RSV?

[jojo2324]

Hi there...have had a harrowing couple of days at the peds and ER. Ped told me initially (on Tuesday this all started) that DS was dealing with a bout of reflux. Now, nearly a week later, she's telling me that if his breathing gets worse we'll have to bring him to the hospital so that he can be put on oxygen and have an IV inserted. And we have to go see a pediatric pulmonary specialist.

But we're hoping that it's not that dire and that it's RSV (I guess the least worst or the two...Is that even close to proper English? Sounds funny.); we'll know for certain tomorrow. Anybody have any experience with this? What kind of ride am I in for? What can I do to help him out? We've been keeping the heat down, brought him into the bathroom to get some steam action, also got fresh (cold) air in a walk around town, and dropped some saline down his nose and sucked that out. Any advice I would love! TIA!

[twins r fun]

What is the pediatrician saying it is if it's not RSV? I know RSV can send young babies to the hospital. They vaccinate many preemies and those very succeptible to it every month during the active season because it is particularly dangerous to them. I guess technically it's not a vaccination because they can still get it, just not as severe. Hopefully Gannon won't need to be hospiatalized-that's not fun. Although being on oxygen is not terribly intrusive. Keep us posted.

Nicole

[alandenisefields]

Hi!

Thanks for using our message boards.

Sorry to hear about your little one. We know how hard it is to deal with even minor stuff. Just a little encouragement. Our youngest had RSV and spent a day in the hospital in an oxygen tent. While it was stressful and scary at the time, in retrospect it wasn't that bad. We stayed with him and he handled it very well.

Best wishes!

Denise Fields
authors, BABY BARGAINS

[jojo2324]

Thanks so much. The ped doesn't know what it could be; that's why she's sending us to the pulmonary specialist. She says that if it was January or February, she would just assume that this is RSV and that it would clear up within the next week (or two or three). But since it's so early in the season, I think she suspects that it could be something else. We'll get the results of the RSV test back tomorrow.

Luckily I was able to get an appointment tomorrow with the specialist.
I think that I am in worse shape than anybody else. This is very stressful! DS is quite chipper, smiling and making noises, so that is encouraging. He has lost some weight, but he's got loads extra to sustain him, the little beluga! Thank you for the encouragement. Hopefully this is just a bad cough that will clear up on its own.

[nigele]

Joanne,

Please keep us posted - my DS is suffering from major congestion and sometimes can hardly breathe. Pedf recommended letting him sleep in his bouncy seat to keep his head elevated. I'm not sure if it's doing any good. What symptoms does your DS have?

Lisa

[Rachels]

Yikes! I don't have any advice, just wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you. Abigail was hospitalized when she was only a few days old. She was a trooper, but I was a complete basket case. The nurses were very used to crying mamas and handled it beautifully. But I know how scary it is to have something amiss with your little one! Mothering is the most vulnerable proposition I've ever encountered! Hang in there and let us know how you're both doing.

-Rachel
Mommy to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[jojo2324]

We've had him in his infant seat in our bedroom for the past week. It really doesn't seem to do much, IMO. Usually he sleeps with us in bed, but I've been a little worried about that now that we've got heavy blankets on the bed. (Especially considering the following.)

(I am going to admit a big secret now. Please don't think I'm a horrible mommy.) DH had watched him last Monday because I was working. When I came home DH met me at the door with a very serious look. "I'm a horrible father." Eek! What happened? Did he fall off the bed? Did you roll over on him? Did you lose your patience and squeeze him just a little too much? No. Basically, we've been feeding him around 9 and then letting him cry until he fell asleep. (I know. I feel bad, but we've exhausted all other options.) DH fed him and put him in our bed and went downstairs. He went back upstairs about 10 minutes later and thought DS sounded funny, and walked in to find one of our pillows over him. Now, he's not sure how long the pillow was on him, but regardless, there was still a pillow over our baby's face.

The next day (Tuesday) is when all of the trouble started. It just seemed like too much of a coincidence that DS would have trouble breathing right after a pillow was over his face. DH is having horrible guilt issues and is really worried that he caused this, but the ped reassured him that that was not the case (and also that he learned his lesson).

It just started as some wheezing and slight difficulty breathing. He was making all sorts of noises like he couldn't catch a breath. I was a little paranoid because of the pillow incident, so I called up the doctor. She told me that she thought it was some reflux. She could hear the wheezing and also at that point he was rattly too in the chest area. She said that if he got a cold next week she was wrong.

Within a couple of hours it was much worse. I called the ped again and they said to just nurse frequently and bring him into the bathroom while I took a shower so he could get some steam. By Friday he just seemed to have a bad cold. I had already called the ped about 12 times and I really didn't want to be that neurotic first-time-mom-with-first-cold person. On Sunday he woke up and sounded horrible! He sounds like he's brewing coffee, that's the best description I can think of. So we called the ped and they said to bring him in. That's when she started in on the oxygen and IV stuff.

Then last night I was on my way to Grampa's so that he could watch him while I went to work. I had to pull over twice because he was coughing so badly I thought he was choking. By the time we got there I was in tears so we all went up to the ER and they said he was fine. Chest x-ray showed nothing, no bronchitis, no pneumonia, etc.

