I knew it.

So, a few months ago I suspected that Caden's iron levels were probably pretty low.  He had exceeded the 6 month mark when the iron stores he'd gained from me were likely dropping, and he was not taking formula or a bottle at all for that matter (still breastfeeding) and he had become uninterested in eating actual food, usually gagging while I tried to feed him some sort of puree.  He also went through a period of looking very pale and seeming quite irritable or cranky, which is out of character for him.  Soooo, I brought up my concerns to the pediatrician who agreed that it would be a good idea to do some blood work. 

Imagine my surprise when I called the doctor's office after a couple of weeks, and the receptionist looked up the chart and said the blood work all came back normal.  This seemed reasonable considering Caden's coloring had improved and he was now eating a bit better, I just figured maybe he had been going through a "cranky" phase.  Imagine my surprise again, a couple of months later when we had a follow up appointment, when the pediatrician mentions that Caden's iron levels were "borderline low" in that same bloodwork...

So about a week and a half ago, I brought Caden to redo the bloodwork as per the doctor's advise.  Yesterday I received a call from the pediatrician saying that Caden does in fact have pretty low iron stores and low hemoglobin, and he will now need to take an iron supplement.

I knew it!!  (Even Dave can tell you, I am always right...)

Skip forward a few hours to yesterday evening, just after Caden has awoken from a nap, and right around the time Dave gets home from work.  Caden is just not himself-he's lethargic, flopping his head on our shoulder, looking exhausted, just laying there when I change his diaper (unheard of!).  So the part of me that overthinks everything starts to wonder if this has anything to do with his low hemoglobin.  I tried to feed him and he gags and projectile vomits after only one or two bites.  I then become worried about putting him to bed this way, so off to the walk in clinic we go!

Turns out it was a stomach bug, which just got worse as the night went on-I think we changed the crib bedding 3 times.  It was off and on vomiting and diarrhea until he finally went to sleep at around three a.m.  I felt the same way I did when he was a newborn and I was just running on autopilot during all the night feedings.  A frustrating night to say the least, when you add in a fever and me second-guessing whether or not to give another dose of tylenol because Caden threw up mere minutes after the first dose. 

And then this morning I walked into his room to find a brand new shiny little boy smiling up at me from his crib.  I felt like hell, and there's Caden pointing, wanting me to lift him up so he can be carried over to the monkey decals on his wall and have a little chat with them.  If only I could recover that quickly :)