so i'm taking a detour before getting to august's birth story, because his two week milestone landed us in the hospital earlier this week. and it's currently where we still are. and between treatments, feedings & sleeps...i need something to keep me occupied. so here goes... little babe started with the sniffles the weekend before monday. we slowly watched him decline in his health {more coughing, sneezing & a lot of nasal congestion}. we also noticed that he was taking in very deep breathes, which was alarming to look at as his little teeny tiny chest depressed almost 2 inches into his chest cavity. with this concern, i took him to get checked out at his 2 week appointment. immediately, doc was concerned with his breathing & tested him for rsv & measured his oxygen levels. less than stellar results came back...his oxygen levels were below what was expected & the rsv test came back positive. so, we were whisked away immediately via wheelchair to be admitted. gus had blood drawn {uccckkkkk...nothing worse than sticking a newborn} & a little tiny chest xray was done. we settled into the room & he received his first nebulizer treatment. his color came back right away after that was completed. and it was refreshing to see some pink back in the little gus face again. but, honestly, i was still scared...& as a mama, i had to be strong...so there were only minimal tears.
next came the oxygen...this wasn't as smooth the first day. he refused the nasal cannula {the little tubes that are placed into the nostrils}. so, instead of upsetting him more, we attempted the oxygen mask...& that was a no go too! he was not having that thing attached to his face either! so...the other option at that point was to hold the end of the oxygen tube up to his nostrils. at first, this wasn't an issue at all...i was to do whatever i had to do to help the little guy! they stuck the oxygen meter on his little big toe & from there, we were able to read out his levels. and easy enough...keep the tube blowing into his nostrils & the levels stayed up...but once the exhaustion & sleep deprivation really kicked in...it's hard to hold a little tiny tube up to little tiny nostrils...which was a precursor to a horrible night! daddy came up after work, which did make it better =)
the first night was rough...heavy caffeine was needed to make it through day two! and day two, gus's lungs were worse than the day before...which...was to be expected. the doc warned that with this virus, once treatment has begun, things get a little worse before they get better...so, we kind of new that it was going to happen. luckily, the respiratory therapist insisted that he get the nasal cannula in...& after a few moments of being peeved off...he tolerated it just fine! and mama was liberated from the tube holding =) by the end of the day after numerous breathing treatments, antibiotics & a steroid to relax & loosen the mucous up...things were starting to take a turn. he had a really nice puke after a feeding, which was a good thing b/c he coughed out a bunch of mucous! yayyyyy for puking! the 2nd night ended with many cuddles from daddy, a shower for mama, breathing treatments through the night & some much needed sleep by all =)
day three started with some good news that the lungs sounded better. he still has the mucous he needs to move, but blood work results from today didn't indicate any other complications in the road. it's going to be a slow process, but at least we're looking at a downhill slide according to the doc this morning. we'll proceed with breathing treatments & get this thing whooped!
meanwhile, daddy continues to work while mommy hangs at the hospital...he then comes up afterwards to love on gus. and much thanks to "zee zee" {lindsay}, mary for coming down from sioux falls & my parents...for watching the little o-man as his little brother gets better. it's been hard for us to be away from him, but he is handling the shuttling back & forth & days/nights w/ out mommy & daddy as well as you can expect. we cannot wait to all be back home together again! thank you, also, to everyone who has sent their support, love & prayers our direction...we feel it.
go gus go! we're proud of you strong man...keep kicking butt! we love you so much!
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