RSV

When Quinn was almost 3 months old we spent a week in the hospital. She had RSV. Since she was so little it probably didn't bother her so much, especially since she had her mommy with her at all times! For me it was the longest week of my life!
On Tuesday, February 1st I noticed Quinn was more congested than usual. From the time she was born she seemed to be congested on and off but this was different. Because of her chronic congestion, the bulb syringe had become my best friend and her worst enemy. I was constantly using it. After a few days, I think Thursday or so, my Mom suggested that I take her in. "But she has a cold," was my argument "what can a Dr. do for a cold?"  Saturday morning right after I fed her she puked all over me. A larger amount than her normal after meal spit-up. Gross. But after that she seemed fine. Saturday afternoon/evening I noticed she wasn't herself...she didn't want me to hold her standing up on my lap like she usually did, she wasn't smiling when I did goofy things, or laughing at her brother. The thing that really concerned me was that as I changed her diaper, she was wheezing. She reminded me of myself having asthma problems. I freaked out, started crying, and asked Brian and my dad to give her a blessing. Brian gave her the blessing but it was more for me than for Quinn. He asked Heavenly Father to bless Quinn's mom that she would know the steps to take to help her get better. I knew I needed to call the Dr. so I called the after hours line and waited anxiously for him to call me back. As I waited we discussed what we would probably be told to do. I thought worst case we'd take her to urgent care. I wasn't prepared for what the Dr. told me when he called back.
"Take her to Phoenix Children's Hospital." He said
I nearly fainted, the hospital?  "Phoenix Children's? I'm closer to Banner Estrella."
"Take her to Banner Thunderbird then, Estrella doesn't have a Pediatrics unit."
"Ok." I choked and we hung up.
I went to tell my family, who were anxiously awaiting the verdict.
"He wants me to take her to the hospital." I said and broke down crying.
Hayden had been in bed this whole time, Brian and I immediately started putting Quinn in her car seat. My sister Tawnya volunteered to go with us. I sat in back with Quinn on the ride to the hospital, watching her labored breathing and feeling so much guilt. I should have taken her to the Dr. when my mom suggested. The drive felt like it took forever. Quinn fell asleep. We got checked in at the ER and waited. As we waited, my brother in law, who is an EMT sat with us for a while. He was working that night and my sister texted him that we were going to be there.
The rest of the evening was a blur...we got to the hospital around 9:30, after that Quinn was checked out by the ER, then we were sent up to another unit...not sure what unit it was but they suctioned her nose, put a monitor on her and gave her a breathing treatment. A nurse came back later and informed us that Quinn had RSV and that she will be admitted. I had heard of RSV but didn't know much about it. Brian and I did some searches on our phones while we waited for a room. We called our parents to let them know what was going on, my Mom informed me that Hayden woke up and wanted his mommy. :( My heart broke. We decided that I would stay in the hospital with Quinn and Brian would come to the hospital when he could but mostly take care of Hayden, who wasn't allowed in the pediatrics unit, and go to school. While we waited Quinn was put on oxygen and attached to a monitor that told us her oxygen level and her pulse. That monitor proved to be my worst enemy later in the week. They also gave her an IV port. Tawnya had to stand in front of me when they did that. I couldn't bear the thought of my baby being stuck with needles. Just as I was about to leave the room and cry they were done and our room was ready.
We got to our room and Brian and Tawnya went home. I talked to the nurses a little and put Quinn to sleep in her crib. She had never seen the inside of a crib in her life. I wondered how she would do. But it was passed 2am already Sunday morning and she was tired. Both of us slept until past 9 in the morning.
Sunday was a pretty boring day. Quinn slept most of the day. Someone came in every 4 hours to give her breathing treatments and the nurses suctioned her nose as needed. I met the hospital pediatrician and he told me that basically there is no real treatment for RSV, they suction their noses, treat fevers, and give breathing treatments but that doesn't speed up the recovery. Basically it requires time and patience. By that time I had realized that we would probably be in the hospital for at least a week. I called my coworkers and let them know. I called my parents and asked them to bring me things to keep me occupied. Brian's parents gave me money so I didn't have to eat the yucky hospital food the whole week. That afternoon Tawnya brought Hayden to see me. Poor little boy had no idea what was going on.
Sunday night was a bad night. Quinn developed a cough and her breathing was really bad. The nurses said no nursing until she was breathing better. They hooked her up to an IV for fluids and I became friends with the hospital pump. My friend Brooke, who's little boy was in the hospital for 2 weeks for RSV warned me on facebook that there would be at least one bad day before she started recovering. That bad day was Monday. Poor baby was so grumpy and she slept horribly. I was so grateful for my Mother in law who was there to keep me company in the morning and my sister Rachel who spent the afternoon with me and held Quinn so I could pump. Around 9pm I was finally given the ok to nurse her, and she noticeably perked up. She also wanted to make up for going the whole day without nursing. She nursed most of the night and I got no sleep.
