Healing Harper-MYG✔️

#four#

"He hasn't really eaten too much today. He didn't finish his bottle any of the times that I fed him but he looked fine, just.. content.. I guess? He ate half the bottles. Him being so quiet made me nervous so I checked his temp and it was 103." Harper sniffles as her eyes water.

"Okay." The nurse stands up. "Alright. Let me see him. What's his name? How old is he?"

Harper puts the car seat on the counter and flips the cozy cover. The nurse looks at him as he starts to fuss, ready to full out cry.

"His name is Onyx. He's three months."

"Okay." She puts the back of her hand against his skin. "Ooh, yeah, he is a bit warm. Let's get you into a room. Let me just make his tag really quick and then we'll get his vitals. When's his birthday?"

"July 22nd, 2021."

"And his first name is spelled O-N-Y-X?"

"Yes."

"And what's his last name?"

"Taylor. With an O." Harper clarifies.

"Okay and what's the address, honey?"

"1567 Oakview Terrace. Apartment 3B."

The nurse puts the information and prints the sticky labels. She grabs from the printer and peels one off, reaching into the car seat to wrap one around the baby's ankle.

Onyx is crying now, on the verge of screaming.

"Alright, come with me. And what's your name, mom?" She asks as she rounds the desk.

"Harper."

"Harper, okay. I'm Nurse Hailey. I'll be the attending for you and Onyx. Well, myself and another nurse. It gets busy in here so we overlap and have backups most nights." She leads them to room three as Onyx starts to wail.

Harper quickly sets the car seat on on the chair and takes Onyx out. She sits and rocks him while reaching for his pacifier in the car seat. His crying doesn't stop at all.

"Now this is normal." Harper says as she sniffles. Nurse Hailey watches as she tries to calm the baby down. Based on the sound and the way that he's crying, she thinks she knows what may be wrong other than his fever but she wants to be sure.

As she's logging into the system to notate and document his symptoms, the other nurse walks in to be filled in as well.

"And he cries like this every night? For about how long at a time?" Nurse Hailey asks.

"Every night. He cries for about three to four hours at a time. Maybe two to three on a good night. I don't usually go to sleep until around 4 every night. Well, morning." Harper wipes her eyes as Onyx holds her finger in his hand, squeezing it as his fist is balled up.

"Nothing ever seems to help him. I don't know what to do. That's why it's so odd that he was quiet all day. Now he has a fever..." Her voice trails off as she tries not cry. The tears fall anyway and Nurse Hailey hands her a box of tissues.

"It's okay, mama. I know you're scared, I know you're nervous. But we'll get everything situated and figured out for you. We'll help get Onyx feeling better and his temp down so he can be a little more comfortable, okay?"

"Okay. Thank you."

"Don't thank me for that, honey. It's what I'm here for. Now you said he wasn't really eating earlier. How many wet diapers has he had today?"

"Two, maybe three? Not very many. That's another thing. I'm worried that he's dehydrated." Harper expresses.

Nurse Hailey nods as she she sanitizes her hands and puts gloves on.