We had a big scare! Tatum has had a really rough day...she isn't feeling well
 

I slept in a little late this morning because I was up pretty late last night. Well this morning my hubby came running into the bedroom with Tatum in his arms and said, "Get this bow out of her hair, QUICK!" - needless to say, I forgot to take her bow out last night before bed. Well anyway, of course I jumped up and said, "WHATS WRONG!?!?!" and then he proceeded to tell me that he let her outside to go potty (he was of course out there with her) but he turned his back for a few seconds and she had layed down in an ant pile (FIRE Ants!!) and for anyone who lives in Texas...you know all about Fire Ants and how when they bite you, it hurts like HECK!!! Well anyhow, he said that Tatum started crying and running around going crazy, trying to get them off of her - so he ran over to her and picked her up (getting them all over himself trying to help her)...and that is when he noticed them on her face and everywhere :( So after that is when he came in and woke me up. We immediately put her in a warm bath and bathed her and got all the ants off...you could tell that the bath felt sooo good to her.

After she was done with her bath we went to blow dry her and we could tell that she just wasn't acting right. She wasn't moving at all and all she wanted to do was lay down (which is NOT like her when she is being blow dryed!) - she was being very lethargic. Her eyes also looked like they just wanted to close. So I immediately stopped and looked at her gums.....OH MY GOSH :eek: They were PAPER WHITE. Had absolutely NO pink to them what-so-ever :( I ran into the kitchen and got the Nutri-Cal and immediately rubbed some on her gums, and on the roof of her mouth. I tried to let her lick it off my finger but she would not accept it (which was another big sign that something wasn't right because Tatum LOVES Nutri-Cal - she also would not accept a treat). Also, she was shaking VERY badly...and I mean non stop shaking...lots of it :( So I had the phone in my hand and was ready to call our vet but my hubby suggested that we give it 10-15 minutes to see if she perked up some after the Nutri-Cal.

After about 15-20 minutes, she was a little more perky, and accepted a little more Nutri-Cal off of the tip of my finger without my having to force it. She also ate a small treat and I put some ice cubes in her water and she drank some of that...and licked on a single ice cube as well. She was still shaking so badly though, so I decided to get the heating pad and wrap it in between one of her fleece blankets and put it on her bed to keep her warm. She LOVED that and layed down and took a nap. After she woke up though, she was itching so badly because of the ant bites - and she kind of acted like she maybe wanted to throw up :( So I gave her some Benadryl (which again made her very sleepy) and as of right now, she is still asleep in her little bed with her heating pad :(

My poor baby. I just feel sooo bad for her. Even her little ears aren't standing up like they normally do. They are flopped down (especially her right one) because she isn't feeling well :( My hubby feels sooooo bad. He was holding and cuddling her for the longest time. He felt just awful. I just HATE those Fire Ants! :mad: Needless to say, we are going to get some Fire Ant killer later on today.

Here are a few pictures of my poor little baby....totally not feeling like herself :( You can see her little ears are floppy and she is just so "out of it". I feel so bad for her :( I was in tears when all this happened as she was so lethargic and I saw how white her gums were. It scared me half to death.

A couple more pictures of my sweet baby girl :( And poor little Stedman too....he was so worried about his baby sister.

In the second picture he is checking up on her to make sure that she is ok. He just didn't know what was wrong with her. He is such a sweet big brother.

oh sweet little girl!!! i've had fire ant bites and it was horrible... the poor little thing... Layla and i send big hugs and kisses to get well soon baby girl!! what a lucky sister to have such a great big brother!

Oh my God!! Poor little Tater! That is scary!! Oh I hope she wakes up feeling better! Don't these little babies get us so worked up? I have had the week from hell with my babies :( Give her tons of kisses from me and the girls k?? :kiss2:

Awww those are cute too Brooke! Isn't it funny how they just "know??" My girls are very pouty today after what we've been through - they "know" something is up too :(

OMG how scary!!!! :eek: im glad shes okay now...!! poor lil girl!!! kisses to her from me and princess :kiss: :kiss:

Oh Brooke I'm so sorry little Tator went through that :( Those stupid ants :mad: That poor baby girl. Give her tons of kisses from all of us. I hope she's feeling better real soon. ;)

Poor little Tatum!! What a way to be woken up, Brooke!! Not the ideal way to start your day. Sissy and Angel send big hugs to Tatum and tell her to feel better really soon.

oh my....she just looks soooo sad! Sure hope she's up and feeling better by tomorrow. Stedman is a good big brother worrying about his sissy!

Poor thing, I hate to hear of this happening to her. I bet she is just miserable.:( I hope she feels better soon.

