The baby is sick!
By katsmeow1213
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
United States
May 5, 2008 8:17am CST
Well I got absolutely no sleep last night. Last week my toddler had a bit of a cold, which he is finally getting over, but it would appear that he passed his cold to his younger brother, who is only 3 months old. The poor baby is so stuffed up and congested, I stayed awake most of the night to make sure he was still able to breath. It seemed the problem only got worse as the night wore on, and at one point he was only able to breath through his mouth. This made feeding time very difficult, as I had to constantly remove the bottle to ensure he was gettng enough air.
About 3AM I was seriously debating bringing him to the ER. I have had 3 kids with RSV already, and one of them had to be hospitalized for 3 days. I did not think it was quite RSV yet, as he wasn't struggling as much as my others were, but I was still worrying.
Finally a light bulb went off in my head, and I kick myself for never thinking of this before! I sent my husband to the store (yes, at 3am) to get Vick's Vapor Rub. We then smeared a little bit of it on the side of his bassinet, enough for him to breathe the vapors, but it wasn't actually on his skin. Within about 10 minutes I could hear that he was breathing so much easier and the congestion was starting to go away.
Unfortunatly he did wake up again at 5 and 7 for feedings, but at least these were a lot easier. He was able to breath through his nose again. So far he seems a lot better today. Unfortunatly I'm exhausted and think I am going to crash after I run my errands.
1 person likes this
3 responses
@sisterjinx (1135)
• United States
5 May 08
Oh honey. I'm sorry the baby isn't feeling well. I hope he feels better soon. Try and get a nap today if you can. I know that is almost impossible with little ones but if you can sneak even a 20 min one you might get some energy back.
The vicks on the side of the crib was a super smart idea. I never would have thought of that. I'll have to keep that in mind for when my spiritual daughter calls me about sick babies lol.
Again I hope you all feel better soon hun.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
5 May 08
RSV is a respiratory virus infants get, if untreated can lead to pneumonia. It basically starts off like a typical cold with a lot of congestion, but gets worse and the child has an extremely hard time breathing.
My daughter had it pretty bad at 6 weeks old and had to be in the ICU for 3 days. Her twin brother had it but it was caught early, all I had to do was give him nebulizer treatments at home. My toddler also had it, they gave him a shot of steroids along with a nebulizer treatment in the ER and he was fine after that.
My sister had it also at around 6 weeks old. My mother let it go so far without seeing a doctor that she ended up with viral and bacterial pneumonia. She was in the ICU for over a month.
@sisterjinx (1135)
• United States
5 May 08
Oh wow. I never had heard of this. I guess I got lucky. 3 kids and none of this. Good information to know though because my spiritual daughter has 2 babies. Now we have another little piece of information that may come in handy for her. Thank you.
I'm sorry you have had so much of it in your family. I wonder if it is more apt to happen in certain areas than in others.
@phoenix25 (1541)
• United States
6 May 08
Sick babies are no fun. Next time your baby is congested, put a little folded up blanket under the crib mattress or bassinet pad so that his head is a little higher than the rest of his body. You could also try using a humidifier in the room where he sleeps so that he can breathe a little easier. Vapo Rub is definitely a good idea. My husband swears by the stuff, but my mom never used to use it when we were sick as kids so I never think about it.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
6 May 08
Yes, I have been having in sleep mostly in his car seat or swing to keep his head elevated. He still is not doing much better. I may have to take that trip to the docs today :(
@magikrose (5429)
• United States
5 May 08
Awww poor mommy. I feel your pain..really I do. I had a child who had the RSV disease and as a result of it she also had namonia, boencitis and febreal seizures up untill she was about 6. I know exactilly where you are coming from where you are so stressed out and worried about your baby and forget the simplest of things. I am glad to hear that he is doing better.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
5 May 08
Wow! I can't imagine how hard that must have been. The only one of mine who had it real bad was my daughter. She got RSV at 6 weeks old, and was in the NICU for 3 days. It never became pneumonia or anything else, and after the 3 days she was completely better and you'd never know she'd ever been sick.
