To beg for more help for 8 week old

[twotiredwithtwo]

DD is 8 weeks old and has a chest infection. It started Sunday but just seemed like a mild cold, by Monday she seemed worse but still along the lines of a rotten cold and not too serious. She deteriorated that night and so I booked an appt with the GP on Tuesday who diagnosed a chest infection and prescribed antibiotics. DD is being sick after most doses and no improvement, sucking in under ribs and barely feeding so I took her back to GP yesterday who said it was worrying but he thought overall she was fine to be at home but booked her in for another check this morning to decide if she needed to be admitted to paeds for monitoring.

Last night DD had a terrifying turn where she coughed so badly and was choking on mucus, she was having long gaps between breathing and going purple. I was already on the phone to 111 as her coughing fit had been going on for over half an hour and she couldn't catch her breath but when the breathing became so unstable they sorted an ambulance for us. Typically by the time the ambulance arrived, she had finally stopped coughing and was breathing more normally, although still sucking in a lot under the ribs. She was taken in to hospital where they barely looked at her, said her stats were fine and she looked well, to continue with the antibiotics although I mentioned she is sick after each dose and that the coughing is just her trying to clear her mucus. The only thing they did was give her liquid glucose as her blood sugar was too low. They told me not to let the GP push for a paeds admission today as they would only monitor her anyway.

I understand that she has to cough it up and it will sound awful but the fact that she was having long pauses between breaths and really struggling to draw in breath was surely not okay? She has been wheezing and had another episode of severe coughing where she had one long pause between breathing about half an hour ago. I have the GP appt shortly, WIBU tp request she has the paeds admission because I am terrified every time she coughs that she will stop breathing, even when she's fine she's retracting under her ribs. I feel if they witnessed one of her episodes, they'd take it more seriously but she seems to settle each time she's seen. Sorry this is so long but any advice would be appreciated, I don't want to overreact but I know she's not well.

Sorry just seeing updates very glad she's being treated now

My heart was in my mouth reading your last update but I'm so glad to hear that you're in the right place. Hopefully she'll soon be on the mend. Please take care of yourself as well, 8 weeks post partum is still recovery time imo.

Ask about RSV as well. Its at crazy high levels this year and causes symptoms just like this.

So pleased to read your update and glad she is getting seen to. She's in the right place now thankfully. I hope she recovers soon

Ah phew OP

Well done for going back again

Hope she recovers quickly

Im amazed they didn't check oxygen levels.

Look out for not only sucking under ribs but also:

• sucking in at hollow in throat
• nasal flaring
• lower lip sucking in when breathing.

I would take her back in if deteriorating and insist her oxygen saturation level is checked

You poor thing OP, that must be so scary. So glad your GP did the right thing and she's getting the help she needs. Hope she recovers quickly now.

I do agree with others though that if you're feeling strong enough when she's better you should consider complaining about the first hospital.

Aww! Thank goodness you are finally getting looked after. Hope you are both doing OK! Xxx

So glad you are finally getting the help your baby needed.

I'm so glad she's being looked after, I was quite worried for you.

Where your baby is concerned OP, I would say, always, always, trust yourself, and if you're not happy at what the doctors tell you, tell them so. You spend more time with your child than anyone else, and you know when there's something wrong. Far better to get things checked than risk your child coming to harm. Great idea about videoing your child by the way, thank goodness things have moved on so far since I had my baby.

Thank you so much to every one of you taking the time to read and respond. I feel dead on my feet, so drained from the last few days and so scared of what's to come. I'm currently trying to feed DD and also pump, they're putting a lot of pressure on getting enough to feed her but I'm not getting much milk out. I've had one small cup of water all day and no food but I couldn't face anything anyway. DD sicked out her feeding tube and it had to be redone which was heartbreaking to watch, she's in such distress and I can't seem to console her. DH had to go home for the night and I feel so alone. Sorry for rambling, I'm just very overwhelmed and so worried about DD. Also I've noted the comments about complaining about the previous admission, it's definitely something I'll consider once we're through this.

Look after you too, don't worry too much if you can't pump much it is no reflection on how much you produce when your baby is feeding. Drink plenty and eat too, can you sit with her while you pump? Much strength to you

Oh dear, you poor things 😭 I haven't read the whole thread, but I'd definitely say ALWAYS trust your gut feeling and don't take no for an answer. Really hope she's on the mend soon. Thinking of you

Ask whether there is a parents room nearby. At our local hospital there is one where you can get tea/coffee/squash and toast and jam any time of day. Not much but you need to eat and drink something. You need to keep up your strength to help your dd.