Poor Tatum. :( Spray and extra spray on those darn ants from me tomorrow!:wink2: She is such a sweetheart. :) Tatum, feel better soon sweetie. :getwell: What a good big brother you have. :)

Oh, poor Tatum:( Fireants are the pits!! We have them everywhere in Georgia. When my kids were little the magic antidote was a past of vaseline mixed with baking soda and applied to the bites, but our little furbabies have too much hair for this to work on them.

Sure hope she's feeling better soon.

Sadie sends a big kiss for Tatum and hopes she feels better tomorrow!!
:getwellso

Oh no!!! That's soooo scary.... I absolutely despise fire ants. One ant bite just hurts me sooo bad and it lasts for weeks! I can't imagine what Tatum is feeling since they bit her all over. Poor baby :(
Give her lots of kisses from Miko and Emma.

OMG!!!:eek: :eek: Poor baby!! I'm sorry this happened:( I hate ants and fire ants are the worst:mad: I hope she gets feeling better real soon We send lots of hugs and kisses!

Get Well Wishes for Tatum
 

So sorry to hear about Tatum's run in with the fire ants. Hope she is feeling better real soon.


:getwell:

AWWWW hope little one is feeling better soon...

OH NO! Poor baby Tatum!!!!!!!!!!! But you did the right thing, Brooke. Last year Hobbs got bitten by fire ants and started shaking really badly so we called the emergency vet and they told us to do the very same thing you did for Tatum.......NutriCal and Benedryl. Hugs to the little princess! GET WELL SOON little baby!!!!!!!!

Oh, Tatum! I hate that you got bit by so many fire ants!! That can be SO dangerous for a little baby! Take care and feel better soon. :(

Hope your feeling better soon !!!!!!

My heart is still beating fast since reading about that baby and all those fire ant bites. They can actually kill a little dog, but thank goodness you both took immediate and correct action or she would have gone into seizures and died. I hope your able to totally eradicate that nest.
Poor little girl had to be in overwhelming pain. She looks so out of it and what a wonderful big brother to be giving her some love. Bless them both.

poor Tatum!!
 

OMG! I am so sorry to hear about Tatum and the ants! They are the worse here in Texas!! The Benedryl is good for the itching. You are a good mommy!! Keep us posted!!
HUGS! XOXOXO
....Linda & PAK

Poor Tatum! I hope she starts feeling better really soon. Stupid fire ants. :(

Oh Trina - thank you so much for even taking the time to respond to our thread - that really does me SO much to us as we know what all you have been through lately :( Don't even worry about Tatum...she is doing fine now - I am just so sorry about what happened to Lexxi...I just feel SO awful. I have been thinking about you guys every since I heard.

Thank you again so much Trina and please know that we are still praying for you guys and the babies and I are sending you big hugs :cry:

They really do know girl...it is just AMAZING how they sense things. You give those precious babies of yours big kisses for us ok?? I hope Gemma is doing better - I just read your threads a little while ago about her being in the hospital! Goodness, when it rains, it pours!! :cry:

They definitely are! :( I just HATE these things. And we get them SO BAD - they drive us nuts!!! :mad: Gosh, I felt soooo bad for little Tate today :cry: She was just so miserable and out of it - and I know that the bites were hurting and itching her soo bad :cry: The Benadryl really did help her though, thank goodness! :thumbup:

Thank you so much Rebecca! :) Wow, I'm glad I did what I did then :thumbup: The Nutri-Cal was a given since her gums were SO white...but I figured that I had better give her some Benadryl for the itching - and boy did it do the trick! It made her very tired for a while, but she woke up feeling fine. Oh you should see her now! :eek: She is running around here like her crazy little self again :D We are so glad to have her back to normal! LOL.

You don\'t know how hard today has been. I tell ya, I can\'t remember crying this much in a day - ever. I just can\'t pull it together! And I\'m not even pms-ing!! Everytime I read a reply to my post I just sit in puddles wishing I could reply back.
Anyway, not trying to hijack your thread - And yes, baby Gemma is doing fine, thank God. They are all good, just sad I think....
Thank you again Brooke~

Poor little Tatum!! I have never had to deal with fire ants and I am so glad, I hate ants.
Sending get well wishes to baby Tatum!!
She still looks so adorable even when she isn\'t feeling well and how sweet of Stedman to check up on her!!

OMG Brooke. I just read this thread. I am so sorry about Tatum. Poor baby. How is she doing now? You\'re husband must have been really scared to have woken you up huh? I hope she gets better soon. Can you put something on the bites. Anti itch ointment or something? Let us know girl.