Another Hospital Visit

Levi had a croup-like cough earlier this week & got an oral steroid at the pediatrician's office. He has gotten more congested from whatever virus he has, and tonight he was working harder than normal to breathe. We know that this can all-to-quickly turn into a dangerous situation, and after calling the pediatrician's after-hours number & speaking with a nurse we decided to take him to the ER.

Poor Baby (once he fell asleep, I laid him beside me and moved his hand to make it look like he was chillin' with the remote)


Diagnosis:
Bronchitis, Upper Respiratory Infection, and Reactive Airway Disease (which basically means having a history of coughing, wheezing or shortness of breath).

He got another oral steroid & a breathing treatment. He is going back on the inhaler that we just weaned him off of, and after a few hours of observation, we are back home. (Thank you Grams and Grandpa for coming to get Adam, and Meredith for staying at the house til they could get here.)

The thing that is so hard is knowing when to be concerned and when not to. I am glad we went & think we made the right decision, but the doctor was telling me that Levi could go home b/c he wasn't in respiratory distress... Now at that time, Levi was sleeping peacefully. But here's the thing...I know of a nine month old (with Ds) that was in the hospital in our area last year for breathing problems. The doctor sent the family home & gave them his phone #. They called in the middle of the night with more concerns about her breathing, & he told them to bring her in the next day if she was still doing it. Well, when they went into her room the next morning, it was too late, and that sweet little baby girl was gone. How do I go home and trust that Levi isn't in respiratory distress when he is sleeping?!?!?

Well, I've already cried about that tonight, so I am gonna try to get some rest. I've been up almost 22 hours now. I am sure things will look better in the morning & I am too tired to have insomnia at this point.

Oh, but first let me share with you one of my favorite inventions. It hooks up to the vacuum to suck snot out of baby noses. Brilliant! I got mine online from New Zealand (about $23 and that included shipping). And before you call CPS, it doesn't use ALL the force of your vacuum. Levi handles it better than the bulb syringe. Click here for the link to the place I ordered it from. Greatest. Invention. Ever.