Camden in the Hospital

 

My poor baby Camden ended up in the hospital with RSV.  But first he scared the crap out of me for a couple nights at home.  He had two separate apneic events where he was choking on mucous that totally occluded his airway.  He would turn completely blue, and I was just there begging him to breathe again.  SO SCARY!  

I was sneaking him into my office for albuterol nebulizer treatments and using tons of nasal saline and a bulb syringe, but after spending an entire night just watching him breathe (would run and check on him every time he coughed and every time he was quiet for too long) and after he started throwing up everything he ate due to coughing, I finally took him to our pediatrician.  He was starting to scare me because he just wasn't acting himself.  He was just so listless and sucking in his chest to breathe and wheezing and having hardly any wet diapers which was worrying me that he was getting dehydrated.

I almost regretted going to the pediatrician because he looked better there than he had during the night, but he sent me to the RSV clinic.  Hello?  How did I not know about this place?  It is an outpatient center at the hospital open 24/7.  We went over there and they suctioned him and checked his oxygen levels and said he actually looked pretty good, so they sent us home.

Well that night was the second apneic event and it lasted like 30 seconds (but felt like much longer).  I was home alone with all the kids and by the time Derek got home I just started bawling.  I had been trying to be brave in front of Liv, but it was scary as heck watching my kid almost die and not knowing how the heck I could possibly get to the hospital with all the other kids and in enough time to matter if he hadn't started breathing again.

Of all nights, this was the night all of Derek's family was doing a marathon temple night to complete some work for Great Uncle Luigi and no one could be reached by phone of course, so Derek and I called a neighbor to come over and rushed him to the RSV clinic, but I was leery because all they could do was suction his nose, and I knew it wasn't something in his nose that was blocking his airway.  Plus, he was going through spells where he would look horrible and then be ok and they had already sent me home once that day.

We walk in and they ask how he is doing and I just start bawling and tell them what had happened just an hour or so before.  Then they tried to suction him and checked his oxygen levels which all looked pretty good again.  I just kept pushing saying I was scared to bring him home and that I had no clue what I would do if that apneic event repeated during the middle of the night when we were all sleeping.  He said ok I'll try to call over to the pediatrician on call.  Why don't you nurse him and lets see what his oxygen levels do while you're nursing him.  Well he was on the phone while sure enough as soon as Camden started nursing (which is probably the most exertional thing babies do--but hello it happens every 2 or 3 hours all day long) his oxygen levels dropped into the 70s.  He got off the phone and said I just earned my baby an admittance into the hospital.  Tears of sadness and joy both started streaming down my face.  So sad that my baby was sick enough to be in the hospital, but so glad that he would be somewhere where they could monitor him all day and night.

After he was admitted he actually got worse for the next two days.  He would do nothing but sleep and have very labored breathing, then he finally started to get a little better each day.  It was a little nutso having one infant in the hospital and his twin brother at home and both of them needing to eat from me.  I just kept running back and forth between the hospital and home for most of a week.  Carter the little stinker will not take a bottle.  You would think after this he would have learned because he was forced to take one or two every day.  But, by the end of the week, you would still spend an hour trying to get the guy to take the dang thing before he would finally give up and drink it.  Luckily, it was Camden in the hospital because he takes a bottle just fine.  So, we sorta rotated who was there with him during the day and I spent most of the nights with him because Carter we discovered without his brother around sleeps through the night!

I swear I was receiving blessings and comfort from my Heavenly Father because as crazy and stressful and nightmarish as that should have been I seemed to handle it pretty easily.  A few examples, I never felt as tired as I should have even though I really didn't sleep for a week.  Some how both boys got fed by me in two separate places.  You would think seeing your two month old struggling for breath and hooked up to so many cord and machines would be upsetting, but it made me feel so much better just knowing he was being taken care of and closely watched.   Seriously as soon as Camden was admitted I honestly didn't worry about him at all. And of all weekends, my Mom just happened to have planned a trip out to stay with us for a long weekend (that wasn't exactly how we had planned to spend our time with her--but we were so grateful to have had extra hands).

I actually found Camden adorably cute with his little oxygen tubing and hospital pajamas and kept snapping photos:

Camden was the hit of the floor.  All the nurses and respiratory therapists couldn't get over his hair and his adorable cooing that he greeted everyone with.  I was reminded in the hospital of something my pediatrician had said back at the boys 2 week well child check.  He told me (referring to Camden), "This is the one that is gonna get sick.  With all that hair he will be a germ magnet.  Everyone will want to stroke his hair."  Well, guess my pediatrician called it.

We actually had a pretty enjoyable time at home with Babi while Camden was in the hospital.  Babi orchestrated the making of Valentine's cookies.  I even delivered some to all the people I visit teach.  (That's right I did my visiting teaching while my kid was in the hospital!)  And as a special treat, Uncle Nathan drove up!  Uncle Nathan was the comic relief.  Liv (and London) totally attached themselves to him as usual.  They watched Japanimation videos on the couch (he even left one for us--it's Liv's new favorite and now I get stuck watching it over and over and over again). 

They put stickers on their noses

and we all even bundled up for a de-stressing run in the snow.

Finally yesterday morning after 6 nights in the hospital, Camden was healthy enough to come home.  He has to be on a little oxygen still, but we are all glad to have him home.  I am so glad to be with all my kids under the same roof again.  It's a little unsettling to be separated from one or two of your kids at almost all times for a week straight.  I think Carter missed Camden most of all.  Carter and Camden just seemed a little lost without each other around.  Now that he is home they are back to holding hands while I nurse them and they always link arms when they are lying next to each other.  So cute! 

And, I don't know if it is just because he is home (people always look sicker in the hospital for some reason) or what, but since we've been home I feel like Camden has markedly improved.  Of course Carter is sick too, but is not having nearly as bad of a reaction to the virus as Camden did and Liv is now coughing again too.  It's a constant chorus of coughs over here.  Don't visit for a while.

A few other photos:  Boys first bath together

The way Liv was found entertaining herself during hospital week before Babi arrived.  Yep those are panti liners!