Week in the Hospital

After we came home with Matthew, we enjoyed about a week and a half at home before things got a bit scary and stressful.  When we were in the hospital, both Joseph and Andrew came down with a bad cold.  In fact, Andrew started running fever the day we came home (ugg!).  Several days later, I developed a bit of a runny nose and then that night (Monday), Matthew started having congestion.  I called the nurse the next day and asked what to do.  She said saline nose drops with bulb suction (which we were already doing) and to watch with fever.  So I began checking his temp a couple of times a day and luckily he never ran fever. 

 

Tuesday night he really started sounding even worse and seemed to have some difficulty breathing because he kept waking himself up with an abrupt crying. The next morning he just sounded awful and I started to get really concerned.  Michael agreed that we should take him in to the dr and he met me there from work.  Luckily my mom was here for the week to help out so she was able to stay with the boys. 

So we went to the pediatrician.  Matthew’s oxygen level was around 94 and they like it to be 95 or above.  But then they counted his respirations and they were a bit high and he was retracting which means areas on his tummy and chest were caving inward which meant he was struggling a bit to breathe.  The doctor was on the fence about what to do so she went out in the hall and called her colleague at Texas Children’s Hospital where that doctor said we needed to take Matthew to the hospital.  L

The doctor couldn’t admit us directly to the hospital so we had to go to the ER first.  We got called back pretty quick and then were there for about 5 hours for observation.  Again, the doctor was on the fence about whether or not to send us home because of his symptoms being pretty borderline.  After I had fed Matthew for the second time, I noticed he was pretty blue around his mouth area.  It didn’t last very long and I didn’t think tons of it.  When I mentioned it to the doctor though her eyes widened a bit and said that because of that and his respirations still being high, we had to spend the night in the hospital.   The pediatrician came down and even said it would probably just be a one night observation (boy was she wrong).

 

To sum up the next SIX nights...we were in the hospital because Matthew had RSV which is just a particular type of cold but it results in bad mucus and congestion and can be more troublesome for little babies (and Matthew was 2 weeks old at the time).  The virus peaks around day 4/5 and we went into the hospital around day 2/3.  So basically we had to have things get worse before they could get better.  The whole time in the hospital Matthew just needed oxygen support to keep his pulse ox numbers up and he needed quite a bit of suctioning to get the thick mucus out of his airways.  And poor baby did NOT like that!  :(

 

I stayed every night with him on the couch that pulled into a bed.  And luckily because I am breastfeeding, they provide the mom with a meal tray for each meal so it was great to not have to worry about leaving for meals.  Michael went home to spend the night each night and to see the boys but stayed one night that I really needed him to that was after a tough day with the nurses and doctors all being on different pages with different approaches.  That was such a tough day because I felt like no one, including us, knew was the overall plan and goal was.  And that was my baby they were dealing with so I finally broke down in tears to the doctor and nurses and expressed my frustration.  After that, the doctor noted his chart what the treatment plan was and after that it went much smoother.  It was basically just giving it time to let the virus run its course so that they could slowly wean Matthew off the oxygen so his body could adjust back to normal. 

 

Finally on Tuesday, they turned his oxygen level off and he finally kept his oxygen levels up on his own!  We were SO thrilled to finally take our sweet baby back home!     It was so hard being away from our other little guys as well...especially on Andrew's 2nd birthday that Saturday.  But my mom brought them up to the hospital several times and I went home a couple of times for dinner and a quick visit.  I could never stay for long though because the hospital was a good 40 minutes from our house and I knew Matthew was the one that really needed me and that's where I needed to be!

 

So finally Matthew was well and we were all back home together!   Whew, what a week!

In observation in the ER

The start of his oxygen support

Our room once we were admitted

He was so sleepy while he was sick. I had to start setting an alarm to wake him up to eat.

On a walk around the hospital with Joseph and Andrew when they came up for lunch one day. It was some much needed fresh air for me!

Getting some good rest

Finally some awake time

My sweet baby Matthew

The nurses decorated all the doors for Valentine's Day - this was our room

Our release day - thrilled his oxygen number was finally staying above 90 on its own!

Finally oxygen tube free and no more sticky bandages on his face

Finally able to snuggle on the couch without any wires!

And now we are headed home!!