Baby ended up in hospital

[laura109]

Hi, I have written a few posts about my dd being so poorly all the time. She's caught bug after bug from nursery. Its been 10 months since she started and this winter has been awful. Since January we've been in a constant state of illness.

My partners had 3 colds with fevers aches and pains.

I had one virus lasting 10 days, then another lasting 2 weeks.

My kids have had constant coughs, colds aches and pains.

Last weekend I noticed the usual. My daughter was starting with another cough she had got from nursery. Then a day later my 14 month old baby started.

On Monday he was struggling with every breath. I tried to get him in to see a gp early. They heard his breathing and said ambulance. I said I would take him to out a&e myself and off I went. 10 minutes later we were there. Within 5 minutes of booking in we were called in despite a busy room. They did his pulse and temperature. They said his torso was hot and hands and feet were cold. They gave him paracetamol, took bloods, started him on a strong antibiotic and put a canula in. They pumped iv fluids into him then contacted another hospital with a children's paediatric department. We were taken 50 minutes by ambulance to this hospital. They did more tests and said he would be staying in. They continued pumping antibiotics Into him. The next day they did an x-ray and confirmed the infection was in his lung where the air leaves the lung.

He had to stay in 3 nights. He is home now on antibiotics still. He's barely eating. He's so sleepy still. There were 3 other little ones admitted into hospital whilst we were in that had recently started nursery and ended up so poorly.

We've all got chesty coughs now. As a family we are all run down and worn out. I am writing this in tears. I don't know how to get my family well again. I don't see anything when I look ahead. I don't see normality anymore. I miss my friends, I miss taking my kids out, I miss having structure. My 4 year old is teary and emotional because she's stuck home as the weather's bad and we can't take little man out at the moment.

To add to everything I've made the decision to reduce her nursery hours to just 5 a week. She was doing 14. I'm upset it's come to this as she loves nursery but something has to give. She isn't there half the time and as soon as she goes back she's poorly again. I can't justify paying £46 a month (She gets some funding) for her to not go. Also whilst we can't avoid all bugs and I know they catch stuff eventually, my baby has been through an awful week due to a virus turning into an infection. He's only 14 months old and he's had a good 10 colds and tonsilitis and now a nasty infection. He doesn't even go to nursery but he's dealing with what his sister brings home.

Please tell me it will get better.

 

[Bevziibubble]

I'm so sorry I hope everyone is fully recovered soon

 

[noon_child]

That sounds very scary and exhausting. You must all be miserable right now. I bet you can’t wait till they are past this stage and have better immune systems. Some children are just prone to certain infections - everyone in my family gets pneumonia at some point before they are 5 - but at such a young age the hospital will have wanted to treat it aggressively. It feels worrying to hear words like hospital and ambulance but really we are lucky we have these resources to use, so please keep in mind your children are safe and healthy compared to children in other parts of the world and times in the past. Please don’t be scared of the world.

 

[laura109]

That sounds very scary and exhausting. You must all be miserable right now. I bet you can’t wait till they are past this stage and have better immune systems. Some children are just prone to certain infections - everyone in my family gets pneumonia at some point before they are 5 - but at such a young age the hospital will have wanted to treat it aggressively. It feels worrying to hear words like hospital and ambulance but really we are lucky we have these resources to use, so please keep in mind your children are safe and healthy compared to children in other parts of the world and times in the past. Please don’t be scared of the world.

It is very miserable. I've been in bed all day exhausted. Got my 4 year old laid with me, she won't leave my side. My baby is downstairs with his dad. Right now I don't remember what feeling Normal is. I look at other people making plans and going out and I just wish we were those people. It's getting to me now. I know we are very lucky on this country. I agree. The nhs is amazing. Xx

 

[jessmke]

Is there a reason you daughter needs to go to nursery at all? I am in Canada so not entirely sure what nursery is, but I assume it’s either daycare or preschool? If she is getting that ill and it isn’t compulsory for her to attend then I would just pull her out entirely. My kids won’t be attending preschool (optional from ages 3-5 before they start kindergarten), they go to a small dayhome one day per week (6 kids attend per day) and that’s enough socialization for them. If you are all healthy then you can take her out to playgroups and other activities for socialization and structure without your whole family having to deal with such severe illness!

 

[_Meep_]

Oh no, how awful - it really seems like it's just gone too far now.

I was thinking, would she do better with a government-funded childminder running a care service from their own home? This is what my daughter attends, though it is basically like a nursery in terms of activities and structure. They do all sorts of topics - a new one every couple of weeks - plus art, craft, reading, taking walks, playing in the mud kitchen, etc. The usual stuff.

My daughter still gets to use her free hours a week there. She absolutely loves it - there are about ten children in total with a minimum of three ladies between them at all times.

Just a thought, as fewer children presumably means less disease and also, as it's someone's house, it is obviously kept pretty clean. My daughter did get unwell regularly when first attending but has been fine now for many months and the baby has suffered no ill effects. Your poor son! As a family, never feeling well must be truly ghastly.

 

[vickyandchick]

Oh gosh how awful

My eldest is 4 also and brings home so many bugs from preschool which in turn means the baby ends up with them as well, right now they both have lingering chesty coughs.
It sucks but their immune system is (slowly) building and with warmer weather on the way it should get much better- my GP told me February is vomit season after we all got struck down with gastro.

 

[LunaRose]

Your poor family! That sounds so scary!

I remember those days. My son caught everything going when he started pre-school .. Coughs, colds, sickness bugs, hand, foot and mouth, chicken pox, scarlet fever, he even had a mystery one off allergic reaction! The pre-school leader said she has never known such a sickly child and she has been running that place for yeeears! By the last year of infants he wasn't really catching anything worse than the common cold and now he's 9 and has had perfect attendance at school for the past 3 years running! I never thought it would happen but that immune system is pretty strong these days! Hang in there, there's light at the end of the tunnel!

I agree, there's not much point in paying for nursery if she's never there. Although, personally I would keep socialising her with other children so she can keep building her immune system. Maybe a playgroup?