...

Eventually, we made it into a room where we waited and waited and waited some more. I think the doctor was actually on her way to lunch when she finally made it into our room. Seriously. She wasn't wearing her lab coat and she had her purse slung over her shoulder. She was nice. She answered my questions, but I got the sense that she already had one foot out the door... and after seeing how poorly things were run, I don't blame her. I can't believe how many places are in serious need of a consulting firm to organize their processes. But I digress...

By last night, Atticus was returning to his usual spunky self. We gave him a bath and then he refused to go to sleep. Not sure if he was being stubborn after sleeping the previous two days or what. He stayed fever free - but we did keep him medicated. I didn't want to take the chance of the fever returning and/or spiking again. I was ready however to try alternative methods to get the fever down. My boss sent me this little snippet - has anyone else ever heard or this and/or tried it?

-Beat egg whites in a bowl
-Dip a paper towel in the egg whites
-Wrap paper towel around baby's feet
-Put socks on over the paper towel

Supposedly, the author writes that within 20 minutes, "I got my son's temp down from 104 to 99." The egg whites draw the heat away from the head (where it's dangerous) to the feet. It sounds crazy but works.

So, it didn't come down to egg whites - but let me tell you, if the fever goes up again, I'm going to give it a try.

Sigh...so that brings us to the present. If the weather holds and Atti is feeling up to it -- we may try to get out of the apartment and at least do some walking tomorrow. We may not brave anything large, like Central Park, but at least a walk around the neighborhood.