Sunday, July 26, 2009

1 Year Dr. Visit and more...

Gabriela had her one year vaccinations on Thursday. She weighed in at 19.3 lbs. and is 30.5 inches long. Gabriela continues to be very tall and very skinny. She did pretty well for her shots.
But the next morning, we noticed a few red welts on her back. We weren't really sure what it was, but considering that she'd just gotten her shots Lane took her to the doctor that morning. They said she was having an allergic reaction and advised us to give her some over the counter allergy medicine to help out.

Now, after a whole day of giving medicine would you imagine that Gabriela would get better or worse? Imagine how we felt waking up to THIS baby:



The rash had spread all over her entire body. It was bright red and the skin was swollen like little welts. Off to the emergency room we went. Our very first time! We decided to go to the Children's National Medical Center in DC. We were there forever, but we came prepared with lots of books and baby snacks.
One thing we were grateful for was that Gabriela was her normal happy self. She was giggling and playing and didn't seem to be bothered by the rash. When the doctor finally saw us, she said that Gabriela was definitely having a reaction, however there really isn't a way to pinpoint what it is in response to. Usually rashes that happen in relation to vaccines don't appear until a week later and hers came the very next day. Gabriela was recently taking amoxicillin, so it is possible that she reacted to that, but it's also possible she could be responding to something totally different. When she's older, she can go to an allergist to be tested, but for now, we need to tell the doctor that it is possible that she may be allergic to amoxicillin.
The good thing is that Gabriela didn't have anything else going on. The doctor told us it was a great sign that she's happy, playful and has her appetite. Sometimes kids can get sores in their mouth and have problems with their joints, and Gabriela doesn't have any of these symptoms. She just advised us to continue giving the allergy medicine, to keep her out of the sun or anything else that could further irritate her skin, and also said that the rash could last as long as a week. Thank goodness she confirmed that it isn't anything contagious either.
Unfortunately, we missed Francesca's birthday party to hang out in the ER all day. We are glad that it isn't anything serious though, and also that we had this adventure this weekend instead of next Saturday when we will be moving!!!

8 comments:

Leanne said...

You poor things...and I mean mommy and daddy more than little Gabriela. It sounds like she barely noticed but you must have been so worried. I'm glad everything turned out ok and hope your day wasn't too scary!

Cynthiaclower said...

Oh my goodness... that really is a fancy rash, you weren't kidding! Looks like someone might have allergies like her mommy!!! Glad Gabriela is her regular ol' happy self!!

Love you guys :)

Malia said...

Poor girl! I am so glad she is ok. But you know what, I remember when Lauren had amoxicillin as a baby, and that is exactly what she looked like the next morning!

banananutmeg said...

nothing like an ER visit to mix up a regular old weekend! That rash is killer! I hope she isn't allergic to amoxicillin, what a pain that would be. I can't get over how big those spots are! you should have taken a pen and drawn pictures out of them...you know, like cloud formations! Ok maybe you wouldn't want to draw on your baby, but in a year or two she would really get a kick out of it. Save the idea in the back of your memory in case you ever have to go back. Making a horsey or a firetruck out of hives might make an ER trip less traumatic for her int he future.

Unknown said...

wow what a weekend. I'm glad Gabriela wasn't bothered by her rash. That would have made things a whole lot worse.
I hope she clears up in the next few days. hugs and kisses for everyone.

Kristin said...

Wow, now that's a rash! I'm so sorry you guys had to go through that and hope Gabriela is doing better. Let's definitely go to the zoo sometime!

Mom said...

..................could be worse!

Theresa said...

poor thing. Hope she clears up soon.