Anyone had a young baby in hospital? Looking for positive stories

[Ella0909]

My DD is 13 months and been in the children’s hospital (this will be the 4th night). They still don’t know what’s wrong as waiting for stool sample and other tests to come back...they’ve given broad spectrum antibiotics by IV as a precaution but she’s only shown very minimal improvement in her bloods and doesn’t look any better in herself :(

It’s been the hardest few days of my life just sick with worry and zero sleep. She’s absolutely terrified of the medical staff so is hysterical every time they come in and she’s so worn out and distressed. She’s not getting any rest there as she was always a bad sleeper anyway let alone in a strange place and feeling unwell.

I just feel beside myself with worry and totally helpless! They thought UTI but nothing came back so now thinking stomach infection or food poisoning..symptoms basically high fever, diarrhoea, won’t eat or hardly drink and very agitated and upset.

Anyone have success stories after having little ones in hospital? Just so worried things will go wrong as she isn’t picking up and tests are taking forever to come back. Has a miscarriage in December so think general baby anxiety was already high before this!

Sorry you’re going through this. Are you able to room in with her? My Dd was in hospital for a week when she’d just turned 2. When she was on the high dependency ward there was only a chair aside from her cot, but once she was moved to another ward I had a fold down bed, which was brilliant as I didn’t want to just leave her there.

If she’s being kept hydrated and she’s on antibiotics I’m sure she’ll pick up soon, it sounds like they’re looking after her.

I’m a paeds nurse
What symptoms does she have if you don’t mind me asking?

Hi there, my baby boy was whisked to hospital at 4 weeks old when he had very similar symptoms to your daughter. He also had a 'mottled' look to his skin which came out of the blue. I remember it as one of the worst times ever and the already no sleep preceding it didn't help. He did turn a corner after 3/4 days and was also on antibiotics. They never did find a real reason other than a 'virus' and thankfully he 100% recovered - he's a lively 11 year old now and fingers crossed hasn't had any ill health since.. I remember feeling as you describe and its no good anyone saying 'don't worry' but she really is in the best place and hopefully soon it will all just be a distant memory for you as it is for me. Feel free to message if it will help you as I know it feels so lonely when you are in hospital with a baby. Look after yourself too and hugs. xxx

Hi OP sorry to hear this. Hope your DD turns a corner soon.

My DS was rushed to hospital at 3 months with severe RSV / bronchiolitis and had to be put on oxygen. It was terrifying - we were told his sats were so low he would probably have stopped breathing if he hadn’t gone in that night. I felt so guilty that we hadn’t taken him earlier but the GP had seen him the evening before and said it was just a normal virus. He was in over Christmas bless him but after 5 days he was discharged and almost back to normal. He’s absolutely fine now, aged 3!

All you can do is try to remember that your DD is in the best place and the staff have a huge amount of experience. I understand the feeling of hopelessness and panic. Try to stay calm as much as you can and hopefully this will also help DD stay calm.

I'm so sorry you are going through this. I've been there and it was the worst time of my life. It happened to us twice, once when ds3 was 4 weeks old and then when he was 17 months. The first time nobody had any idea what was wrong with him, he had a lumbur puncture as they suspected meningitis and septicemia but it wasn't and we were in for 2 weeks and transferred to a children's hospital, they put it down to a water infection but who knows. The second time he had empyema and was operated on for 5 hours.
Just keep on being the great mum to her that am sure you are. I remember sleeping on the floor next to him in hdu as didn't want to leave his side and an angel of a nurse asked if he would sleep in a bed instead of a cot and got one brought up at 2am so we could both sleep in it together. It's the acts of kindness that you never forget. Just do whatever helps to get you through this. As a PP said, she really is in the best place.I remember just cuddling as kissing DS so much. Take care of you both.

Thank you for the messages everyone and sorry you had to go through this horrible experience with your little ones too! x it’s so horrible especially when they’re so little and you can’t explain to them what’s happening.

