RSV And baby Waylon

Our experience with RSV has been a rough one. It's just a common cold in older kids and adults but when an infant gets it , it's very hard on them. We had a seven day  six night stay at the hospital. It started with a simple cough on Friday . The next morning I heard wheezing when I was changing baby Waylon's diaper. We rushed into the walk in clinic at our pediatricians office. They tested Waylon by swabbing inside his nose on both sides. The doctor then did a breathing treatment on him while we waited for the results.


When she came back she said he has RSV. I was not aware of this and was asking so many questions .I was told that some babies could be hospitalized and some could handle it better. We went home hoping that this would go away fast. The next day we did okay in the morning. I was watching Waylon so close for any signs of breathing problems. That afternoon we rushed into the ER because a nurse at Charlotte pediatrics (I called them to ask some questions) said it didn't sound good. The ER didn't do much but talk to us and check him over . They checked his oxygen and it was okay . Then they sent us home with more instructions. The next day (Monday)  I was nursing Waylon and he started choking and then he threw up .  I called Charlotte pediatrics again and they told me to go to the ER to make sure it didn't aspirate into his lungs. We went back and they checked his oxygen again and it was okay and sent us home .

stuffed animals from nana and mommy

 Tuesday  went okay until about 5pm. Waylon stopped nursing and started screaming and I couldn't get him to stop . I thought maybe he had ear infections. . I told my husband around 7pm were going to urgent care. We went to the children's urgent care and they checked him for a couple of minutes and said we need to be admitted to the hospital. I went in by myself . I called Jeremiah and told him to call my sister to watch Colton and meet us at the hospital . We rode by ambulance.

In the ER he was running a fever of 102 and  they decided it was best to admit him .They also did a x-ray to make sure he didn't have pneumonia and checked his labs for other infections. By the time we got in the room it was 3am on Wednesday morning.  He needed oxygen and they suctioned his nose with this deep suction . This virus comes with a ton of mucus and the only way to get it out for babies is suctioning. I hated watching that because he would get so upset. He was nursing very little. They kept track of his output by weighing his diapers.He didn't get dehydrated . Every night he would get sick and I hated it .He would throw up mucus :(  It was so hard on him.  I would try to get him to nurse but he just wasn't feeling good.  The nurses and staff and respiratory therapist  at the Children's  Levine hospital were very nice.   They told me they had five other babies with the same virus.I left one time while Jeremiah stayed with Waylon and I went to target by the hospital. While I was there I bought him a outfit to wear home .


One night my sister was up there and Waylon was crying and coughing and she went to change his diaper and we saw a bump at the top  of his thigh. I called the nurse in and she got the doctor. We found out he had a hernia . Two nights later it happened when I was changing him and the nurse paged the surgeons to look at it. They told me it does need surgery . His type of hernia is inguinal hernia. He has surgery on Monday April 8th. The surgery was scheduled so far out to make sure he is over the virus.
He will stay over night when he has surgery.  I know he will do great but it is hard to think about you little baby having surgery. I will be on the same floor at the hospital so I will see some of the nurses again.

Baby Waylon lost six ounces while in the hospital and my nursing was all messed up.I started taking Fenugreek to get myself back on track. It really works. He has now gained it all back (plus some extra :) and  I am doing much better. I was worried  for a  little while thinking we may have to go to formula.




Here is a little about this awful virus ..
respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes infection of the lungs and breathing passages, is a major cause of respiratory illness in young children.
In adults, it may only produce symptoms of a common cold, such as a stuffy or runny nose, sore throat, mild headache, cough, fever, and a general feeling of being ill. But in premature babies and kids with diseases that affect the lungs, heart, or immune system, RSV infections can lead to other more serious illnesses.
RSV is highly contagious and can be spread through droplets containing the virus when someone coughs or sneezes. It also can live on surfaces (such as countertops or doorknobs) and on hands and clothing, so it can be easily spread when a person touches something contaminated.
RSV can spread rapidly through schools and childcare centers. Babies often get it when older kids carry the virus home from school and pass it to them. Almost all kids are infected with RSV at least once by the time they're 2 years old.
RSV infections often occur in epidemics that last from late fall through early spring. Respiratory illness caused by RSV — such as bronchiolitis or pneumonia — usually lasts about a week, but some cases may last several weeks.
Doctors typically diagnose RSV by taking a medical history and doing a physical exam. Generally, in healthy kids it's not necessary to distinguish RSV from a common cold. But if a child has other health conditions, a doctor might want to make a specific diagnosis; in that case, RSV is identified in nasal secretions collected either with a cotton swab or by suction through a bulb syringe.