When It Rains...

I wanted to post about hair trims, 18 month appointments, and preschool but I find myself blogging from a hospital room at 11pm with a pulse ox monitor alarming every few minutes. My mind is swimming with "What ifs..." and Mom fails as I stare at my tiny son in the metal hospital crib. Yesterday I dreaded his 18 month appointment for the shot and bloodwork it held. Who knew today would find us in an emergency room and subsequently admitted. Not I. It's surreal. Yesterday we found out the cause of some tummy upsets that had been plaguing us for weeks, Salmonella. He had super icky diapers for about 3 weeks but was completely himself otherwise. So I didn't expect that diagnosis but he seemed to be improving thankfully. Last Friday we had a lunch date at Chick-fil-A and against my original judgement I took him into the play area after we ate. As soon as I heard the other little boy coughing I rushed LD out. I wasn't fast enough. The next night I heard the same cough from LD and my heart sank. It was simply a cough until last night. Yesterday at his appointment it seemed to be just a cough. Last night it changed. He spiked a small fever and his breathing speed seemed increased. We assumed the fever was shot related and the breathing was due to congestion. Today he woke up breathing over 60 breaths a minute. I called the doctor and was told she'd return my call. Four hours later I couldn't wait any longer. I called the advice nurse who told me to take him to the ER right away. His poor body is working so hard to breathe. He's retracting so with each breath you can count his ribs. He was so brave in the ER and he's in the hospital sleeping now in his own room. It is indescribable to watch your child in such a scary state. Initial diagnosis is bronchiolitis, which is basically the same as RSV but caused by a different virus. Most kids get it by 3, the older they are the better they handle it. Because he is breathing so quickly they are monitoring his pulse ox to make sure he's getting enough oxygen. The biggest concern is how his body handles night time breathing. So now off to scour the internet for plans to build the bubble I knew I should have put on my registry. I've got to do something since these alarms will be keeping me up all night.