Five month old in hospital last night - very worried

[cannotbebotheredanymore]

My five month old had his last set of jabs yesterday at 3:30pm. We gave him calpol straight away and he was fine all day, eating fine, alert, his usual self.

At 1am he woke up and for some reason I had this urge to check his temperature. It was 38C. I gave him more calpol and then checked again and it was 37.6C. He then started making weird noises, almost like shouting but grunting at the same time. His tongue looked swollen and his lips did, too. It then sounded like he was struggling to breathe.

We called 111 and they sent an ambulance. While waiting for the ambulance his breathing got worse. It was like he was trying so hard for every breath, and after each breath he stopped breathing for around 3 seconds.

We called 999 and said we really really need an ambulance and they put it to highest priority and said they would stay on the phone until it got here.

During this time, his breathing got worse. He at one point he completely stopped breathing and looked like he was panicking and trying so hard. I had to jerk him to make him breathe. I was getting so panicked and it kept happening, he would just stop breathing.

The paramedics finally got here and they took his temp and it was 38.4. They stripped him off and took his observations. His oxygen was 100% but his respiratory markers were up and so was his heart rate. His chest was going inwards as he was trying extra hard to breathe.

However, he was alert and could grip well during this. I could wake him up from sleep straight away.

We went to the hospital and when we got there he was like a different baby. Happy, chatting, his observations were taken again and they were all fine except his temperature which was 38.1.

While waiting to see a doctor he drank 7oz of formula.

When he was examined; the doctor said he was okay. She said he had a reaction to the jabs.

We took him home and he’s been fine ever since. We haven’t slept in 30 hours so that we can both be there if something happens. The paediatric ward has given us access for three days in case we need them and said to monitor him over these days.

Today he’s his usual self, happy and chatty and laughing and sleeping and eating normally. Nappies are normal, too. His temp ranges between 36.7 and 36.9 which is good, right?

I’m just so scared because my health visitor said if he was struggling any longer he wouldn’t have had the energy to keep trying to breathe.

It was so terrifying, I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared.

I’m just wondering if anyone has any advice for what we do now as we didn’t get given much. We’ve been doing calpol every 6 hours and checking his temp. I’m scared to sleep.

Has anyone experienced this? It was the MenB vaccination he had. Luckily he doesn’t have any more until 13 months but this has definitely traumatised me and I’ll need a while to calm down.

You poor thing, what a horribly traumatic thing to go through.
A friends child had a nasty reaction to some of their vaccines (I forget which) and after that the rest were given in hospital where the child was observed for a period after. Perhaps this is something to explore in the future?

Try not to dwell on the ‘what could have been’ scenarios. Truly awful to think about but fortunately they did not happen.
In the meantime do you have a monitor with a sensor pad? Or an Owlet monitor which babies can wear like a sock so can also wear in the car, would that offer you extra peace of mind?

Omg that’s terrifying OP, my heart goes out to you.
Have the hospital given you any follow up appointments - any allergy tests - any risk with future jabs?

OP that sounds really scary and it’s no wonder you are shaken up.

It wasn’t a reaction to vaccine but when my youngest was a similar age she has bronchiolitis and was also presenting with grunting/struggling to breathe/temp/floppy/drowsy etc. She was rushed to hospital and admitted, and it was terrifying.

However, after a couple of similar trips with her I learnt that, when they are that wee, as quickly as she went down hill she would bounce back and be much better within 48hrs usually. It does give you a huge shock though.

Be kind to yourself, you’ll be shaken up. It sounds like he’s much more like himself. Keep an eye on him but sounds like he is on the up again? It’s important that you get some rest too. Try to get some sleep if you can.

How scary. For now can one of you try to sleep, you can always wake the other up if needed? If you have both been awake for 30 hours you won’t be able to stay up much longer. What a traumatic experience, I hope he stays well over the next few days and with time you can start to relax a little more

Poor you. I'm paediatric nurse, you did exactly the right thing. Have you got an angel care monitor or similar? It might reassure you a bit and mean you can get some sleep. Very scary for you. But kids do bounce back very quickly. Good that they've given you open access. We don't allow that!

Okay now I'm scared...my DS had a reaction to his first set of jabs at 8 weeks which included the MenB one. It was about 48 hours after he broke out in red blotchy hives all over, took him straight to GP and said it was some kind of reaction and told us to give piriton which worked. After having a phone consultation with a pediatrician he recommended giving any future jabs one at a time maybe a week or two apart. So we've been doing that and everything's fine and the only one left now is the 12 week MenB one! Ugh what can we do? Can we refuse it? It's a relatively new one so I'd like to do more research on it! I can understand your fear OP

It sounds really scary for you but this We haven’t slept in 30 hours so that we can both be there if something happens is complete and utter madness. If something does happen to him and you haven’t slept in 2 days what good will any of you be to him?

His temp is down, it was a reaction to his jabs. Get some sleep, one at a time if it makes you feel better, but sleep

Bless you OP that's horrible. I'm glad to hear LO is better now.

Our DD has a seizure at birth and spent 10 days in NICU. Then at her first jabs had a reaction similar to your LO. She is 16 months now very healthy and happy and didn't have any other issues up to this point.

The are extremely resilient and very fast healers too. If he had been checked and is ok now try and relax x

Oh op that sounds horrendous! I hope your son makes a quick recovery and I hope you both get some rest tonight. I have a 6 month old and cannot imagine how you felt.

