Monday, October 20, 2008

Baby Drama Part II

On Friday, Maximo seemed perfectly healthy. He followed his normal routine and was a happy little boy, so I thought it would be okay to take him swimming on Saturday morning. We went swimming, which was fine, and we continued on our day. He didn't sleep really well, so he was a bit clingy, but was breathing normally.
I took him out to run errands with me later in the day - to exchange a pair of shoes (which ended up taking an hour and a half because I didn't have the receipt) and then to stop by the grocery story. At the grocery store, his breathing became labored again. He cried most of the way home, which exasperated the problem, but then calmed down. He still continued to struggle for breath, but seemed okay. We put him in the tub and got him ready for bed. He was still breathing funny... he was exhausted from not sleeping very well, so he went to bed around 6:30. At 7:00 pm he woke up kind of panicky because he couldn't breathe, and continued to sleep and wake every 20 to 30 minutes. Finally at 8, I brought him in to our bed and I laid down with him - to keep him calm, but more so I could watch him breathe. When he'd fall asleep, his breathing would be less strained, but he breathed faster than he normally would when he slept. Even with me, he'd sleep for 20 - 30 minutes, then he'd wake up gasping for air. Finally, at 10:00 we decided to head off to the emergency room. (As we quickly got ready to leave, I WAY over packed his diaper bag, because I was convinced we were going to be admitted and I'd be spending the next week in a Pediatric ICU.)
When we arrived, we were seen right away which was nice. Maximo's SpO2 was 97% which was good (this is better than it was most of the time in the NICU), but his temperature was 101, but they told me in Celsius, so really it could have been 105 for all I knew. So, the doctor wanted to give him some Panadol (Tylenol) to help lower his temperature, because he felt this was adding to his breathing problems. He was pretty fussy there, so it was hard for the doctor to listen to his lungs. The doctor wanted to wait until he fell asleep in my arms to examine him (it was really bright in there and there was no way Max was going to fall asleep!). Finally, the doctor gave up waiting and listened to his lungs while I held him, which where clear. Then, he looked in his ears and down his throat. He said everything looked good, but he was concerned about Max's breathing. Again, we were sent home and told to "study" him and to contact his doctor for a consultation and possibly a chest xray. So, I slept all night with Maximo. I think he slept from 1:00 am to 6:30 am, waking a few times. At 1:00 am, I gave him Infant Motrin, which seemed to lower his temperature better than the Tylenol.
This morning, his breathing was still labored, but once he got up and moving, it seemed better. I called Dr. Z and he too wasn't super concerned. He said that if it was really serious he wouldn't be able to sleep well and his breathing would still be a problem once he was asleep. So, we'll continue to watch him, and probably not sleep well. I just hope you won't be reading a Part III to this saga.

1 comment:

Celia said...

How strange. Do you think it's an allergic reaction to something? Or asthma? Or just a symptom of not feeling well?

Whatever it is, I hope it passes soon!