Hi OP, I know you won’t feel up to having much but do try to get fluids into yourself even if you can’t manage food, I always found I had better letdown when well hydrated. (And do try to eat too… for your own energy.) Thinking of you and your DD.

If you're worried go straight to A&E.

Oh you poor things, you've really been through the mill! Pumping is really hard in these early days, they say not to pump in the first couple of months but the truth is most of us can't get a whole lot of milk out until later down the line anyway. You need to stay hydrated because BF dehydrates you a lot faster than usual (and also hydration makes you less tired, and it also helps your milk flow). Don't be afraid to ask staff for food and drink, they will probably have something knocking around that you can have.

I hope your little sweetheart makes a full recovery soon, it sounds like that first hospital was appalling and I would definitely try and put in a complaint. When mine got a really bad cough around that age they put her on oxygen and salbutamol in a nebuliser and I remember how tiny she looked in the little mask. It's hard. Make sure you get some rest if you can. Do you have one of those big recliner chairs next to her, or somewhere else you can close your eyes for a bit?

So sorry you're going through this. I've just been discharged from hospital with my 3 week old who we took in on Monday with very similar symptoms - laboured, irregular breathing, lethargic and off her food.

I'm sharing in case helpful but they immediately took blood, urine and spinal fluid tests to find the cause of infection and rule out sepsis or meningitis. She had to go onto oxygen as her levels dropped but they pre-emptively started antibiotics and she rallied remarkably quickly.

I found it utterly exhausting being in hospital - my daughter was very unsettled and so we both got very little sleep. It was also endlessly noisy. If your partner can come back in the day I'd recommend making sure you can do the basics like have a shower and step outside for a short walk.

Hope your daughter rallies and you're back home soon

I have loads of milk but can never get much out with a pump, let alone in such stressful circs! I actually find it easier to hand express and did this for DS3 when he was in special care for a bit at the start and I wasn't always allowed to feed him. You could try that (just sort of massage a bit then squeeze into a bottle). But they shouldn't be pressuring you, that's ridiculous.

Poor you OP! Is there somewhere you can get yourself a packet of biscuits and a cup of tea - those got me through pumping. (Hob nobs as oats help with milk production ). Is there a NICU at the hospital, if so they might be able to bring round a hospital pump for you if they have a spare one??

Please do drink water at least, even if you have nothing else. Hospitals are very drying.

Your poor DD too - it must be so tough to see her having the tubes and being so distressed. The only consolation is that she won’t remember any of this later. But that doesn’t help right now I know.

I hope you manage some sleep x

Oh OP my heart goes out to you! I can't believe you were dismissed by the GP initially considering your DD is only 8 weeks, babies can deteriorate so quickly it's scary and they of all people should know that!

My 3 week old was admitted with bronchiolitis a month ago and in about 12 hours went from being sick to being on high flow oxygen with long apneas and about half an hour from being put on a ventilator - it was terrifying. In our case DS didn't respond to initial treatments and it turned out he developed pneumonia too and needed heavy duty antibiotics to shift it.

We were told that suctioning isn't best practice anymore as it causes the body to increase mucus production. Also DS had an NG tube initially but even 20ml milk was making his breathing too laboured so they had him on only a fluid drip for 2 days. Have they given you any vials of sucrose? It helps calm them if they aren't taking much milk - DS went through loads, we were in for a week.

It's so scary but babies do get better extremely quickly as well, I was amazed! Hoping your girl improves soon

You've both been through the mill try to rest and eat something. Tea and toast if nothing else

Have been in your shoes OP almost exactly. I can hear and feel your exhaustion. Please find and tell an understanding nurse that you are breastfeeding and need to drink and eat regularly so that you can help your baby. Ask if there is a way they can help direct you here to where you can go etc. They may not understand the specifics of breastfeeding, engorgment also a danger here.
You must advocate for yourself as well as your baby op. In your shoes I did not and although everything was OK and baby made a good recovery, I was utterly run down for months after the hospital episode.
Wishing you all the best.

Worth asking as well if they can feed you - when my daughter was admitted I was automatically entitled to three meals a day because I was breastfeeding. They might not have been the most appetising but the toast in the morning was a godsend. They should supporting you not pressuring you.