As most of you know poor little Abigail has been a bit under the weather for the past two weeks. Actually to say a bit under the weather is an understatement, she was actually very very ill. Two weeks ago her daycare provider called and said that her 6 month old son had tested positive for RSV (Respiritory Syncytial Virus). This virus is much like a cold and in toddlers and adults doesn't present too much of a problem. However in infants it can lead constrict the airway and lead to labored breathing and possibly pneumonia. We kept our fingers crossed that Abigail wouldn’t' get it but that was next to impossible since it's highly contagious. Well on Friday she started to get a cough and by Saturday her nose was running and her cough was worse. We actually were headed to Roanoke on Saturday afternoon for James' bday but turned around and came home because little Abigail was coughing up a storm in the backseat. Sunday wasn't much better and on Monday morning we headed to the doc's office. Sure enough, she had RSV. What we thought was the midpoint of her sickness was actually only the beginning. So we set up camp in the Family room downstairs so she could sleep in her swing, elevated and we could keep a close eye on her. She got increasingly sick over Monday night and Tuesday. She ran a 101.5 fever was having labored breathing through Tuesday night. So Joe took her back to the doc on Wednesday where she got a antibiotic shot, a nebulizer treatments and a Tylenol suppository. As if all that wasn't bad enough she then had to go for a chest x-ray. From what Joe explained this was the worst experience every. He had to hold her down while she wailed and cried, not good for a baby who was already having trouble breathing. The doc. sent Abigail home with a Nebulizer which she had to use every 6 hours til breathing improved. We were so overwhelmed with all this stuff that I'm surprised we didn't loose it. Not only could our little baby not breath but she still had a temperature and refused to take her baby Tylenol, it was really very very hard. Sidenote: apparently CVS no longer sells baby tylenol suppositories...Thankfully around 8 pm on Wednesday night her fever broke and the neb. treatments started working. By Thursday she was much improved but Joe and I felt like we had been through the ringer. We thought taking care of a newborn was hard, taking care of a sick baby was the worst because you’re sick with worry and sometimes there's nothing you can do but sit and wait, and not sleep. Either way we made it through the week and Abigail is doing much better now. It will take another week for the virus to be completely out of her system but she is much improved. Her sleeping on the other hand has taken a step in the wrong direction. Before she got sick she was sleeping a solid six hours at night which was awesome, now she's back down to three hours. According to my baby research month four brings about what’s called a "wonder week" where her brain makes a "mental leap." For some babies this can lead to temporary fussiness and sleep regression. This is def. the case with her, she's not overly fussy, never has been. But we can tell that her little brain is working overtime and she's making big steps in the motor skills department. She's always been very strong and alert but as of the last week or so she's become increasingly aware of her surroundings and almost seems to have "woken up" a bit more. It's so amazing to watch her grown and to watch her little brain just a working away.
Anyhoo, Christmas is upon us and of course we went way overboard on Christmas presents. I am so excited! We got her tons of books and clothes and Santa will be bringing an exersaucer. I am super excited for this Christmas and all the ones to come with her. She's so special and makes us laugh and smile everyday. We thank God for her every night. Well that's the update for now. Til next year...
No comments:
Post a Comment