$1000 gas

No, not at the pump (yet)....in Marcus' belly.

Last nite during his before bed bottle, he was letting it all dribble out of his mouth like he does when he's full or not interested, so Chris put him in the crib while he looked for a binky. M didn't like that at all and promptly began screaming. He got himself so worked into a lather that he was nearly impossible to console--he just kept crying and crying...and then he choked and threw up and kept crying.

He would calm down eventually and fall asleep, but as soon as we put him down, the crying--pain crying, not just mad crying--started again. Nothing worked for long--he didn't want to nurse or have his binky or be bounced or rocked...he just cried. And cried. And occasionally gasped. And after nearly three hours, Chris decided to take him to the emergency department.

Of course, you don't just drop in at the ER and then go right back home. Waiting is a very important part of the process. And so after a couple hours of waiting, they saw the doctor. X-rays were taken of M's abdomen and they saw that his poor little belly was completely distended with air. Nothing more serious than that, but anyone who's had a bubble stuck knows that it can be excruciatingly painful. And anyone who's ever had one also knows that there isn't a whole lot that can be done to "treat" it. So they came home at 230 AM with instructions to keep patting his back and gently massage his belly.

M and I dozed on the daybed in his room...he could doze some if he stayed on his side...but me, I didn't get much sleep at all. And this morning he was burning up with a fever (they checked his ears at the hospital, so I guess he's just got that virus that's going around--he had it two weeks ago also)...poor little bug can't seem to catch a break.

But tonite, he's bathed up, fed (ever so slightly--he doesn't have much appetite), and currently sleeping. So, as in the newborn days, I'm hitting the hay right behind him because I am exhausted.

Oh, and I don't know for sure that the gas will cost us $1000, it's just a rough estimate. :)