Poor E

Poor Everett
(and his parents)

We have been MIA again because we have been under quarantine and poor Everett has been through it and back.  Hellacious things have been around here, absolutely hellacious.

As mentioned yesterday, Everett was in the hospital all last weekend.
(I bet you want more information.)

Little E had had a runny nose for about a week, and then last Monday (9th) started with a little cough.  It didn’t seem to bother him much and he was handling it well so other than us being sad that our little man was a little sick that was that.  Well, by Thursday the little cough and turned into a big deep cough and while he still didn’t seem to upset by it off to the pediatrician we went.  Diagnosis?  The dreaded RSV.

Here is the thing, RSV is adults feels just like a bad cold.  The younger you are the worse it is.  So, at ten weeks old it was definitely not a good thing to get.  We were told that this year it appears to be a much more aggressive strand than in years past.  Lucky us! Since it is a virus it is a wait it out game but since he is so little you have to watch their breathing close etc.

Oky doky, got it.

Friday night, the shit hit the fan.  He struggled a little during the day but about what we expected.  Around 8:00 pm that night, just after we got Caden down, Everett started wailing. I mean WAILING. He didn’t stop for twelve hours.  Long story short, at 4:30 a.m I made a solo trip to the ER with him because he had completely stopped eating, was inconsolable (and had been since 8 pm) yet lethargic, couldn’t get his breath, wheezing and coughing and had spiked a fever that was steadily rising.  Add those changes to the diagnosis we already had and mommy instinct that something was wrong and off we went.

FYI. When you bring a baby to the ER, you jump the wait.
Especially a washed out, crying yet wimpy baby who sounds like he is gargling mucus.

Never have I ever been through anything as hard as watching them try to start an IV on a teeny baby who has teeny tiny veins that are dehydrated making them even teeny tinier and trying to console him by getting in his face so he can see me over all these strangers who are causing him pain.  Two sticks in one arm (while fishing around for the vein mind you), one in the another and a stick in each foot later we got the IV and bloodwork.  Then there was the catheter for the urine sample…two times over. I will never, ever in my whole life forget the look in my sweet infant’s eyes as they were poking him – never.  It was awful – AWFUL, and I couldn’t explain it to him.

Did I mention I was alone?

That is the thing about having two kids.  Someone has to stay with the other sleeping child and waking him to try to wrangle him in the ER in the middle of the night just so the hubs could be there didn’t sound like a better plan.

Adulthood man – sometimes it hits like a brick.

Because he was dehydrated, and not eating and had coarse,shallow breathing (from all the mucus) with retractions (pulling his belly in around his ribs) I was readily informed that they would likely be admitting him.  A couple hours later I tried nursing him because he seemed interested for the first time 14 hours and he immediately vomitted.  Repeat that an hour later.  Add that to the list with a fever that is still at 101 after Tylenol and up to a room we went.

Know what is sad?
A hospital baby crib.
Sad, sad, sad.
(which he was only in during some of the exams bc snuggling was obviously more comforting)

Then because it was RSV and highly contagious, we were put under quarantine.  So, anyone entering the room had to gown and mask up.  It was ridiculous.  There I am covered, literally covered in baby vomit yet still snuggling this sad, puny baby while nurses and respiratory therapists are in and out, in and out. 

Colter got Caden to Nonna and Pa Pa’s and came up shortly after with some clothes for me and some support.  We were sad, Everett was sad, and we all were exhausted. It was a long day of a lot of check ups, poking, vacuum suctioning of his nose (think that little suction ball you get at the hospital when they are born X 100), puking, pooping, you name it.

The poor thing.
So sad and puny.

Next saddest thing?
From crying so much and coughing so hard, he lost his little voice!
So when we would cry that evening I could tell he was crying as hard as he could as they did things by the redness of his face and strain in his muscles but only this small, hoarse whimper wail was able to come out. So pathetic.

After a very long day I made Colter go get Caden to bring him home and put him in his own bed to sleep in.  I mean, there was only one bed in the hospital room so what it the point of having another sleepless night for two parents when one can give our other child a semi normal night.  I was exhausted, and crying, and overwhelmed and worried and Colter was so conflicted but I made him go.

5 hours later at 2 a.m. Igot a migraine in the hospital and started vomitting from that. Unable to hold Everett or function I had to call Colter to get him to get to the hospital for a middle of the night shift change.  This is where Nonna and Pa Pa really saved the day.  They drove to our house.  Carolyn stayed at the house while Colter and Pa Pa came to the hospital in separate cars – Colter to stay with Everett, Pa Pa to take me home.  Once I got home, they bravely roused Caden to take him back to their house. (If you believe it he went back to sleep once he got there.)  Thankfully Everett had finally fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion in his car seat (he had to be upright) as the headache was hitting.

So we all had a middle of the night adventure – just what we needed.

Sunday was a lot of the same but since he had stayed hydrated without an IV for a long period of time (it fell out the evening before so instead of sticking him again we watched his feedings), he had started eating (a few min every hour) and his breathing was no longer coarse with no retractions, we got to come home! (a much pinker exhausted baby seen here)

Sunday night was another awful night (crying, worsening cough, lack of appetite, vomitting) leading us back to the doc first thing, but with his breathing under control, a steady pulse/ox, a low grade fever and him thankfully feeding some it is all a waiting game.  Waiting for his body to heal and this virus to give.  It has been a sleepless week full of a crying baby who doesn’t feel good and a crying toddler who so desperately just needs some attention and two parents who have not slept a wink. 

And then I got the RSV,or as we say in this house “the risve”.
I hope you don’t get the risve because last night it literally felt like someone had broken my entire face while making me so cold it hurt.

A hot, tired, showered for the first time in 5 days yesterday, in our PJS bc there isn’t enough hands to change everyone, landmine of toys across the house, nothing ( I mean nothing) in the fridge, Lord help us, mess.

So if you think you see us, but then you say to yourself, “No, couldn’t have been them, they looked homeless.” that was definitely us.

To think…lately I had been praying for health for our family.
Thankful he is okay. Thankful to be home. Thankful to not have a truly chronically sick child (I don’t know how they do it), but ready to find normal again.

 

(Why am I not sleeping instead of blogging you ask?  Because I am not off duty. Currently rocking Everett in his bassinet with my foot hoping he stays content and even gets sleepy.)

Disclaimer: The pictures were to show Colter what was going on via text when he wasn’t there.