Oh how I missed co-sleeping! It was such a pain to nurse Quinn to sleep and then try to keep her asleep when I put her down in the crib. The nurses specifically told me not to sleep with her on the cot. But one wonderful nurse told me that I could climb into the crib, that she had seen other parents do it. So that's what I started doing. The hospital cribs are these monstrous metal things. I climbed in every time she woke up and nursed her back to sleep. That was so much better than having to nurse her and figure out how to put her down again without waking her up! At least I got a little more sleep that way!
I mentioned earlier that her oxygen monitor would prove to be my worst enemy. Well on Wednesday Quinn was doing great. The Dr. said no more breathing treatments and start weaning her off of oxygen. The monitor sensed the amount of oxygen in her blood and when it got below 90 it would start beeping. At the beginning of the week this monitor was constantly going off. An indication of how much Quinn was struggling to breathe. The Dr. said if she could go 8 hours without oxygen we could go home the following morning. We had her on room air almost all day. That evening we took all the tubes and wires off and gave her a bath. And they let me walk around the unit with her. It was wonderful for me to get out of that dark and lonely room. Quinn enjoyed the walk so much that she fell asleep. I was so excited to go home...then shift change came and Quinn wasn't doing so well on room air. The monitor kept falling below 90 and the alarm would sound. Oh how I hated that machine! It was like it only did it to upset me! The night nurse came in and turned the oxygen back on. She was just doing her job...but I was so angry with her and I cried and cried that whole night, and glared at her when her back was turned. Remember how the Dr. said RSV requires patience? I had none. I think the Lord was fed up with my impatience in life and this was the way He decided to teach me patience. It was a hard lesson to learn.
We made several attempts at letting Quinn go on room air all day Thursday. The Dr. told me that if she could go through the night on room air she could go home in the morning. I was in a bad mood that day. Although one good thing came that day. One of the night nurses walked in while I was laying in Quinn's crib and decided that she would get me a bed and take the crib out. That made me happy. I wish I had known that was an option at the very beginning!
I don't remember much about Friday. I know we continued to turn off the oxygen and Quinn would do pretty good, but when she fell asleep the levels would start dropping. The day nurse told me that the night crew doesn't normally try to wean babies off oxygen, but to my surprise, the night nurse was perfectly willing to. Friday night we made an attempt but Quinn still needed it. They had her on such a small amount too. Saturday, (which was also Quinn's 3 month "birthday") Tawnya told me that she would come over and watch Quinn so I could spend a few hours at home with Hayden. I went home, took a shower, ate lunch and played with Hayden. I was gone maybe 4 hours and I felt so guilty for leaving Quinn even though she slept the whole time! She was on and off oxygen during the day. When she was on oxygen it was still just that tiny amount. Brian's parents came to visit for a little while that evening and then, around 9 o'clock Quinn and I went to bed. I'm not sure what time I woke up but when I did I didn't hear the oxygen tank bubbling. I asked the nurse.
"She's been off oxygen and on room air for a few hours now and she's doing great!" She said.
That was the best news I'd heard all week!
A few hours later I awoke to the nurse checking on her. She was still on room air! When we woke up I anxiously awaited the Dr.
"Looks like you're going home!" He said when he walked in.
I called Brian and told him to leave ASAP to come get us! You wouldn't believe how fast I had our things packed up!
It was wonderful to be home again with both of my kids! Sleeping at night with no nurses poking and prodding at my baby! The Dr. said that there could be relapses and to keep a close eye on her over the next week or so. We did, and Quinn remained healthy and hasn't even been congested since then!
I can honestly say that I am grateful for that experience. I really did learn patience and to put my faith in the Lord's will. I had so many people that helped me out, and I am so grateful for their acts of service. My mom and sister, Tawnya for taking care of Hayden on the days Brian was at school late, and while he came to keep me company. Also for them bringing Hayden to visit me, I missed him soo much that week! I'm grateful for my mother in law who was there every day to keep me company when others couldn't, and hold Quinn so I could shower and eat. She even put up with me on the bad days where I couldn't stand to be in the hospital one more day! I'm grateful for all those who visited me and brought Brian and me dinner. And most of all I'm grateful to all the nurses and nurses' assistants that took care of my baby and helped to nurse her back to health!

Grandma Locksa holding baby Quinn while she slept