Hospitals in Hanoi, Vietnam

Visiting a foreign hospital is never ideal and you never know what you're going to get or which hospital you should go to. This is my experience taking my two-year-old and my baby who is 5 months old to a Vietnamese Hospital.

With so many people touching the boys it's hard to know where this infection started, however, we are going to be more careful in the future.

 Atticus started running a low fever last week and it only lasted 24 hours. Then he had some drainage which we didn't know about cuz it wasn't coming out of his nose but he started coughing up stuff. His cough progressed so much that he was vomiting up the mucus. I was thinking about taking him to the hospital but then his cough got much better and thought that he was doing okay. At the same time Odin's nose was running and we couldn't keep it clean. He's runny nose was his first symptom and two days later he started running a fever of 101 he ran that temperature for 4 days. The night before we went to the hospital Atticus was screaming on and off for 4 hours straight at bedtime until 2:30 in the morning. That same morning was Odin's fourth day of running a high fever so I finally decided to take them to the hospital. The question was which one. Nick went to work and I prepared a bag. As I was getting ready to go I came down with a lot of anxiety over the whole situation and realize that I couldn't do this by myself, so I asked Nick to come home and come with us.

We decided to visit the Vietnamese international hospital because the cost was significantly lower and a friend had visited there with their son and had a good experience. The moment that we walked through the door we were greeted by an English interpreter. We told her what was wrong and she started the process of getting us checked in. Both boys took a covid test which was negative, and then we headed upstairs to see the doctor. We didn't wait very long to see the doctor. It was very interesting because the doctor and the nurse stayed in the rooms and the patients came in and out of the rooms much different than in America. The doctor examined both boys and told us that Atticus was much worse off than Odin and she wanted him to see an ophthalmologist, dermatologist, x-ray  and both boys had to visit the ENT and get blood drawn and a flu test.

Luckily all those doctors were all on the same floor and right next to each other. There were no lines to wait in and it was pretty easy especially with our amazing interpreter. First up was blood draw and flu test both boys did that. Their flu test came back negative. Then we visited the ophthalmologist and she examined Atticus’ eyes and told us that he had conjunctivitis. She massaged his eyes and taught me how to do it and gave me instructions to do it once every day.

After that, we went to the dermatologist and had a long conversation about Atticus' skin. She believes that he has eczema and gave me all the creams and ointments to treat it and I'm supposed to go back in 2 weeks.

Next up was x-ray and that took 2 seconds. I held Atticus down and they quickly took an X-ray of his chest. And not even 5 minutes later they handed us his X-ray and we went to lunch.

After lunch we went to the ENT and both boys had their ears, nose and throat scoped. Atticus was up first and he had a lot of wax so they had to clean out his ears and then they quickly discovered that he had two severe middle ear infections with pus and they were very worried about it erupting.

Odin was up next and it was a huge struggle to hold him down, it took me and a male nurse to hold him still. He had an ear infection on one side but it was not severe. They prescribed both boys antibiotics.

After the ENT we went back to the doctor who reviewed all of the results with us. The boys had a very high white blood count which meant they had an infection so they both were going to be put on antibiotics. Atticus also has bronchitis and she told me he needed to stay in the hospital for 5 to 7 days because he's so young and he has a lot of things going on right now. However, they didn't have any room to accommodate him there and asked me to go to a different hospital and have him admitted. Our interpreter helped us call three other hospitals and none of them had room. We finally called the French hospital that was recommended to us by another friend and they happen to have room. Nick and I decided to divide and conquer. He would take the scooter home and pack up a bag for Atticus and I and then come to the hospital and grab Odin.

When I got to the emergency room of the French hospital I gave them all my paperwork and they told me that I had to go through and see the doctor again so that she could verify the information and make the decision on if we needed to be admitted or not. They quickly took us back, checked out Atticus and we met with the doctor all within 15 minutes. She examined him and noticed how happy he was and although he had two extreme ear infections, overall he was okay. She asked me if I would prefer the hospital or to be at home. I told her because I had an older son who also needed medicine and attention that it would be better for me to be at home with both of my boys. She agreed and told me she would give me 3 days and if anything happened or changed that I would come back before then. I was so happy by this news because I was having some serious PTSD. I did not want to experience  Hospital time with Atticus in a different country. 

Both boys were champs during this whole crazy and hectic day. Odin was held down several times while they forced things up his nose. in his ears, down his throat, and drew blood from his arm. After the first time he learned very quickly that he did not want to enter any new room and would fight us to go in, luckily most of the appointments were for Atticus. Now one of his new sentences is, “Atticus' turn!”  It's pretty cute.

Giving them medicine before meals after meals in between hours blah blah blah it's so hard and it wears on you. I'm exhausted just from being a mom nurse.

So far meds are not going well. I have to hold Odin down and use a syringe to get the meds in his mouth. Atticus throws up his meds less than a minute after taking them. Overall we have been changing clothes and diapers about 5 times a day due to throw up or diarrhea, so it is just NO FUN!

Tips for Long Plane Trips with 2 littles

July 18th, 2022


Flight to Montreal 2.5 hours

Montreal to Tokyo 13 hours

Tokyo to Hanoi, Vietnam 5 hours

A daunting travel itinerary, even without children. Yet, we were about to do it with two under the age of three.


3 Totes

3 large bags

2 carry on bags (well they were intended to be carry on)

a stroller

car seat

a wagon

3 bookbags

other loose things (blankets, stuffed animals and snacks).


They say you pack way more when you travel with children but we may have gone overboard.


This is what we faced on the last leg of our summer of transitions. One last push to fly to the literal other side of the world and then we would be in our home for the next 2 years.

We were comfortable about the idea; having lived abroad before, the unknown of a new country wasn't that scary, but having two children in tow posed challenges I'm not sure we were entirely prepared for.


