Great news Gemini_girl! That must be such a relief for you. So happy to hear that everything came back clear.
Cade finishes up his anti-biotics today so hopefully that will help to settle his stomach down. Never expected that I'd have to start treating my baby with such harsh products so early into his life.
Thats great news Aussiegirl, its always great to get to the point that we can ditch the medicine, its not nice to have to give them medicine at this age, but we have to do what we have to do and you have done a wonderful job...
Big hugs I hope he is feeling well.
Update - Today is 'my' Day 19. We are almost 3 weeks in. So far Cade is going well. Hardly any coughing. The only thing that I get worried about is that every morning, sometimes as early as 3am Cade wakes up and he is all congested. This happens every morning....we give him saline drops most mornings and it seems to clear him up straight away. The block doesn't seem to be in his nose exactly but maybe at the top of his throat, we're not sure.
I wonder now if this is part of the whooping cough or just something that little babies get. These days I can't tell the difference between a 'normal' baby thing and what might be a symptom of whooping cough. Can anyone offer any advice on the congested part of things?
Other than that Cade is a happy 8 week old boy. (2 weeks older than when diagnosed) He is feeding well and sleeping well and he is alert and happy.
Hey Aussiegirl, strange you mention this, I have just booked Bree in to see the doctor this afternoon because of similar symptoms. She was seeming to get over the vomiting and nasal issues but both have recently returned again. This morning while I was up feeding her, she was making snorting noises, she seemed quite bad and I gave her saline drops to try to clear it. The strange part was though that while she was having her bottle, she was breathing fine. But she started making these snorting noises again afterward, and she is doing it now occasionally while she sleeps in my arm.
I am going to ask the doctor to do a referal to see the ENT specialist.
Sometimes she chokes on her milk and she stops breathing momentarily, its scary, and she panics too.
Gemini_girl - That sounds really scary. I hope it gets sorted out for you. Cade feeds fine and his breathing is fine during the day. It's just that early morning time. I'm starting to dread it because I know it's going to happen every day. His bassinet is beside my bed and in front of a window. We live in a cold climate and even though the room is heated I'm wondering if having his bassinet so close to the cold window might be cause it. (I'm just grasping at straws) Tonight I'll move his bassinet to the foot of our bed and see if it makes a difference.
Did that help Aussiegirl? We leave Brianna in the lounge with the heater on low and the vapouriser... Don't know if I already said that... Cheeky little monkey has been sleeping most of the day after being up for most of the early morning... She is all over the place as far as feeding goes. 3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours and right now she is screaming for a feed just an hour after finishing her last one.
Putting Cade at the end of the bed did seem to help. He slept well until about 7.30am, waking up for his feed without problems at 4.45am, but when he did wake at 7.30am he was coughing. No congestion just coughing. He has coughed on and off throughout the day so it's pretty nerveracking. None of the coughs have been severe but I still get on edge when I hear it, just waiting, not knowing what is going to happen. Tomorrow is 'my' day 21.
Glad to hear it helped to move his basinet. DH just mentioned to me that it seems that since we took the little wedge out from underneath Bree's mattress she has been unsettled, so we have put it back in now to elevate her slightly, we'll see how she goes. It could explain why she settles so well in the stroller - she has that slight elevation... we'll see. There is so much to think about isn't there...
If it helps put your mind at ease, Bree also has moments of coughing too.. ! Sometimes she seems worse than other times..
Hey Aussiegirl, just wondering how you are getting on with Cade? I hope he is doing well, and yourself and hubby are doing just fine too!
I've had Bree on Brauer Stomach Calm which seems to be helping to get her settled at night. She slept for 7 hours last night and my doctor organised to send her to a speech pathologist whom we seem today, she slao specialises in infant feeding. She gave us a few suggestions to try and we'll be going back next week to follow up. Bree seems to have a degree of reflux. We are trying to avoid prescription medication at the moment if we can, but if she gets worse we might have to give it a go.
Anyway, just dropped in to check up and see if you are well.
Hi - Today is 'my' day 26. I don't want to get ahead of myself but Cade is going really, really well. I think maybe this is the extent of the WC. Fingers crossed. On Tuesday next week we will be going to see the Paed and hopefully he will give us the good news that we can let our guard down start to relax now. If that is the case then I would say that Cade is one very lucky little boy.
Gemini_girl, I hope that Bree goes well by seeing the specialist. it's so hard with little ones isn't it? They can't tell us exactly how they feel so really in the beginning so much of it is a guessing game.
Aussiegirl I'm glad to hear Cade is doing really well with having WC. Its a nasty thing. Hope you dont mind but I thought I would let everyone know my experience with WC for those reading and wondering if there bubs have it as ours is different to yours and the info I have been given is different also.
My 10week old DD has a cold at 2weeks of age (horrible but something that resolved fairly quickly) J started coughing at 5weeks first it was a very dry, occassional cough. This continued and I took her to my GP who said she thought it was asthma (I knew it wasn't at her age) J was immunised at 6weeks and I told the MCN my concerns about WC. J was immunised then despite her cough. Her cough continued and progressively got worse. I forget how many times I saw my GP but it got to the stage where they refused to see her and said to take her to the hospital instead if I were concerned. So at 8weeks J went to the hospital after coughing so much she was turning blue. By this stage she had been tested for WC which was negative. She was admitted to paeds for observations. Nothing came of that. She was tested again for WC, and a variety of other tests. It showed she wasn't fighting infection so antibiotics were not given. They said as her white cells, etc were not raised antibiotics would do no good. I took ehr back to my GP who told me of and said there was nothing wrong with her, refused to look up her results from her 2nd test. That evening I went back to ED she was almost 10weeks.
