I took Benjamin to the doctor yesterday. Lots of big words were thrown about.
Bronchiolitis. Congenital Torticollis. Plagiocephaly.
I've done enough research to know everything about all of the above.
RSV + Bronchiolitis = sick days at home in PJs and LOTS of snot
Congenital Torticollis + Plagiocephaly = physical therapy
Bronchiolitis is swelling and mucus buildup in air passages in the lungs, caused by RSV. A scary statistic, approximately 30% of children who develop bronchiolitis later develop asthma. Another thing to add to our worry list.
Needless to say, Benjamin is home on antibiotics resting for the rest of the week. I never knew one little tiny baby could make so much snot. I wish I could take away his aching pain. Instead, all I can do is suction his snot with a bulb syringe, dose him up with antibiotics, fill his nose with saline drops, suction more snot, hold and him let him know it will be ok, suction more snot, pat his back and bring him into the bathroom while the hot shower runs to help his coughing and, of course, suction more snot.
Did I mention the doctor sent him for chest x-rays? Have you ever taken your baby for a chest x-ray? They strap him to this thing that can only be described as a torture device. It was heart-wrenching to watch.
Congenital Torticollis. These are some fancy words used to describe basically stiff neck muscles. Due to the way Benjamin was living in utero he was born with a stiff neck, always favoring looking to one side. The NICU nurses noticed it the first week he was born. It started to become a problem around 6 weeks old. We had trouble getting him to look to the other side. I brought this up at his 2 month check up. The doctor told us some at home neck exercise to do with him, among other things. He's been doing really well with the exercises and I have noticed a big improvement. However, because of the way he sleeps he is starting to develop a flat spot on the back-right side of his head. No matter how many times I move him or try and position him in his sleep, he moves his head right back. Today I ordered one of those boppy noggin pillows that should help the flat spot on his head.
This brings me to Plagiocephaly... which is another fancy doctor word for flattening of one side of the head... in this case caused by congenital torticollis.
Now we are being recommended to a physical therapist.
Have I mentioned that I swear Benjamin is the happiest baby in the entire world? Seriously, he is amazing. He is perfect. It is completely unfair that he had such a rough start to the world and it doesn't seem to be getting any easier for him. Yet, he is still the happiest baby.
It's a stressful week for me. I would rather be at home feeling guilty about not being at work than being at work feeling guilty about not being home with my baby. Either way, there is no way around guilt. How do working moms deal with missing work with sick kids? I have been back at work for 2 weeks and have already missed more time than I've been at work! I hate that but what else can you do? Right now my focus needs to be on sweet little Benny.
Any encouraging words from sympathetic mothers are appreciated.
I am taking it one day at a time here.
Pin It
Oh gosh poor baby Benjamin. Hope he is OK. Never had to take my boys for a chest X-ray. I do recall a trip to the ER,and they thought Jack had Spinal menigitis..it was horrible...turned out he HAD gas!
ReplyDeleteOh I feel for you! I think all of my kids have had chest xrays. Although I'm not a mom who works outside the home, my sister is and I know how guilt ridden she can feel. Huge blog hugs!
ReplyDeleteBless your heart. I know how you feel. Our youngest almost died at birth, and she has mild CP. At one time when she was a toddler, she had 6 - 9 therapies every week, so I had to quit my job as a teacher. I know it's hard.
ReplyDelete{{{hugs}}},
Ricki Jill