Our First-Time-Parents Trip to the ER
By: Laura Lima
Tags: Children, First Time Parents, Parenting, Baby

Yeah… that happened. Last week, to be exact. Ellie woke up every hour after she had gone to bed, which isn’t the usual for her, so we wondered what was up. Then, at 10:30, she woke up, rocked for a bit on her hands and knees, and then started throwing up. Like, a lot.

I called out to Miguel while trying not to panic him (I mean, any urgent call coming from her room is worrisome), so it was something like [enter stern voice], “Miguel, come here please! She’s okay, but she’s throwing up a lot and I thought you’d want to come.”

Well he was there before I’d even finished my sentence, of course, and a few seconds after he took her, she started throwing up again (poor thing). The idea of taking her to the hospital came up but we decided it wasn’t necessary. I mean, babies vomit, right?

She then fell asleep in my arms and we were like, haaahhhhh, a collective sigh of relief. But alas, a few minutes later she woke up, squirmed, then threw up again. I was standing up holding her, and said to Miguel, “Come stand here please. She’s okay but I just need you to be here beside me.” His presence (and the fact that he was relatively calm) helped me feel like things were normal, that Ellie was and would be okay.

Yes, we’re talking about the simple act of throwing up. Theoretically, we KNEW how normal this was in our minds, but it wasn’t Ellie’s normal. And listen, when something happens that seems normal but isn’t YOUR baby’s normal, you tend to freak out. Oh, and add “first-time parents” to the mix, and you have a recipe for a late-night visit to the ER.

And that’s exactly what happened. Here it was, 11:30pm, and the 3 of us were driving to the hospital through the rain. Ellie was sleeping peacefully in her car seat, which was somewhat comforting, at least.

We waited there for about 2.5 hours total. And even though I felt the whole time that it was the right thing to have brought her, JUST IN CASE, I also felt bad that she was so tired and likely confused as to why she wasn’t in her bed. Instead, she was in this bright and loud place where it was hard to sleep, and it seemed like each time she did fall asleep, another nurse or doctor would come in and start poking and prodding her. Ah, one of the many unavoidable and tough experiences that parenthood brings.

After all of the assessments (they really are great at Mac Kids’), we were sent home feeling pretty confident that Ellie would be a-okay. She hadn’t thrown up again since the two times at home, and she also didn’t once we were back home and I had fed her again. Big phew. They weren’t sure what had caused it… her tummy was simply upset.

It’s crazy how off I feel when my babe is not herself, or uncomfortable in any way, really. I guess it’s something that happens when you become a mom, but it’s real, y’all. I can’t properly focus on anything else when I know she’s not feeling well, or in this case when we didn’t know what (if anything) was wrong. I suppose this is the start of what will be many years (read: the rest of my life) of worrying about my kids’ wellbeing.

Even though she (thankfully) was given a clean bill of health and it was “just” throwing up, I’m still glad we went to the ER. I mean, it gave us peace of mind and the confidence that all was well with our babe. And that, fellow mamas, is priceless, am I right?!

I feel like most, if not all, first-time parents have brought their baby to the ER at some point, usually within the first year. It makes sense because, I mean, this is all new to us, right? And especially once you establish what is “normal” for your baby, what happens when things arise outside of that “normal”, as was the case for us? You freak out, naturally. I’d love to hear your first-time-parent ER story… share below!

Oh hey! I’m Laura, a holistic nutritionist, reality TV junkie, and bookworm. I work with new mamas to help them separate fact from fiction so they know what the heck to eat to feel energy again, without having to spend too much time in the kitchen. And I love doing it!!

On my blog (over at newmamanation.com), you’ll find easy + delish recipes as well as (hopefully) helpful and relatable blog posts on many things motherhood.

If you’re a fellow mama (or mama-to-be!), I’d freakin’ love it if you joined me in my FB group. There are recipes, fun challenges, FB Lives, and chats all about nutrition for new mamas. You can get there by going to newmamanation.com and clicking on “FB Group”.

And if you want my top 10 tips for more energy (stat!), then go to bit.ly/newmamas, where you’ll get that free download plus be signed up for my email list for other exciting stuff.

I’ll be waiting for you at all of the above and I can’t wait to see you there!