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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

1 year old baby I'm really worried

106 replies

40yearoldmerging · 15/06/2021 20:50

Just asking for a bit of reassurance really.
Please don't make me feel worse I'm calling docs tomorrow.
Baby has been ill for a few days. Temp was 38 but now 37.4 so not too high. But skin feels hot to the touch still.
Refusing food, still breastfeeding but really lethargic and sleeping all day.

When I ring drs (assuming I can get an appointment) what realistically can they do?
I have older children and none of them have ever been this out of it unless they had diarrhea and vomiting, flu or chicken pox.
I don't know what to do but my Mommy Alarm is screaming something is wrong.
Initially I was thinking its just teething, but with my older ones they had a little temperature and cried more, never fell asleep all day or refused all food even ice cream or cold yoghurt or cold baby puree. Such a happy baby but he won't even smile.

OP posts:
Houseofvelour · 15/06/2021 23:23

I agree with everyone else. A&E definitely.
Our mum instincts are there for a reason and if yours are screaming that something's wrong then the chances are, you're right.

Seesawmummadaw · 15/06/2021 23:26

How is he op? Hopefully you’ve had him checked by now?

Always trust your instinct.

RampantIvy · 15/06/2021 23:32

Hopefully you will have sought medical advice by now. It could be a urine infection, and that will need antibiotics.

Gembie · 15/06/2021 23:36

Definitely go to A&E. The medics there will take his lethargy, lack of feeding and your parental concern seriously and check him out - you won’t be wasting their time

irresistibleoverwhelm · 15/06/2021 23:36

Just chiming in with others to say really don’t be afraid of taking him to A&E - no one ever minds seeing a baby or child to check them out and make sure all is okay.

Draculaswedding · 15/06/2021 23:40

Hope you are getting him checked over OP. Agree with all the PPs saying trust your instincts. Lethargy, lack of interest in what’s going on around them, difficult or impossible to raise a smile are all red flags. When DD was like that ( much younger than your DS) she had a UTI.

UKmumtobe · 15/06/2021 23:41

I hope everything's ok OP

callmeadoctor · 15/06/2021 23:48

I don't want to frighten you OP, but please go to a and e. If still lethargic make sure that they do at least a blood test. This exact same scenario happened to my 17 month old baby, we went to 2 doctors and 3 hospitals with the lethargy. By the third or fourth day of asking of help, it was too late. All the staff said that it was a virus, it wasn't, it was meningitis. If its a false alarm then it doesn't matter, just believe in your own instincts as you know your child better than anybody........................

MissingTheMoonlight · 15/06/2021 23:49

Trust your instict and have him seen ASAP op, not something I would leave until tomorrow; not worth the risk.

Anna727b · 15/06/2021 23:52

Definitely A&E for lethargy and a temperature.

A rash is actually a late symptoms of bacterial meningitis so never wait for one to appear.

MollyBloomYes · 15/06/2021 23:58

I'm going to chime in as well OP although hopefully by now you've heeded advice but just in case (and in case anyone else is reading and not sure)

My son was younger, about 2/3 months old. Same story, high temp, lethargic but nothing obvious just very much not himself and my instinct was prickling at me. Called 111 and they told me to take him into hospital 'if I felt he needed it'. Fairly dismissive in all honesty but he was my second child and I just didn't think he was right so off I went.

The journey to my hospital takes about 20 minutes. By the time I got there his limbs were starting to go a dusky grey colour. Got him to triage and they took one look at him, scooped him up and ran down the corridors (honestly thought that only happened on tv dramas)

Spinal tap, urine cultures, bloods etc, turns out he had a raging infection, was septic and in need of hefty hard core IV antibiotics. They didn't wait to find out what the source of investigation was just blasted him with the 'domestos' as one awesome nurse helpfully explained. We were in hospital for a week and it turned out he had a UTI (later investigations revealed a kidney condition)

It's a happy ending, he recovered beautifully, is now monitored closely for his kidneys and all is ok. But if I'd ignored my instinct and gone with the dismissive 111 operator it could have been a very different story. That's why I tell this story-not to fearmonger but to make sure people understand that you know your child and you need to follow your gut.

