RSV, Flu, Ear Infection all at the same time - oh my!

Poor sweet Katen. She is so sick. Daddy left town on business yesterday and shortly after, Katen started running a fever. I kept a close eye on it and tried to keep her comfortable. Unfortunately by morning it was still about 101.4 so I called for an appt with the pediatrician. Katen ended up having to endure some of the most awful testing. They pricked her heel for bloot testing, and the the worst was the RSV test. They stick a syringe full of saline up into her nose, flush it all through, and then quickly suck it all back into the syringe. The poor kid probably thought she was drowning. Her little nose was bleeding from it and she cried so hard that she was shaking and had these huge alligator tears. It really broke my heart and I rocked her and held her close during the entire hour it took to get our preliminary results back. The result - RSV and an ear infection. The Dr. says she probably picked it up when she was at the pediatrician's office for her 2 month check up. Great.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of respiratory illness in young children. RSV causes infection of the lungs and breathing passages. 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 RSV infections can lead to other more serious illnesses in premature babies and kids with diseases that affect the lungs, heart, or immune system. This is the main virus we were trying our best to stay away from. We'd been so diligent about using Purell and washing our hands, but it wasn't enough.

Unfortunately since RSV is a virus there are no meds to take. We got an antibiotic for the ears and spent the rest of the day rocking in the chair sleeping off and on. Katen wimpered for most of the time she was awake. When Daddy got home from his trip he was surprised to see a sick baby. The following nights were awful. It was especially hard for Katen to breathe at night but we did our best to help her out. Many times each night we'd have to run hot water in the bathroom to create steam in order for her to catch a breath. So not fun.

The day after the RSV and ear infection diagnosis we got a follow up call to let us know that the Influenza test restults came back and she tested positive for Influenza B as well. Poor, poor Katen.

Two Month Pictures

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Smile and the world smiles with you

Finally we're seeing some smiles. What a nice change from all of the grumpy faces and crying.

Acid Reflux

After several days of continuous spit ups and screaming while trying to eat a bottle, Katen was diagnosed with GERD. GastroEsophageal Reflux Disease. (Acid Reflux) She had an ultrasound to make sure things were okay and it was determined that her esophagus wasn't mature enough to stop the flow of milk from her tummy back up. Once that fluid mixes with stomach acids and comes back up it burns. A lot! Katen got a prescription for baby Zantac which won't stop the spitting but will help neutralize the acid and stop the pain. Hopefully the hours long crying fits will recede now.

One Month Pictures

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