The staff have amazing and let me sleep on an adult bed with her as we cosleep at home so she’d have been terrified in cot by herself.

@Cinderellashoes she has fever between 38 and 39.5, diarrhoea with mucus in (some of them are more mucus than poo), waking up screaming in pain which I think is stomach cramps as usually precedes wind or poo, not wanting to play or do anything and usually very active baby. Stool sample has now come back clear but they’ve sent another one looking for different things. They said her bloods have improved a little this evening the ones that show the infection / inflammation markers so that’s something at least!

Oh and is totally off her food and milk and usually has huge appetite..thank god she’s a chunky baby with some reserves but can already she’s lost a lot of weight as barely eaten since last weds

No advice OP but thinking of you - hope you and your DD are back home soon

The nurse told me her CRP level came down from 380 to 210 which I still think is very high after (regrettably) looking at google. The doc said it’s coming down but not as quickly as she’d expect to see with antibiotics

Sending you huge hugs and positivity OP. I've been in your shoes and yes it is exhausting and terrifying.

My DD was 5 months and admitted for a condition called intussusception which is a problem with her bowel. She was ill for a few days, then had to have an emergency operation at 4am and spent some time in ICU. she's since made a full recovery but I do remember how it felt whilst she was unwell and deteriorating before our eyes and no one knew why... until she had a poo which was basically 50% blood then it all happened very quickly.

Being on the ward was very hard due to all the noises and interruptions. I took a Bluetooth speaker in and connected it to my phone and played the radio on low level for some constant background noise. At night I played white noise through the speaker to drown out other children crying and constantly beeping machines!!

I'm glad you can sleep in bed with her and hope you manage to get some rest.

Sending you lots of positivity to you and your DD and hope she starts to feel better soon. Keep us posted.

My DD was like this when she was 2. It was awful and I know exactly how you feel. Her CRP was horrendously high, she had sepsis and needed the strongest IV antibiotics BUT two days after starting them her CRP halved and two days later she was home. Turned out she had a kidney infection which hadn't shown up in her urine and she ended up having surgery on her kidney when she was three. She is now a very healthy seven year old.

Those days were dark but look for incremental improvements. Each time she smiles, count it a win, enjoy every cuddle, a continue being the lovely mum you are. But let yourself cry if you need to. I tried to stay strong and lost it one night on a wonderful nurses shoulder. She hugged me, made me a cuppa and we came up with a plan to get through the next few hours. Be kind to yourself.

DS 2 was in for about a week when he was 4ish weeks old.
First they suspected pylotic stenosis. Then they thought it could be a breastmilk allergy.

They never actually found a cause, but DS1 had chicken pox at the time so they said it could have been a weak bout of that and that my breastmilk had protected him. Hes 14 now (and has never had chicken pox)

Hi op hope your baby is doing better now? I remember your other thread where the GP said it was teething

Thank you very much for all the replies and kind words, it’s like being in hell seeing your children go through something like this!

She’s doing so much better now, her fever is gone, heart rate and bp down and she’s eating food again. We’re still in hospital on day 6 now but I think we’re getting discharged tomorrow. She’s back to her cheeky self smiling at all the nurses and wanting to play rather than being terrified when they come in the room! :)

They haven’t found the source of the problem which still scares me but think my mental health is shot from all the worry / no sleep. Just hope it doesn’t come back whatever it is!

@floorplanner thanks for checking in.
Yes GP, husband and family all thought I was being a drama queen (to be fair to them in most instances it probably would have been teething!) but definitely going with my gut next time.

Oh that's a wonderful update. So glad.

Mothers' intuition is definitely a thing so well done you.

Good to hear a positive update OP! And yes, always trust mother's intuition

Glad to hear she’s doing better it’s really tough being in hospital with a little one. Hope you’re home with her soon.

That's great news, glad she is on the mend. Take care of yourself too when you are back home.

Hope she is well and home soon! Came on to add my story but others have done too so just to say thinking of you x

Hope YOU are doing OK op, too, must have been so stressful for everyone, take care of yourself