3wo niece in ER - pls keep bub and mum in your thoughts

My three-week-old niece has been in the ER all afternoon, now admitted to hospital for up to 48 hours (at this stage). My sister is a member of the BB community - so please keep her bub and her in your thoughts tonight. I don't think it's a "touch and go" situation, but I'd imagine with such a small baby things can also take a sharp turn.

Medical staff can't diagnose problem at this point - they've done several tests and taken x-rays, and are now considering doing lumbar puncture (I understand that's the only way they can diagnose a serious illness in a newborn).

Apparently my niece has been crying a fair bit the past 24 hours like she's got a pain, or is in pain, and ran a high temp earlier today. Upshot was, my sister was advised to take her to ER. Last I heard she's settled down a bit and her temps have also settled.

Hopefully it's nothing serious, but it's a concern given she's so little. At least she was born full term at a good healthy weight, has put on weight and has been a good BFer.

Get better soon bubba, xx

Oh gosh, how awful for you all. I hope and pray that your little niece will be ok :pray:

How scary. I hope everything goes alright and it's nothing serious.
Sending all my thoughts to you, your niece, your sister, and the rest of the family. :hug:

Get well soon, precious girl!
xox

My thoughts and prayers for bub and mum.

Regards,
Dianne

Thanks gals - drs at this stage think it's a virus but still unsure. Apparently it's been very difficult to get a blood sample from my niece - I guess that's normal for a three-week-old.

No word yet on lumbar puncture. Sounds like my niece has settled a bit since being admitted - they want to keep her in for a couple of days given she's a newborn.

I'm mainly thinking of my sister. How frightning for her to see her baby girl go through this.

Oh the poor little babba :(

I hope they find the reason very soon, and wish her a very speedy recovery, being in ER is not a fun time at all and so very scary with sucha wee little bubba, keeping them in my thoughts and prayers :hug:
Take something in for mum, especially some yummy food, hospital food isn't so great and she won't want to leave bubs side for very long.
Take care xxoo

Oh no poor bubs ! :pray:

Poor Mummy too - how awful

Sending lots of :hug: and get well vibes their way !
xoxo

What a stressful time for Mumma...I'm :pray: bubs recovers really quickly hun!

Oh dear I hope she is better soon thinking of them.

xoxo

Please let her know we are all here for her. Plenty of :pray:ing for bub going on here

Thoughts for them are with us tonight *hugs* I hope there's some good news soon.

Hope things go well for your sister and your niece.

In a baby this young, fevers are almost always the result of a viral infection, and are self resolving. But because on rare occasions they can be bacterial infections, and much more serious, there is a standard set of tests that we do to make sure we aren't missing something. These include a chest x-ray (to check for pneumonia), a urine test (to check for urinary tract infection) and a lumbar puncture (to test for meningitis).

And yes, taking blood from a three week old can be very challenging.

Thanks again all.

Michael - thanks heaps for the professional advice. Appreciate hearing what commonly happens with bubs this young. What a nightmare to get to the bottom of why an infant is so ill - better to do the test and be sure though.

Beema - Would love to be there for my sister, but she's interstate. Fortunately our parents are visiting her, so she had them on hand for some help and support (she and her DH have a two-year-old DS too).

Last update is the drs on the paediatric ward think Miss S has a stomach virus. They've decided not to try to take any more blood from her and won't do the lumbar puncture at this stage. Thank goodness. She'll stay in hospital for at least 24 hours.

And on a :) note - apparently mid afternoon there was concern Miss S's tummy was bloated. No sooner did the "young doctor" (my mum's words) make the comment than Miss S did a poo explosion ... at least they know she's not constipated, and they got the poo sample they wanted!'

Hopefully tomorrow brings news that's Miss S has improved further.
Thanks again xx

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They've decided not to try to take any more blood from her and won't do the lumbar puncture at this stage.

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That's great news. We had the awful experience of trying to take blood from our 5 week old baby. It was very distressing and not something I'd wish on any parent of a baby so young.

I hope she continues to improve and mum and bub are home soon :hug:

That's great news, glad to hear she is improving.

Regards,
Dianne

I'm so glad that your niece is improving, I have been there with a very sick newborn and it is the most helpless feeling in the world. I hope she is home safe soon.

xx

Thinking of you, your sister and her/your family.
I hope your neice continues to improve.

Quick update - spoke to my sis tonight - Miss S has slowly improved over the course of the day and is now more settled and temps more consistent. If she continues to improve, she'll possibly go home tomorrow. Drs still think it's a virus, but all-in-all she's doing well considering the awful fright she gave her mummy and daddy.

Thanks again everyone for keeping my sister and niece in your thoughts.

Andie xx

Thanks for the update Andie, I am thrilled to hear that she is improving, it must be sucha stressful time for them all. I truely hope they will be home very soon xxoo

Ahh that's great news AndiE

I'm glad things are stabilising for them... how awful for them all.

:pray: for them :hug:

Oh my gosh, just came across this thread. Hope and pray your little niece comes good very soon. How stressful for everyone especially her mum, poor thing. Get better little one!

Thinking of your sister and her little one. Hope things continue to get better and she is soon safe at home.

Just an update ... looks like Miss S and her mummy will be able to leave hospital tomorrow. They ended up doing the lumbar puncture yesterday and finally got a decent blood sample. Tests point to a viral bug (though they had thought it was a staph infection). As of last night, Miss S has had 2 x anti biotics and my sister said this morning that they'd had a good night last night. Dr told them today that all things being equal, they should be right to leave tomorrow.
Yay!!
Thanks everyone for keeping my sister and niece in your thoughts and prayers. A concerning time for the family, in particular my sister and her DH.
xx

That's fantastic news, so glad your niece is ok and they get to go home tomorrow. Thanks for the update.

Regards,
Dianne

Sounds like she is definitely on the improve, great to hear that they should be home tomorrow :dance: hope all goes well and they get their own nice and comfy beds again :D Take care xxoo

I only just saw this - thank goodness they can go home tomorrow!