I’m loosing the plot after baby being ill. Help

[Shookethtothecore]

DC3 has recently been in hospital with Bronchiolitis. She went down hill very quickly and really scared me- we ended up on the high dependency unit for 4 days, sedated and in full maintenance. She’s home now, but I keep checking her, I’m constantly thinking she looks pale, is she slightly blue? Is her chest going in too much? Is that head bobbing? She was discharged with good oxygen levels for 24 hours on her own and she’s taking bottles well. I dunno, I realise there’s more sick babies out there but I’m scared of it happening again.

I totally get where you are, my daughter had similar but not as bad and I was terrified for ages afterwards and then every time she got cold. Do you know the warning signs to look out for? I found knowing what to keep an eye on helped me feel more in control. Don't feel bad about getting her seen again if you're worried.

I think so, work to breath, her chest is moving but obviously nowhere near what it was? My phone is full of videos of her breathing 🙈 what else? Her eyes are red and watery? She’s wetting a pooing fine, I guess she isn’t going to be 100% right away?

It is normal to be worried and more watchful after such a scare. If you are worried she is working harder with her breathing then get her checked again. You are probably also sleep deprived which is not helping things. Have you got good family support so you can get some rest?

Yes they are awesome but I don’t want to leave her with them incase something happens and I don’t spot it.

I have a lovely video of her breathing now you can’t identify her but you can’t out videos on here? I’m not normally this anxious but she really scared me

What could the red eyes be? She looks full up with a cold but I guess she still is? She’s fine in herself alert and happy but she was when the paramedics arrived on the first day

It takes 6 weeks to ‘recover’ from such a traumatic event. Remember if you are ever in doubt then get her check out a doctor will always want to see a young child.

How old is she? You said 3 but then mentioned bottles?

My baby has Bronchiolitis with a side order of conjunctivitis, so may explain the watery eyes. Breathing things are worrying so I feel the same as you. I think you need to be reassured that she’s drinking her milk as that’s a great sign. If you’ll really concerned then I really don’t think you should hesitate to take her back to the doctor, so they can listen to her chest again. Nobody minds seeing little babies with breathing issues.

Sorry she’s my 3rd child she’s 11 weeks. She’s fine, I know she’s fine but then I have a pang of anxiety and think what I’d I’ve got it wrong

You can buy a pulse oximeter on amazon for not much money. I dont know if it would work on a tiny baby, but if it did, would it help you to know what her oxygen saturation levels were? I got one because my four year old had a bad asthma attack out of nowhere and I hadnt noticed (thought he just has a bit of a cold). I checked his oxygen every morning and evening for a few weeks after he got better. Now I just use it for me (heart problems)

I’ve just woken her up from checking her chest so much 🙈 but she’s smiling at me and finishing her bottle. I guess I need to remind myself she’s not 100% but we won’t slip back- we did a week in the hospital with 2 days after high dependency she was fully monitored she was absolutely fine, I’m just scared of her slipping back I guess

Yes- that would help it’s the oxygen levels that worry me. I wouldn’t know what low oxygen levels looked like in her?

It's completely normal to feel like you do now after such a frightening experience, it took me ages to recover from a similar scare with my child. It is going to take her some time to be back to full fitness but you will gradually learn to relax a bit. If you are worried give your surgery a call, they should agree to see a baby who is recently discharged from hospital.

You've had a terrible scare. My GC was admitted to high dependency ward with bronchiolitis at 3 weeks. Happened very quickly. We were all watching him obsessively when he came home. I think that's completely understandable. He was a bit redeyed and pale for my liking, but my husband pointed out that was probably to be expected.
If she's feeding, wet nappies, normal temp etc that's all great. I'm sure the hospital wouldn't have released her if they had even the slightest doubt about her.
And you know if you're ever truly worried you just ring an ambulance immediately. Never be afraid to do that.
But it sounds like she's well on the mend and it's just gonna take you a while to relax after the fright you've had.
Take any/all support and try to take care of yourself too. You've been through the mill.

At 11 weeks no wonder you are so very worried. Sleep deprivation means it takes even longer than 6 weeks to deal with a traumatic event. A baby with suspected breathing difficulties will always be seen quickly so definitely get her checked out if needed. 111 will always say either 999 or A and E. Remember paramedics can give oxygen so think about which is quickest if you think she needs it.

Take care of yourself x

Most of the sats monitors you can buy online would not be suitable for such a small baby. Look for things like flaring nostrils, grunting when breathing, changes in skin colour and changes in alertness.

Thank you everyone. She has no temp, wet nappies, feeding well, no wheeze litterally everything that says she’s ok apart from a bit pale (but the light is awful it’s grey and miserable) and a bit red eyes. I think I havnt processed the shock of it all you hit the ground running with other children to look after. I’m looking at her now and if she hadn’t been bad last week, I wouldn’t look at her and think “she’s ill” and I need to keep reminding myself of that. X

If you can afford it, you can get a pulse ox sock monitor called an Owlet (might be others available now). I was absolutely traumatised after this happened to DT2 - he was 9 weeks old and had only been home from nicu a few days when we ended up in HDU for 11 nights. We got checked out a few times before he was admitted and his o2 was great - the day he was admitted was a scheduled nicu check up and his o2 was in the 70s. You literally couldn’t tell the difference from looking at him, which scared the shit out of me. Took me a month or so to stop being scared to death.

Awww sink this is my fear 🙈

Oh I’m reading that again. It wasn’t after the hdu stay and you had been sent home? It was before and that’s the reason you stayed? Do I have that right @SinkGirl

Very normal to feel scared and anxious. Sounds like she's on the mend. Can your Dh or a grandparent watch over her so you can get some sleep?

Yes, it was before he was admitted. So when he first got sick he went floppy and unresponsive, ambulance came and his o2 was 99% despite the fact he was really struggling. We watched him 24/7 and seemed no worse and no better. Went back to hospital, same thing again. Then two days later at NICU it was in the 70s. Really scared me. Any time he’s had rib recessions since I take him to the doctors for a check and they’re fantastic.