So then ED say clearly I am a panicking first time mum. Mmmmm no she is my 3rd and I'm telling you when she coughs she can't breath. The Dr did a Chest xray (he said he was only doing this because clearly I needed the reassurance she was fine) anyway the xray showed she had rightsided pneumonia. By this stage she was crackling on the chest and wheezing, something again that had been dismissed. Because her NPA's have been negative they weren't thinking WC. By this stage I had booked into see a paed but it was a 3week wait. So once they realised there was a huge problem we had 2 paeds come and assess her in ED. aND FINALLY SHE WAS started on oral AB's. However as its been 8weeks since her cold (which they say is the beginning of WC) the antibiotics wont help the WC and only the pneumonia which is caused from her aspirating vomit from a coughing attack where she has vomited whilst coughing. Apparently this is very common in babies with WC.
J has been tested for a 3rd time for WC. Apparently the NPA will give a negaive result in over half WC cases and although she has not tested positive they are now confident she has definately got it and we are about half way thorugh the disease (the infectious stage has passed) I've got some scary home footage I'd share if I knew how to of a very average cough J has been having. J has been admitted to paeds twice in 2weeks. I currently have her at home as we are only 2mins from the hospital and we have decided along with the paed that she is safer at home as paeds is completely full of children with respiratory infections and we can't risk her getting something else on top of what she already has. Its horrible. Over half her exutero life she has been struggling to breath and so far there is no light at the end of the tunnel. We have not seen any improvement even with antibiotics and now the pnumonia is in both lungs and her cough continues more frequently. And other then oxygen there is nothing else that they can do for her.
I'm so glad to hear Cade's WC was caught early enough for treatment to be successful and by the sounds of things he is on the mend. We have no idea where J got it from.
Mildez, That is a horrible story and one that frankly, makes me so mad. If it wasn't for my GP having respect for me and my choice to ask for a swab for WC based solely on the fact that Cade had a blocked nose for 1 day I don't know where I would be. Like I have said previously even the Paed who is seeing us now (the Senior Paed of our hospital) said that he would have sent me away as a worried mother. It's such a long time for your baby to be suffering like this and I know that fear and anxiety that you must me living with every minute of every day.
I'm not sure why you think your information is different to the info I was given. I was told the Cade is pretty much a freak case because the WC was diagnosed in the early first stage whereas your case was diagnosed midway through the second stage of the disease. They all say that anti-biotics cannot help in the progression of WC only in the spreading of the bacteria. Once you get into the 3rd week of having the horrible paralyzing cough the bacteria has normally died anyway, therefore AB's are not normally prescribed. Pneumonia is a secondary illness once WC has progressed and is a very common progression in infants.
Why can't our GP's listen to the Mothers' and do the damn tests that we ask for. How dare they brush you off like that. It's disgusting. I hope that your DD comes out the other end of this illness soon and you are then able to enjoy the baby as you should have been since her birth. Hugs, hugs, hugs to you.
P.S. With Cade that is why I say that I don't want to get my hopes up as we are only into our 4th week since diagnosis and I don't want to get ahead of myself. If nothing does come in the way of a paralyzing cough then the Paed says that Cade is perhaps a case that proves with extreme early diagnosis that WC symptoms can be lessened with anti-biotics.
P.P.S. I'm not a doctor so please don't take everything I say as correct information but I feel like a bit of an expert on WC now.
Not at all Aussiegirl I mearly meant by in our experience J has never tested positive for whooping cough despite been tested 3 times. Everything else you have meantion has been exactly as I was told also. Just my bub's tests are negative. Despite this they are now extremely confident that WC is the problem. Apparently its common to have whooping cough and not test positive. I only heard that for the first time when J was in paeds 2weeks ago. I was so relieved it wasn't WC assuming it couldn't be as the test was negative but anyway thats what they are confident it is and she definately is showing all the characteristics of it. Well done on been so on the ball with getting Cade diagnosed so quickly. I didn't suspect WC until J started coughing and thats when the cold 2weeks earlier clicked. It makes me so mad that I have been shopoing etc and possibly spreading the infection across town when it was in its infective stages.
It sounds like Cade is on the mend. I know what you mean about not wanting to talk too soon. With J we thought she was on the mend then she got worse again but it only ever lasted a few hours when we thought she might have kicked it in the butt.
Mildez - the other thing with whooping cough is it's unlikely to pick it up in a shopping centre or public place. It is usually transmitted by a close friend and most often a member of the family (normally the mother or father although not in our case). To contract whooping cough you really need to be within a metre of the person who is infected for a time longer than just passing. They need to directly cough or sneeze or put saliva into your face. Whooping Cough does not have spores so it does not live in the environment. It is expelled from one person and sucked up by the next and then it rapidly starts to multiply 'inside' the host. This information is all a bit too late now for your DD but hopefully it will help you narrow down in your mind who might have been contagious. It's good to call those people and others who were around at the time and let them know they might need swabbing or antibiotics etc. It's also useful information for anyone else who suspect they or their LO's might have WC.
We just came back from taking Cade to see the Paediatrician and he's come away with an 'all clear' (pretty much). The Paed can't say 100% that he won't get it but he said that he should have been showing more definate symptoms by now....so he told us that we are able to get out and about and start enjoying our little man again. Yay!!!! Looks like our little miracle boy will be O.K.
Thanks everyone who read my posts and offered such support to me. I really appreciated it.
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I hope he is feeling well.
and my doctor organised to send her to a speech pathologist whom we seem today, she slao specialises in infant feeding. She gave us a few suggestions to try and we'll be going back next week to follow up. Bree seems to have a degree of reflux. We are trying to avoid prescription medication at the moment if we can, but if she gets worse we might have to give it a go.
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