James and Ola Jordan have been enjoying their time as parents to their adorable baby Ella, who they welcomed in February. However, taking care of a newborn during a nationwide lockdown has certainly had its challenges, and none so much as on Tuesday night when the pair were forced to rush baby Ella into A&E after growing concerned when she was struggling to breathe. With Ella home and safe, the couple have opened up about the traumatic incident in their latest HELLO! column...
"She's okay now, she's good, but we had a bit of drama last night," explains Ola. "We had to go on a trip to hospital. I don't know where to start."
Baby Ella was taken into hospital
James continues: "She hasn't slept for the last couple of days. She's been really unsettled, really miserable. Moving a lot, kicking her legs and flailing her arms and struggling to clear her mouth. She had a lot of saliva in her mouth and it was almost like she couldn't swallow properly. It was like she was choking on her own saliva." Clearly shaken by the incident, Ola adds: "She's looking at you with these big eyes and she just wants to tell you, 'I'm not well, I'm in pain,' and it's just heartbreaking to see that."
Reluctant to trouble the NHS during the pandemic, the pair explained that they got in touch Ola's sister, a pharmacist, and another close family friend who has young children for advice, and both advised that the couple should call the NHS helpline. James says: "We rang some friends first of all because we didn't want to go to hospital. Ola's sister is a pharmacist and we rang a friend of mine who has young kids and they both said, 'Look, you need to call 111 because obviously something's wrong.'"
Ella was suffering from reflux
We called 111 and told them what was going on and they sent an ambulance out. Then the paramedics said, 'Right, we'll take her in and get someone to have a look at her.' They took her into hospital and a paediatrician saw her very quickly. We were probably there about an hour and a half. They did some blood tests on her which she hated, checked her heart and her breathing. It came back that she had a bad case of reflux."
READ: James and Ola Jordan reveal how they defied midwife's advice to help baby Ella
The pair were sent home with their daughter, and now have anti-reflux medication to help little Ella out. He continues: "It's obviously great that it's not anything more serious but it's something that we want to talk about because, as new parents, our hearts were skipping a beat yesterday. Reflux is the acid in the stomach that comes back up and it can cause a burning sensation. It feels like it's being stuck in her throat and it can cause more saliva. So if she's lying on her back it can feel like she's drowning. It's quite terrifying seeing her like that."
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While Ola rode in the ambulance with Ella, James admitted it was "heart wrenching" to watch his wife and seven-week-old daughter go ahead without him as he followed behind in the car. Speaking about the terrifying experience of being in hospital during a pandemic. Ola says: "It's quite a scary thing at the hospital. Everyone is in masks, and you really don't want to be there but at that point, I didn't care." James adds that the pair were vigilant to avoid catching COVID-19, explaining: "We put our clothes straight in the wash basket, we put alcohol on our hands, you just do everything you can. But at the end of the day, if you're that worried, you still have to go in."
READ: James Jordan documents daughter Ella's first poo explosion with funny picture
Ella is now doing well, albeit sleepy following her hospital adventure, and James said that they would be watching her carefully to see how she improves. "Obviously we'll keep an eye on her and hopefully the medication will work," he says.
Tune in next week to find out the latest on little Ella in James and Ola's HELLO! parenting column...