As far as symptoms go, all I can say is that he has a slight fever, 99.7. He seems to be eating okay, but it does seem like it requires some work. That's something you really need to look for: change in behavior and eating habits. He's not lethargic, not listless, but definitely subdued. And he just sounds like crap. His oxygen level is fine. And I don't know if this is at all related, but his BMs have STUNK the last week. He's purely bmilk, and I haven't had anything out of the ordinary, so maybe there's a link. But whew! I thought that started with solids!

Sorry if a bit convoluted, just wanted to spill my guts and assuage my guilt about the pillow. Hopefully your baby is okay; maybe there's just a really nasty bug going around. Maybe you should try to get a second opinion. We've had him in his infant seat, and like I said, it really doesn't seem to help. I do feel better that he's elevated though. Good luck! Let us know what happens.


Edited to say:

Sorry, forgot some stuff. The ped said to look out for a few things.

1. Watch his chest and belly while breathing. If it seems like the belly is kind of popping out when he takes a breath, that's a sign of difficulty. He's trying to counteract his airways, which have begun constricting. Smaller space means more force is necessary to get the air in, etc. She also said something about being able to see his ribs, but we couldn't see them because he's too fat.

2. Watch his nostrils. This is very subtle, but another sign of difficulty is flaring nostrils. But they don't flare all the time, only once in a while.

3. Count how many times he inhales in 6 seconds. Then multiply that number by ten. That should give you how many times he breathes in one minute. DS is averaging 50. She said the real concern is when that number is over 60. I guess just trying to get the air in, only little bits at a time, so more times will increase air...Does that make sense?

4. If his coughing is waking him up, that's another thing to be concerned about too.

[egoldber]

So sorry to hear about your little guy! Best wishes!

[nigele]

So sorry to hear about all your trouble. Best of luck with Gannon - hope you work it out and he's feeling better soon. BTW, our sons share a birthday!

Lisa

[jojo2324]

Really? He's the first I've "met." A lot of babies came around that time.

[Shirale]

Wow- very very scary...my DD has one of those yucky colds right now, her nose is leaking green stuff and she isnt sleeping too well, but I am grateful that at least she can breathe...your poor baby! I hope Gannon feels much, much better soon and that you can relax!! As moms I think we end up more miserable when our babies are sick then when we are sick ourselves!

[KathyO]

Please accept my best wishes as well. It sounds like Gannon is fighting whatever this is quite well, so I'm sure he'll come out on top. The oxygen tent, if they use it, will go a ways towards making him more comfortable. (Both my brother and I did oxygen-tent time as kids.) I'll be watching this column for more news.

And DO tell your DH to go easy on himself. EVERY parent I know has a Horrible Secret, and it's only in safe company that we'll let our hair down and compete to see who's the Official Worst Parent. My friend Sandra (a dedicated and hawk-eyed mom) had a brain moment and turned her back on her unsecured baby in the high chair. Turned back just in time to see her topple headfirst to the floor. (Just a bump, although Sandra still turns white at the memory.) I didn't lock the carrier handle once, and dumped DD out onto the floor when she was only days old. She zipped around behind my Dad once and stuck her fingers in a closing door -- she got over the pinched knuckles in minutes, but he was devastated for DAYS... Bad Parent moments help keep us humble, to be sure.

Hang in there, all of ya'z!

KathyO

[Annette_C]

Joanne, I'm sorry to hear about Gannon not feeling well. I understand your concern and hope that all will be well soon. Fortunately, babies are stronger than we give them credit for and we, the parents, are feeling their pain more then they do.
I'll keep watching the board for updates....please keep us posted because we care.
Best of luck!

Annette
SAHM to Sabrina 6/24/02

[candybomiller]

Jo,

I hope everything works out. Poor Gannon. It sounds like he's being a real trooper. My son has been under the weather and my ped says that there is something going around because they've been incredibly busy the past two weeks.

Just trust your doctor to do the best for Gannon, and if something doesn't sound right, don't even think about hesitating to get a second opinion. After is this is YOUR BABY they're talking about.

Do keep us posted. You and Gannon will be in our thoughts.

Candy
-SAHM to Matthew Nicholas, born 5/22/02

[jojo2324]

Thank you everyone for your well wishes. I really appreciate it.

Went to the pediatric pulmonary specialist and she determined that it's bronchiolitis, which is the spasming and inflammation of the small airways. (As opposed to the large, which is bronchitis.) It's common in male babies who are formula-fed, around cigarette smoke and under six months. He's two out of four, so who knows.

Not too severe. She was encouraged by his behavior. He is still very engaging and alert and no sign of him slowing down in the eating department! 21 lbs, 6 oz! And I thought he lost weight.

Basically, this is a viral infection and only time will reveal how bad it can get. Normally, it goes away on its own within a week. Sometimes it does that in two to three weeks. It could be a one time thing, or there could be several episodes within the first couple of years. It can also be a precursor to asthma (Runs in the family on both sides.) but that won't be diagnosable (Is that a word?) for several years. They can treat it with albuterol through a nebulizer (sp?). That dilates the airways. It could help, it could not. So it's really just a waiting game. Hopefully it is just a one time thing, but if it does happen again at least I have knowledge about it. The idea of asthma is daunting, but DH had it and it went away when he was about 11, so that is encouraging.

Again, thanks for your thoughts. He's been sleeping a lot so I'm researching strollers. Yeah! Trying to convince DH of the necessity of a Bugaboo, or any stroller for that matter, but he's not biting. We're going for a test drive in a few weeks, maybe he'll come around. Any pointers? Or is it really just a buy on the sly operation? :)