With our experiences, I have collected a series of tips I'd like to share with you.


Traveling with kiddos TIP #1
Pack diapers everywhere! You can live without wipes but not diapers.

Pack more diapers EVERYWHERE… I had diapers in the diaper bag and in both carry on bags, but when I was forced to check those bags my brain didn't think "grab diapers" it thought "you a-hole… who are you to make me do this"

During our first flight I realized I only had 1 diaper for each child left and I still had 19 hours of FLYING time left.

I ran through the whole Montreal airport looking and asking for diapers and couldn't find any. Finally on my way to my gate I spotted another mother with an infant and toddler. I approached with tears in my eyes and a sense of urgency (my flight was currently boarding) she was happy to give me some and then another mother chimed in and I thanked them sincerely and ran off. It was a beautiful moment of solidarity in motherhood.


Traveling with kiddos TIP #2
To all the mom's that are breastfeeding and pumping: I thought I was prepared… I thought my 5 month old would breastfeed more and bottle feed less but the opposite happened. He would NOT even consider breastfeeding, therefore, I had to pump around the clock to provide for him. I was prepared for this. I packed a cooler, and a ton of batteries for my Medela pump. When my battery pack started to crap out on me I got worried because guess where was my hand pump? Yup, on my carry-on that got checked.

Here is what I packed

A good pump bag- it flies for free as a medical bag

All my pump parts and only two Medela bottles

Medela wipes to clean those parts

Medela milk bags

Cooler

Ice pack- make sure it is 100% frozen when you go through security

2 battery pack for my pump, they held 8 batteries each

Lanolin

Gallon zip lock to hold clean parts

2 feeding bottles of choice



Traveling with kiddos TIP #3
Get yourself a blow up foot rest. This thing is a game changer especially for long flights or flying during nap time. It was easy to blow up and put at my toddlers feet. He was able to sleep soundly for several hours because we laid down our baby's nest on top of the blow up and seat. We were also able to lay down our 2 year old, buckled him in, and then add his favorite blankie and stuffies so he could sleep comfortably.

Traveling with kiddos TIP #4
When you travel with an infant in arms make sure you request a bassinet seat. I was confused about when and how to request it, so I called the airlines (Air Canada) where I was on hold for 2.5 hours, just to be told they would take care of it at the gate. This information did not sit well with me so I did some reading. I found out that the bassinets only hook up in the bulkhead rows. These seats are highly sought after because you have a lot of leg room. I also found out that they are first come first serve, but I also read that the youngest infant gets one before an older infant. The night before our flight Nick checked us in and made sure we were in the bulkhead for all three flights. For our first flight our plane was too small for one.

Our second flight was more complicated. Nick couldn't book us all together because someone had claimed the middle seat in the row of 3. When we arrived to Montreal Nick went to the desk and asked for us to all sit together and for the bassinet. They happily changed our tickets and we boarded the plane to find another mom in the middle seat requesting a bassinet. Her husband was sitting the other side where Nick and Odin were also supposed to be. I showed her our tickets and how we were all together. She moved over with her husband and the next flight attendant got an ear full. We were super sweet as we explained the situation. He asked about our babies and how old they were. She had a 7 month old and I had a 5 month old. We were told to stay where we are and they were going to move people around so the other couple could have the other bulkhead area. I was happy with Air Canada as they shifted people around to accommodate families with babies.


What we learned about using the bassinet:

-it holds up to 14kilos

-you can only use it when baby is sleeping

-you can't use it during take off and landing

-you can't use it when there is turbulence

-it's a baby jail, once inside you have to Velcro and snap it shut so if there is unexpected turbulence the baby can't fly out.

-even though you are in that seat for the bassinet you have to request that they bring it to you.


Traveling with kiddos TIP #5
Pack some toys and things to keep your kiddos busy. For our toddler we wrapped up different cars and construction vehicles and the plan was to give him one every hour, however, that did not work. He wanted to unwrap all of them one after the other. He threw a huge tantrum and it caused more trouble for us, so we let him unwrap them all and put them in a bag. Then, he was able to select which one he wanted to play with. This kept him busy most of the trip even though I packed books, water painting books, stickers, and his tablet. Which brings us to traveling with kiddos TIP #5a: be flexible with your plans and procedures.

Our infant just chewed on his hands and played with his Eric Carol Lady bug!

Traveling with kiddos TIP #6
This one might seem like a duh-red-truck, but pack a lot of snacks. Our toddler did not like the airplane food and so he ate peanut butter crackers and cheese. I had all of his favorite things in little snack bags and we did not regret it taking up the space. In fact when we arrived to our destination it was the snacks that got us through until we could go grocery shopping. I packed extra in my carry-on bags that got checked.

Traveling with kiddos TIP #7
What to do when you are overwhelmed, kids are crying/ throwing a tantrum.... this happened several times especially around nap time or bed time. Atticus would be asleep and then woken up by Odin screaming or vice versa. These were the hardest times and we learned quickly to pick up the one that was upset and go for a walk. This helped keep the other asleep and give a new view to the screamer. People will stare, people will be upset, but you have to do what's best for your kiddo.


Traveling with kiddos TIP #8
Totes!!! our military friends told us that they use black totes with yellow lids when they move because they are heavy duty and you can zip tie them shut. They worked amazingly well. If you decide to use them to travel abroad make sure you include extra zip ties inside in case security or customs open it.


Traveling with kiddos TIP #9
The WAGON!!! The wagon was a last minute add on to our stash and it made all the difference when traveling to your gate or between flights. We checked our stroller and car seat and just used the wagon. It held our 2 year old and some stuff while my husband held the baby in a carrier. It was AWESOME!