RSV

This past Wednesday, Mr. Quinn woke up just fine. He ate, he played, and then it was time for his morning nap. He went down fine, but 30 minutes later, he woke up. I was frustrated because he normally takes a great morning nap of 1.5-2 hours, so 30 minutes was quite unusual. When I tried to get him to go back down, he fussed and refused to settle down. Again, frustrated, I left his room and let him cry for a few minutes, hoping he would go back to sleep on his own. After 10 minutes, he was still at it, and I didn't feel right about letting him cry much longer. So, I picked him up, rocked him, he fell back to sleep, but then when I put him down, he immediately woke up screaming again. I thought he felt warm, but maybe it was because of all his crying? I went ahead and took a temperature: 100.4. It's a fever, but it's right at the cusp of getting high enough to call the doctor. I was uncertain, and I really had no reason to take him in - no symptoms really. But, Banner had been sick, I had been unable to breathe well due to allergies for the week before, and Sam had a cough. So, it could be that he was getting something. Plus, the week before he had his 4-month shots, and maybe this was a delayed reaction. Or, maybe he was getting an ear infection after a cold over the holidays. I had no idea what was wrong, only that every time I've tried to put him down for a nap in the past week, he had been fighting me on it -when he used to go down so easily.

I tried to give Quinn some Tylenol, but he spit most of it out. Then, I tried to feed him, and he wouldn't take more than a couple ounces. Something was up, but I couldn't figure it out. He fell asleep on me a little bit later, and when he woke up, I took another temperature. This time, his fever had gone up to 101.3. I was getting concerned now. I offered his bottle again, and he refused. I held him for a bit longer, and he fell asleep yet again - he was so lethargic, and every time I put him down, he would scream, so I just did a lot of patient holding and rocking. I was thankful that Banner was at school that morning, so I could dedicate 100% of my attention to figuring out what was going on with Quinn.

When he woke up again, he felt so hot on me - like a furnace I kept thinking. So, I took another temperature. One thermometer said 102.1, but I just don't trust these digital thermometers, (I miss the old mercury ones!) so I took it with another thermometer just to be sure, and that one said 101.9. I knew I needed to have him seen by the doctor that afternoon since it was going up more.

He had a great nap in his crib leading up to his appointment. When I woke him to leave the house, I decided to take another temperature reading just to compare my thermometer to whatever the doctor's showed. He had a temp of 99.4. "They're going to think I'm crazy bringing this baby in for a 99 degree fever," I kept thinking. I felt like something was wrong, but I had no symptoms to report other than lethargy and decreased appetite. His fever had only lasted a few hours. What a pointless visit to the doctor....

or so I thought. When the nurse called Quinn back, she took his temperature with the little head wand thermometer. It read 98.8. Oh man, they're going to think I've got some kind of hypochondria or Munchausen syndrome bringing my kid in for no reason! But, after I described the morning, the nurse asked me if Quinn had a runny nose. I told her yes, but very mild - one that I only noticed a couple days ago. But, I figured it was nothing. She said she was going to run an RSV test just to be sure - it would take 15 minutes to get the result after swabbing Quinn's nasal passages. He did great for this quick test, and then it was time to get a pulse/ox reading. This took several unsuccessful tries on his fingers and his toes, and with several different monitors. The nurse could never get a reading that she liked - the numbers were too low. Too low to be correct because with the numbers she was getting, Quinn would have been unconscious, which thankfully was not the case. The doctor came in, tried to get a reading, and got a low but satisfactory reading. He then told me that "Unfortunately, Quinn has RSV."

I was worried immediately, and I wished that (just like I had worried about earlier) going to the doctor's office for no reason was the end result instead. I figured he had an ear infection at most. But, this virus that you can't really do anything for since it just has to run its course - that scared me in a baby so small. The doctor didn't help calm my fears when he told me that 50-60% of infants Quinn's age end up in the hospital. I was desperately hoping we were in the minority here! He also told me just how pitiful and weak this virus makes a baby feel. I hated that, earlier in the day, I had been frustrated with Quinn when really he was the one hurting and feeling frustrated. We talked about Banner having a "cold" and how that cold was most likely RSV but it just doesn't affect bigger kids the way it does infants. He told me Banner didn't need to be brought in unless he was complaining about being unable to breathe or if he complained of ear ache. He gave me some hints on how to keep Quinn comfortable: humidifier, saline drops in the nose then suctioning with the NoseFrida, Tylenol for high fevers, as well as how to look for labored breathing that would warrant an immediate office or hospital visit. He also wanted him seen in two days for a follow-up because he knew this was the very beginning of the virus. I actually asked him, "So this is probably the beginning," and he responded, "Yes, I know it is. It is going to get a lot worse."

Ugh! So, with that awesome news, we headed home to continue just laying low and coddling my little guy. Mom picked up Banner from school and let him nap at her house so Quinn could have some time to just chill at home with me. His nose got a little runnier throughout the day, and he continued to not eat well, but otherwise, he was a trooper who just wanted to be held. The next day, he woke up without fever but with a little cough. On Friday, he was pretty congested, with a much stuffier/runnier nose and a heftier cough. He had made it through both of the previous nights with a few wakings where I would just go in and rock him back to sleep - since sleeping upright was better for his congestion. I also fed him a 3 oz bottle each night just to keep him hydrated.

At his follow-up visit, he was smiling and sociable through feeling icky. The doctor said it looks like he's handling everything pretty well: "Yeah, he looks really sick!" he said as Quinn smiled up at him. But, he had lost 2 ounces of weight from not eating well, and unfortunately, he did have an ear infection in his right ear, so we started antibiotics that afternoon (which won't help the RSV at all, but hopefully, it will clear up the ear infection). Dr. B said we won't need any breathing treatments at this point, so that's great!

While there's nothing the doctor could do to alleviate the RSV symptoms, I was glad I had taken Quinn in to get checked out. I guess it's better to catch it earlier and not wonder what is going on, and it certainly helped me understand all the fussiness, the refusal to eat or sleep, and the needs my baby was having for just being held and cuddled when he truly felt awful. We're still hoping for the best as Quinn suffers through this frustrating illness with a great attitude. Hopefully, we are more than halfway through the 5-7 days of illness. Since leaving the doctor's office yesterday, Quinn has lost his voice but tries his best to "squeal" and "talk" to us - even though barely anything comes out. He's coughing a lot more, and he's pretty snotty but the fact that he wants to "talk" and try to play for bits at a time is encouraging. He's handling this really well, and so far our plan to sleep on the floor in his room if his breathing got too labored has not had to happen! We're just going in to soothe, hold, offer a snack, and get him back to sleep. Here's hoping everyone in this house starts to feel better soon! (Because this nurse mama can't take being the only well parent for much longer!) Thanks for your prayers!