I noticed Alysse coughing a little... then she started sounding congested. Since everyone we know has the flu or some other illness, I started to panic. I don't do well with sick babies. I always fear the worse and I'm unable to stay calm. Since I still have post partum anxiety, it's much worse than usual. I do ok when the girls fall and hurt themselves and when they cry. I am actually the calm one and Mark is the one that freaks out. He's the calm one when they are sick and I'm the one that freaks out. Thank goodness we have each other to offset the other.
I just held Alysse and didn't let go b/c I was worried a fever was coming on. She started coughing a little more and I realized it was from sniffing snot into her throat. Her little eyes were watering and saliva was pouring out her mouth. It seems like it came on so fast and she got worse even faster. When I start panicking like that I lose sight of anything that's happening around me. When it started getting dark we packed everything up to leave. I was so absorbed in Alysse I didn't even get pictures of the girls with Memaw or anyone else for that matter. We will have to take some of those later.
When we got home, we didn't have power b/c of the strong wind. It was close to 30 degrees now and the big girls started freaking out. It was pitch black in the house so we lit candles. I had to keep the big girls calm while holding Alysse b/c she started getting fussy. Her eyes were so red and swollen and she couldn't breathe well. So 4 of us were in panic mode and Mark was running around trying to light a fire to keep us warm, making sure wasps didn't fly in our house again when he opened the flu.
That night Alysse and I slept in the recliner to help her congestion. Needless to say we didn't get much sleep. The next morning I called the dr to get her in. At this point she didn't have a fever. The nurse at the dr office told me she just had a cold and there was nothing the dr could do. For me to give her saline drops and keep suctioning her nose. Then she told me to take her to the ER if her fever goes above 101.5 rectal since she is 5 weeks old. WTH! I KNOW that's not right. It's 100.4! That did it for me. First, I could not believe she told me that Alysse didn't need to be seen... she's 5 weeks old! How did she know it wasn't in her chest? Second of all, for a baby under 3 months old, it's 100.4. The reason for that is because babies have a hard time fighting off infection and it could turn into meningitis. If I didn't know better and waited until my 5 week old had a fever of 101.5, it could be too late! It was time to go to a new dr. As much as I LOVE her dr, what's the point in staying there if we can never get in? And if the nurses give us bad advice.
Alysse ended up getting a fever of 100.1 and I was sweating b/c it was so close to 100.4. We slept in the recliner again and thankfully her fever went away. The next day she seemed so much better and she didn't seem to have much congestion. She was awake almost the whole day and was so happy. She was smiling and cooing for me AND Mark! That night she had a major meltdown b/c she was so tired but she slept 6 hours after going to sleep at 9pm! Unfortunately she woke up congested again so I called a new dr. They got her in and I was so happy we changed. She said that Alysse needed to be seen and that they would never let a nurse give me medical advice. That if someone tried to tell me what to do, I needed to request to speak to her firstcly and she will tell me what to do. Thank goodness!
She checked out Alysse and said she looked good... just to keep an eye on her. To look for the fever of 100.4 or higher, labored breathing and a wet cough. She also alleviated 90% of my anxiety of Alysse getting sick. She said she made it past the 28 day mark. That if she gets a fever of 100.4, she doesn't automatically get the spinal tap and admittance to the hospital for 2 days. They will evaluate her and take blood and urine and determine if she needs the spinal tap. I just wanted to hug the dr. I don't feel as panicky anymore! Immediately, just like that... I felt better. She also said that if one of the girls gets the flu, bring them in immediately... that Tamiflu is now available for babies 2 weeks and older. It was 1 year old but the FDA just approved 2 weeks b/c of how bad flu season is this year. YAY for that! So now I am feeling so much better and not deathly afraid of leaving the house.
It is still really cold and windy though and Alysse is still congested so we won't be leaving the house anytime soon.
This picture was taken the same day Alysse had a fever. Even at her worse, she still smiled and coo'd at me. I caught the end of her smile...
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