Most of the time babies are fine. But never ignore your instinct because sometimes they're really not. And no HCP should ever make you feel guilty for following that instinct. Any a&e dr should be fine with checking out a poorly baby especially if mum is worried. I hope everything is ok and you're back home already.

Susannahmoody · 16/06/2021 00:08

Hope you're OK op and baby is too.

Graphista · 16/06/2021 00:15

I'm another saying trust your instinct.

Temps are an average thing. Some run hot some run cool normally so a lower/higher temp than is normal for them is cause for concern. Eg I run hot so am regularly at the higher end of the normal range so even a slightly higher temp is v high on the averages, whereas my brother runs cool so a "normal" temp by the averages is actually a fever for him.

Lethargy in a normally very energetic baby would worry me and I've a lot of experience with babies.

It's out of character for him.

Call 111

poorfanjo · 16/06/2021 00:23

Straight to A&E

Peach01 · 16/06/2021 00:30

Has he had any vaccines recently? Could it be a reaction?

jumpbounce · 16/06/2021 01:10

Haven't RTFT yet but I will. Seek medical attention now, trust your instincts. Your post gave me shivers to be honest.
I remember feeling similar when my youngest was a baby, doubting myself and doubting my own instinct and Thank God with DH opinion as well we took DC to the doctors, ended up in a blue light ambulance. That DC has now got diagnosed medical conditions and we have tonnes of ambulance trips and hospital admissions under our belt but at times I still feel like I doubt myself however my instincts have never been wrong yet and has potentially saved my DC on a few occasions.
Nobody minds checking over a baby so young, the doctors will always say they would rather see 100 healthy babies who's parents just not some reassurance, if that means they don't miss the one that needs the medical attention.

Anythingelseintheboxpandora · 16/06/2021 01:18

Mommy alarm 🤢

That aside I hope he’s ok. When my daughter was one, she was like this for days. Lethargic, listless, refused food, temperate, just wanted cuddles.

It was chicken pox. The spots came out after a week of this. She’s now six and she has had it twice.

Anythingelseintheboxpandora · 16/06/2021 01:21

Can we just bear in mind that it could also be a harmless virus that will pass in a few days?

Not that the OP shouldn’t get him checked out - obviously she should - but let’s not scare people half to death over it.

SunshineCake · 16/06/2021 11:42

I'd rather be scared for a time and it all be well than take the it will all be fine comment from someone who has no clue and then have a very sick child at best. No need to say the worse.

CrazyInRed · 16/06/2021 12:17

Hi OP hope your baby is better today. I really don't want to scare you, and it's most likely just a bug. However, just wanted to add as others have said, don't ignore your instincts and do get it checked out. My baby was similar, one morning she was lethargic and sleeping more than normal, an experienced Mum friend told me not to worry. But my Mum instincts were warning me that something was very wrong. I took my baby to A&E, it turned out to be meningitis and septicaemia. My baby never had a rash at any point (its a common misconception that meningitis always comes with a rash). They said one hour later and it would have been too late. Hopefully it's nothing serious, but always better to be safe than sorry xx

Original poster
40yearoldmerging · 16/06/2021 13:42

Hi thanks everyone for scaring me to death
I kept an eye out last night and got a drs appointment today. Nothing major but got some antibiotics and advice to force feed fluids because of a lack of wet nappies. Not quite at the point of being dehydrated but fairly close.

Hopefully he will perk up. Temp was 38.7 this morning so I was running around like a headless chicken. But all is well and thanks again 😊

OP posts:
sparepantsandtoothbrush · 16/06/2021 13:47

Well they didn't scare you enough if you didn't bother at least calling 111 last night 🙄

babytops · 16/06/2021 13:54

Did the gp actually see your child or was it over the phone?
Please get him properly checked.
My child was admitted last year for a month really ill! I KNEW something was wrong and was still sent home from a&e before going back and refusing to leave without tests.

He had a temperature with no other symptoms at all

PurpleyBlue · 16/06/2021 14:02

Not quite at the point of being dehydrated but fairly close next time call 111. You don't want to wait for things like this.

JackieTheFart · 16/06/2021 14:04

Honestly it sounds like a bog-standard toddler virus, but no doc will ever judge you for taking him in.

Personally I wouldn’t bother but it’s easy for me to say, I’m waaay past the toddler stage.

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