Did you only give him one dose of calpol? We were told 3 doses, 4 hours apart and wake them up to make sure they have them. I think based on what you’ve said it was a reaction to the jabs. I agree with the other posters that one of you needs to sleep.

How terrifying op. Glad he is much better. Poor lad.

How terrifying! You are in every right to be so worried but the main thing is he is fine now. It's so easy to go over and over what happened but that will only fuel your anxiety. As the PP said maybe look into an Angelcare monitor for peace of mine, I got the owlet and that helped me with my worries.

My daughter had a reaction to the meningitis jab, no where near as severe as yours but she would not stop screaming for four hours straight (we were counting down when we could give her the next dose of Calpol!) We rang 111 but were told this was normal It happened with both the 8 weeks and 16 week jabs so I am dreading her next lot when she is a year.

You poor thing, what a terribly distressing and traumatic thing to go through. I’m glad your baby is feeling better today - hopefully that’s the end of it and he’ll be ok from now on

My second child has a tendency to struggle with her breathing and heart rate when she gets a fever. What I’ve found is she’ll often flag for triage at the GP or 111 but she’s not poorly enough to be admitted to the ward as her oxygen levels seem ok. It is scary and horrid as you feel very helpless. We know now what to watch for and for us, a lot seems to be about fever management. If she hits 39, we know there is a chance she’ll end up in A&E. My older child didn’t react the same way at all for fevers.

You poor thing, your child potentially being sick is the most terrifying thing ever.

However, it seems to be a reaction to the jabs and you must sleep. Can you sleep in shifts for a few days, allow you to regain some normality.

I can totally relate to your fear, at eight days old my newborn was being tested for cancer which turned out to be an insect bite on his back and neck (first day out in his pram too) I still two and half years on, cry whenever I think about it. It's a mother's instinct I'm sure, sending hugs.

Hi OP my DD was born with breathing difficulties (pretty much over the worst now at age 3).
I know that fear.
My DD went downhill rapidly one day (turned out she had pneumonia- she was older than your baby and I felt awful as I should have realised her cough was a sign).
What happened was terrifying BUT you did exactly the right thing.
My DD ended up having a reaction to the same jab and was checked in hospital (we have permanent open access).
So, it doesn’t happen and they DO just get better and get on with it if it’s a reaction to the jabs.
You definitely need to eat and sleep - can you do it in 3 hour stints between you if you really can’t relax? E.g. your DP watches for 3 hours while you SLEEP (not fret) and you - during the day it seems less scary but nighttime ... I have had numerous sleepless nights.

And - the Angelcare monitor was the best purchase I’ve ever made in my life! It monitors breathing and is so sensitive that you can really be assured.

Also, if you don’t live far from the hospital- with open access over the next few days if (very unlikely) you have to go in you just ring the ward EN ROUTE to say we are coming (ie take baby in your arms in the car, car seats aren’t good in that scenario).

But remember- he was fine not long after he got to hospital (they usually do!! - just to make mums seem over anxious).

My youngest had a mild reaction, and we were able to have the next set of jabs in two parts. 50% each time. (30+yrs ago)

Sorry - it does happen not doesn’t (!)

It might not be the jabs - that might be coincidence. The reason is say that is because my DD had exactly the same thing at the same age - the way you describe it is absolutely spot on (I did the same thing and checked her instinctively during the night and discovered it). We called an ambulance, and by the time we arrived she was perfectly fine and happy and her obs were all perfect.

We never really did get any answers from the doctors, but she cut a new tooth in the next few days and my research led me to believe it was the “breath hold response” to pain, which happens sometimes with some babies.

It was truly horrible, but thankfully she never did it again.

So frightening OP. I can 100% understand you staying awake for 30 hours. My child had an extreme (similar) reaction to a vaccine. I was so very terrified and didn’t allow further jabs until years later.

pinkgin What research are you planning on doing? The research has already been done, that's why it's available on the NHS. Unless you're an immunologist, any 'research' you do is just googling.

Goodness OP, all sounds v traumatic for you. I hope you can get some rests in shifts now. I don't want to sound dramatic, but if you find you keep reliving what happened, perhaps some counselling would be helpful.

This must have been very scary.

Remember that if your baby has a temperature you should strip them to help the temp go down. When DD2 had pneumonia and her chesT was sucking, the paramedics were delighted to arrive to find DD stripped and The windows open.

Oh my goodness that sounds awful OP. Do you feel like you can sleep properly tonight? Could a grandparent come and help with the watching if you don’t feel able to?

Our then 13 month old ended up with an A&E visit on Boxing Day last year due to collapsing in DP’s arms as he went to put her in her car seat (we were driving 200 miles to my mum’s). She rallied quickly, but for the first four hours we were there she slept in our arms (this is a child who has never EVER been able to co sleep or nap on us) in just a nappy, dripping with sweat. Once the fever broke she was entirely back to normal. The consultant concluded that it was a ‘nasty viral cough and temperature’ that had been doing the rounds for a few weeks by that point (hmmmmmm!!!!!).

She’s not been that ill since, and she was fine in the aftermath, so if you feel he’s rallied then he’s probably on the mend now.

Was it just menb? I thought they give a few together or is it different now ?