A night out?

Having a new child is stressful so a night out would be nice wouldn't it?

Except it wasn't the type of night out I was yearning for.

Last night wasn't so great. Alex has been battling a cold for the last couple of days. Yesterday he was really bad, and wasn't interested much in food or anything to drink and it was a battle getting what I could into him. After I finally got food into him he threw it all up anyhow. Last night he woke from a nap around 7 and was really struggling to breathe.

After calling Hubbs, and then calling the nurses on call number, (who said "call an ambulance" after listening to him over the phone), I popped him in the car, grabbed what I could quickly grab and flew down to the emergency department. (i didn't call an ambulance - he just wasn't bad enough but if he had been I would have called in an instant). Being a bub they looked at him pretty quickly and determined he had an upper respiratory problem and diagnosed "Croup".

I had heard about croup but didn't really know what it was. They told me that basically Croup is the same as a cold but the cold virus swells up the airways. In adults it is just a cold - because our airways are wide enough to cope with it. But in bubs their airways are already narrow so any further narrowing can restrict their airways enough to really put them in danger of not being able to breathe.

So they tried a steroid syrup and monitored him for a few hours, but there was no improvement. He was grisly which is not him, as he is normally so happy, and wasn't interested in his toys - just wanted to be held. Hubbs came to the hospital, and they then tried an Adrenoline inhaler (which he hated - It took three of us to hold his head and the mask on him while he screamed). That helped a little but didn't do it enough for them to be happy with us going home. Around 2:30 - 3am I sent Hubbs home - it seemed silly for us both to be losing sleep and we had just gotten Alex to sleep. So reluctantly he left and I tried to get some sleep - got about 30 minutes. Alex slept peacefully while I went for walks around the emergency department, and watched him sleep. One of the nurses invited me into the nurses lounge for a cuppa (yay).

At 7am this morning the doc checked Alex again and he was still wheezing so he got another dose of the steroid syrup. 8am he was still wheezy and grisly and really miserable, so the attending paediatrician decided to admit him into the childrens ward. So upstairs we go, and I try to make him happy, playing, giving him a bottle etc. The tea lady kindly got Alex some pureed apple and weetbix but he really wasn't interested in eating. He did have a bottle though and got some sleep.

A fleet of doctors (mostly trainees - it is a teaching hospital (one was really cute! ;-) ) ) visited - asked the same questions everyone else did and finally around 2pm they decided he was well enough to go home but if he relapsed I had to bring him back to the hospital immediately. So we are finally home.

I gotta tell you - staying out all night and wearing the same clothes for two days isn't as fun as it used to be!

He is a little better this afternoon - he ate a really good lunch (can you believe 2pm in the hospital and lunch still hadn't come round the ward?) and he has slept well (better than me - I tried and got three phone calls)

Anyhow - pics of the little man being monitored at the hospital attached. Oh and to cap it all off, yesterday both Hubbs and I got hit heavily with Alex's cold. Everything aches - even my teeth. Nose is running like a tap (not one on water restrictions though), and I feel like something on the bottom of a budgie cage.

Poor little man. I am watching him sleep now and it is such a relief to have to watch keenly to see his chest rise rather than seeing his chest suck in and push out with so much effort.

Hubbs is going to come home asap tonight so I can have a shower. I changed my clothing when I got home (couldn't find a clean bra so just left that item of clothing out - luckily nobody is likely to turn up to see him). Actually when Hubbs comes home I might run a bath (shhh - don't tell the water police). I just want to be clean and have a good sleep.

oh and a good tip to know for the future - when you have hardly eaten anything in 24 hours, don't grab a big mac on the way home - your stomach just won't handle it well and as well as chills, aches, foggy head, fever and a runny nose, oh and the tiredness from not sleeping in 24 hours, you will find you are running to the loo an awful lot (and one grisly boy who doesn't want to be parted from Mummy won't be too impressed either).