Friday Mary Claire and I had our first encounter with the "sick side" of the waiting room of the pediatricians office.
Wednesday afternoon Mary Claire and I went for a long walk at the park and when we got home I noticed she was a little snotty and congested. With the crazy warm weather we have been having, I assumed it was just allergies. Thursday she was even more snotty and congested but had started coughing & sneezing, and now had watery eyes- again though I just assumed it was just allergies.
But Thursday night was a B.A.D night at the Peeler house. She did not sleep AT ALL- and I am not exaggerating. Typically we lay her down in her crib when she is just about asleep and she will fuss just a few minutes but then go right on to sleep, but Thursday night was a whole other story. I laid her down and a few minutes of fussing turned into 30 minutes of fussing then on to screaming. So I got her back up and rocked her a little while then laid her back down. For some reason I had an intuition it was going to be a long night because I got my pillow and made my nest in the spare bed in her room so daddy could get his beauty sleep for work.... Again fussing turned into screaming- but I decided to let her scream a while (you know... maybe she could soothe herself, right?!?!?) WRONG! She started coughing then gagging then spitting up then she was even more ticked because she was wet and laying in spit up. I finally gave in and got her out and she was WIDE AWAKE now... there was no going back to sleep. The night continued on this path of hanging out in with mom in the spare bed, laying in her crib, fussing, screaming, gagging, spitting up, changing her clothes and diaper, hanging out with mom, etc.
Chase came in about 6:30 to tell us bye and was surprised to find us both WIDE awake hanging out in the spare bed.
Chase: "Long night?"
Me: "UHHH... Yeah to say the least"
About 8:30 I called the doctor to talk to a nurse. Knowing the weekend was coming I wanted to hear someone say that she was going to be fine for the weekend- that it was just allergies. After telling her Mary Claire's symptoms and explaining to her that I was SURE it was just allergies- she told me it very well could be, but with her being so young we need to be careful. Then once she heard her cough and congested breathing over the phone she said I should bring her in.
So- Hi Ho Hi Ho it's off the Doctor we go... AGAIN!
I signed in, and apologized to the receptionist for being "that mom" that brings her kid in all the time and worries the stew out of them. She just laughed and said that they didn't think that at all (yeah right!) and I should never feel bad about having to bring her in for silly things.
Then it was off to the sit on the dreaded SICK SIDE! AHH!!!
We got called back, and when the doctor came in she said "Did we get you sick when you were here on Monday?" I told her no... it was just allergies, but I just wanted to have her looked at before the weekend.
While listening to her chest Dr. Bennie got a very serious look on her face and said, "Bad news mom, it's defiantly more than allergies."
She said that it is either a run of the mill cold or worst case scenario it is could be RSV. Then went on the explain what RSV is.... A very bad cold virus... "VERY concerning" because of her age ... could settle in her lungs as pneumonia/bronchitis or her ears as an ear infection ... no treatment ... sit her up as vertical as possible ... saline spray & bulb syringe ... Watch for temperature ... But to be honest I wasn't making any mental notes because I just new it was not RSV, I mean she wasn't that sick.
10 minutes later the nose swab came back and the Doctor came back in... It's Positive..
My heart sank, and tears immediately filled my eyes. My little baby was really sick and I thought she had been fine for the last 2 days.
Dr. Bennie again went over RSV and the things we could do to help keep her comfortable while her little body fights it off. I guess she could tell I was 1/2 way listening earlier. She just kept on and on about how "concerning it is because of her age", she was "only 24 days old". The main thing we have to watch for is a fever. If she runs a fever of 100.4 or higher we have to go the the hospital because that means the infection has settled somewhere.
So it was just a waiting game... waiting to get better, waiting to get worse.
I called Chase and gave him the scoop and he immediately came home, then to the store to get saline spray, baby vicks, etc... and I just sat on the couch and held her tight... yes, did hold a sleeping baby. It may not have made her feel any better but it made me feel better.
So operation RSV Go Away is set up in our living room- the coffee table has turned into medicine cabinet complete with vicks, saline spray, nose sucker, and thermometer. The swing, bouncy seat, and car seat are all ready to hold her upright while she sleeps, and the humidifier has been going non-stop.
We are now about 3 days out and so far so good. Mary Claire seems to be making progress and getting better every day. THANK GOODNESS!
Only one problem... she really likes to be held while she is asleep now... OOPS :)
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