Oh boy has this been such a long week! I am writing while at work because life at home currently has no free time to do anything of the sort. Christmas Eve Rowan started getting sick and upon taking her to the doctor's office on Thursday, we learned she had RSV. Awesome. Since then our home has been filled with many hot steamy showers, saline drops, nose suckers, Albuterol treatments on our new fancy nebulizer, Tylenol, humidifiers and lots of snuggling.
Top 3 things I hate most about Rowan having RSV
1. Having to torture her with all things she hates. She hates the nebulizer so I have to hold her down on my lap while Matt sings songs, acts a fool and constantly keeps distracting her. We have learned she likes 5 Little Monkeys, Itsy Bitsy Spider, ABCs and Old Mcdonald. Just try to sing her something else and see how big of a fit gets thrown. Then we have to put saline down her nose and suck everything out, both require us to literally pin her down to the couch. Follow that with the Tylenol that she thinks is disgusting and will only take little by little on her binky and you have succeeded in torturing her for about 40 min and totally wearing her parents out.
2. Watching her as she gets scared because she can't breathe or vomits up mucus. Her frantic little eyes scan around for help and then her weak cry finally breaks through. It has to be the most painful thing I have witnessed so far as her mom. She has coughed so much she is horse and most of the time she is crying but no sound is coming out at all. It is so pathetic and sad.
3. Feeling helpless as her mom to make any of this better.
Because she is so congested she can't sleep lying down. So for every nap and throughout the night, Matt or I have to be holding her for her to get any rest. Even doing that, she wakes a couple times a night and needs a breathing treatment or wants to be nursed. Our main goals have just been to keep her as decongested as possible and keep her hydrated. Failing to do either at her age could land her in the hospital and make this whole thing that much worse.
There are many things to be thankful during this time. Thanks that it's the holidays and Matt has been off work so both of us can tag team caring for her. Thanks that I have a job flexible enough to be home a lot as well. Thanks for caring friends and family who have brought us meals so we don't have to worry about dinner. Thankful she got RSV as a 6 month old and not any younger, because I have seen in the NICU babies get put on ECMO for RSV or go into septic shock. And thanks that we are managing at home and have not been admitted to the hospital. But needless to say we are all exhausted and hoping she turns a corner soon. So would you join with us in prayer for our little girl. For rest, for peace and for healing. Thank you
Oh and Happy New Year
Yuck! Dylan got put on a nebulizer when he was 2 months old. (I swear we live the same life.) What helped for us was him sleeping in his car seat on his bedroom floor instead of sleeping on us so we could get some sleep. Try it if you haven't already. His doctor actually suggested it. That or putting pillows under one end of his mattress to prop him up.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! This too, shall pass :)