Intussusception sucks big time.

It isn’t like we need any other things to be wary of as parents but I just thought I would put this out there in case anyone else can spare their baby a bit of pain.Intussusception. Have you heard of it? Until yesterday I hadn’t, but apparently it is fairly common in toddlers between 6 mos and 3 years old and it is VERY painful. The ER nurse told us this is the fourth case she’s seen this week. How can this be so common and I’ve never heard of it?!On Sunday morning after breakfast my son started screaming in pain, like I have never heard before, and crying “My tummy hurts! My tummy hurts!” I thought, oh no, here we go with the flu. I tried to keep him comfy all day but the pain kept coming in waves about every 15 minutes. He never got a fever and he only threw up once. I thought maybe appendicitis? Maybe constipation? Still no fever and it seemed like it was getting better so we didn’t take him in. When he woke up Monday he seemed much better, no crying in pain. Then he ate breakfast and it started again, but worse this time. We made him an appointment at his pediatrician but they were full all the way until evening so we waited and tried to get him to rest. He was in so much pain that he would cry out and then fall straight asleep.As soon as we got in at the doctor and the nurses saw him coming in and out of sleep and screaming in pain they knew something was very wrong. The doctor came in and checked him out and said she thought it was intussusception and we needed to get to the pediatric ER but to expect to be transferred to our nearby bigger city’s children’s hospital because he might need surgery. Talk about panic! Saturday he was fine and now he needs surgery?!? WTF?!So in a panic off we went to the ER. They did an X-ray and an ultrasound and confirmed he would need to go to the other hospital and have the correction procedure. Intussusception is when part of their intestine folds in to another part, kind of like how a telescope collapses down on itself and it’s extremely painful. The only way to correct it is to go in either through the mouth or rectum and inflate that part of the intestine with air until it straightens out. If that fails then surgery is required. It has to be corrected, they call it reduced, as soon as possible or it could cause tissue death and a perforated bowel. We were taken by ambulance to the children’s hospital, they re-confirmed the intussusception and sent us up for the procedure.It was absolutely terrifying. He was awake, I was in a waiting room 5 rooms away and could hear him screaming from where I stood. There is nothing worse than knowing your baby is in pain and not being able to help them, apart from actively sending them in there and leaving them. It took 2 tries and it was corrected. After a few hours we were released and all seemed well. The doctors warned us that it could reoccur within 24 hours and sure enough at midnight on Tuesday he woke up crying in pain again. We are now back at Children’s hospital waiting for them to do the air enema again and dreading that he will be in pain but still hopeful that he won’t need surgery. He is sleeping from the medication and I hope to god he can stay asleep for the procedure this time.So this long story is so that you know, if your baby or toddler is in serious stomach pain that comes in waves about every 15 minutes and it doesn’t seem normal take them to the ER right away! It can be accompanied by fever, vomiting and sometimes diarrhea. They won’t want to eat or drink and will be overall pretty miserable in pain. I feel terrible that we waited so long, and it can end up being really dangerous if it is not treated quickly. I hope now you know a little bit about intussusception because I was clueless and my little guy suffered for it. via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2E3BYQB