Alex's RSV Scare

11/3 - I had a super scary night.  I was putting the big three to bed (Alex had been asleep for about an hour) when I heard Alex vomit in his crib.  He does that a lot, he's just got a very sensitive little tummy and that's how he reacts to stress so I didn't think anything of it and leisurely walked in there to take care of the mess.  I turned on the light to see him purple and his tiny body heaving for air.  I quickly picked him up turned him upside down and patted his back until he managed to get out all the vomit and begin breathing.  I was, of course, crying by this point.  Aaron was at work and a half and hour before Amelia had lost my phone.  I cleaned up Alex and wrapped him back up.  I said a prayer of gratitude to my Father in Heaven for placing me there at that time to save my boys life.  We went downstairs and I found my phone, after another prayer.  A truly wonderful friend Kathy Bullock drove up to be with my sleeping children while I took Alex to the hospital.  While she was driving up I managed to get Aaron to come home from work and we were all able to go together.  The wait in the ER was hard but even harder was the way they treated me.  I HATE going into a doctor with no visible injury.  I had to spend so much time explaining what happened and why my baby needed help, it didn't help that he was so flirty and smiley at them.  Anyway, they monitored his breathing for a while and it dipped down to low 80s for his oxygen level and all sorts of alarms went off.  They did some tests and he came back positive for RSV (a nasty cold that is very serious for babies).  After that he had some chest x-rays which he was a very good boy for and we were admitted into Blank Children's hospital around 3am.

Alex in the hospital.

11/4 - Right after we were admitted Aaron went home to relieve Kathy and send her back to her family.  Even though he banged around a lot he still had to wake her up and it freaked her out.  They both laughed about it a lot.  Meanwhile I stayed overnight with Alex while many doctors and nurses watched and cared for him vigilantly.  He got monitored more and lots of nose suctioning.  One of the symptoms of RSV is crazy mucus production.  Alex was the perfect sick baby, so peaceful and flirty with everyone it was so cute but made them think he wasn't as sick as he really was which was frustrating.  After 10 hours there they decided while he was still sick he was well enough to go home.  There is a wide spectrum of RSV and he was near the "worst cold ever" side and not the "near death" side which is awesome.  I learned that he was choking on snot and because he had grabbed the bar of the crib he couldn't roll over and get it out.  As a reflex his body shut off his airway until I cleared the problem.  They told me to be vigilant about sucking his snot and he'd be just fine.  I was unsettled and scared.  I didn't want that to ever happen again and I was worried that since I got so little sleep while in the hospital with him that I wouldn't be able to hear if he had another problem.  Aaron had to work again and I was home alone with the kids.  Poor Alex was clingy and needed so much love and care.  With the help of some wonderful friends and family as well as a blessing and lots of prayer we made it through the night and I was feeling much better about my little man.

My cute happy baby in the hospital.

 11/5 - We had an appointment with his doctor and she explained more what RSV was and why they couldn't give him any medicine for it.  She told me more of what to do to help him and sympathized with my freaking out.  I was told to use some vicks to help thin out his snot and get it running out.  Then a humidifier and to keep him close.  I felt so much better after this appointment because I had more information.  I knew what to expect, his snot should go away soon but his cough will stick around for weeks (up to 8).  He's contagious through direct contact with snot or spit so don't let people touch him.   She told me that angels were watching over me and I know this is so true.  I will forever be thankful for the infant first aid class I had to take while working for the daycare last year.  It prepared me for this and gave me the knowledge I needed to help my little man when he couldn't help himself.  I'm also grateful for the prompting I had to go check on him and the quick response of my good friend Kathy to watch the kids.  I'm always amazed at how she serves so willingly.  He's doing better and I was told his runny nose should be fading away and be gone within the next few days and minus the lingering cough he'll be back to his usual self shortly.