First 811 call

Fellow moms and dads, you know the feeling. Your baby just did something that felt... not right. Maybe it was a strange cough, an appearance of what might be a rash, or in my case, an unusual shaking. It's something that you think could be worth going to the doctor for, but you're not quite sure if you're just overreacting. So, in B.C., you can call 811 and reach the Healthline where you can talk to a nurse directly. Many of my mom friends have done this, with mixed results.

Today the Babe was nursing and her whole body began to lightly shake, more of a vibration than a jerking motion. This has happened once or twice before and I just chalked it up to eagerness to eat. But today it was more pronounced and she continued to shake for a couple more seconds once I unlatched her to see if it would stop. It did and she fed some more and then was back to normal. I checked her eyes to see if she could track me and she could and she was all smiles. But I felt uneasy, so I called 811 and asked to speak with a nurse. The nurse I spike to was quite nice and obviously didn't want to scare me by her initial avoidance of the word "seizure". I assured her that had already crossed my mind, so her saying it wouldn't scare me. After a brief chat, she suggested getting in to see our family doctor as soon as possible, just to be safe.

I was able to get in to see our doctor within an hour (thank you considerate receptionist!) However as I expected, the doctor said the Babe seemed fine and that all of her motor skills are good. The doctor is now going to consult with a pediatrician just to be sure. But I don't completely feel out of the woods yet, because the doctor wasn't really able to diagnose the Babe, given she was not displaying the earlier actions.

So we wait, and hope that, as one mom posted on my baby forum post, that it may have just been a muscle spasm similar to doing V-sits at the gym. In the meantime, as a reward, tonight's bathtime was extra long to make up for the rough day.

~ H