Sick baby

Jennifer, that temporal thermometer is a little too Star Trek for me. When it *really* matters, I still use the rectal thermometer on my just turned 3 yr old.

I hope your little one feels better soon. Try to get some rest and get lots of extra cuddle time.

I am always shocked when people are healthy enough to speak so flippantly of pneumonia. My son was a micro-preemie and has under-developed lungs, among other things. Even the hint of the word pneumonia sends me into a panic of thoughts of breathing treatments, steroids, hospitals and oxygen. So, I forget that people have children healthy enough to fight off these illnesses.

Reply

Oh, that's awful! I'm so sorry and I hope your little one is feeling much better soon... it stinks when our babies are sick. =(

I live in Southeast Louisiana and I know SO many people who have pneumonia right now! It's almost freaky. I had an upper respiratory infection last week and was able to head mine off before it developed into full-blown pneumonia; thank goodness!

Is it just me or does this diagnosis seem to be more and more common???

Reply

You did nothing wrong! The initial fever was no doubt due to virus. A very small percentage of children with a virus will develop a complication such as ear infection, tonsillitis and even pneumonia.
Everybody involved behaved impeccably, especially you. There is no way anyone could have been able to prevent the pneumonia.
David Robinson

Reply

We just got over pneumonia here, and are crossing our fingers that my son doesn`t end up with it again. Scary, isn`t it?

Like a pp, my son was a micropreemie... And even though he`s 3 now we`re still extra careful when it comes to things like this. I`ve come to think it`s really a matter of luck in many cases!
My son had a fever one day, with a sniffle and a slight cough. His fever went away by evening on it`s own (I`m one for not medicating unless it`s dangerously high, and hoping his body fights it off) so I didn`t worry much. The next day he was fine, but we stayed in the house bundled up to be safe. And then he woke up in the middle of the night coughing like he couldn`t breathe. We went to the doctor`s first thing in the morning - he had a very low fever, but had apparently developed pneumonia.

It`s a mystery to me why it happened - but I know I didn`t cause it. So it seems like we were just unlucky. A week of medications, hospital visits and x-rays later and my son was officially in the clear.

Nothing you did caused your baby to develop pneumonia, and I`m sure that things will be alright. I hope that it goes away quickly!

Reply

I feel for you. It's so frustrating and upsetting when your baby is sick. I remember our son had two awful illnesses his first year that the doctors couldn't explain. He vomited for a week straight once and then a couple months later had a 102 fever for an entire week. It was terrible. They sent us home to "wait it out." Longest weeks of my life.

Even taking your little one to the doctor with the initial fever might not have helped anything. Pneumonia usually isn't diagnosed until it's pretty bad.

Our son will be two in January, and we start freaking out every time he coughs since he has asthma. We don't have to bring him into the doctor, but we have this whole breathing treatment routine we have to start at the first sign of a cold. It's exhausting, but it's better than ignoring it and letting the asthma start rearing it's really ugly head.

Good luck!

Cheryl at http://redpens-diapers.blogspot.com

Reply

Michelle - rectal thermometer? Ack! I have never, ever done that to my kids. I can't think of a single situation where a couple of tenths of a degree mattered in the slightest. In fact, I usually just go by feel. If they feel hot, they have a fever. If they feel normal, they don't. When in doubt, I take their temp under their arm. You just add a degree (so 97.6 is "normal"). WAY less trauma and lower yuck factor.

Jennifer - I've been told so many times that "it's just a virus, keep doing what you're doing... That'll be $20," that I told my doctor that he should put in an ATM where I can put in $20 and it says, "It's a virus." I only take my kids to the doctor if I can see blood or bone, anymore (or if symptoms persist for more than 2 weeks). I figure I'm giving their immune systems a chance to fight things off themselves.

What I'm saying is that my kid would've probably would've ended up in the hospital, because I would've let the pneumonia go for two weeks, so you're a better parent than I am. Hope that helps!

Reply

It never fails that if the temperature changes or when the holidays roll around we get hit with some kind of fever or viral infection. I sometimes look at family gatherings as an opportunity to share viruses.

At Christmas we have people coming in from many different areas of the country. I have to confess that I take inventory of who is coming in from what state and look at the influenza maps to see what they are bringing with them! DH said that if they travel by air, the map doesn't mean squat as they are exposed to so many people from different COUNTRIES much less states, but I still find myself checking. I just can't help myself because when baby is miserable, I'm miserable.

Don't beat yourself up over baby being sick, I've come to realize that illness is a part of life until their little immune systems mature a little. The only "system failure" is nature's not yours. I hope your little one is better soon.

Jan from http://www.unique-baby-gear-ideas.com/

Reply

prettybabies, with my daughter, who is fairly healthy, with the exception of asthma, I stopped using a rectal thermometer after her infancy. With my son, when I am really concerned with what his temp may be and that couple of tenths of a degree may be the difference between going to the emergency room or simply waiting for regular office hours, I would rather have an accurate temp. The ear thermometers are crazy inaccurate. It's too easy for the thermometer to slip and get taken in the wrong place under the arm, and under the tongue, it is highly innacurate, if your child has had anything to eat or drink recently. I don't always go directly for the rectal approach, but when the ped wants the nitty gritty details, exact measurements count, especially when you have a child with a compromised immune system. Approximations are not good enough for me. I have discussed this with my child's doctor, and this is what we have agreed works in those moments when we are facing serious illnesses. Ear infections? I take it under his arm, and just take the estimate I get. No biggie.

Reply

I guess rectal therms are fine if your kid is placid. Mine isnt. I took her to the ER one night when she was 3. I had put her to bed with a very slight temp. 2 hours later her temp was 103!!!!!!
When we got to the ER I told them she was 3 and had a very high temp. By this point she was shaking violently and was RED. They gave gave me some liquid fever reducer and sent me back to WAIT in the waiting area. The people in front of me were all adults with things like sprains. No sooner than I sat down she thrw up all over me, the chairs, the floor and the magazines on the table in front of the older woman there with a sprained wrist. THEN they took me seriously! Took her in and wanted to do a rectal temp. Ah ha. She almost got hurt because of this!! She wanted nothing to do with it even as ill as she was. Had my husband and I hold her down screaming and thrashing. Nice. At that point her temp was up to 104. They admitted her. I refuse to go back to that hospital. EVER.

Reply

I can guarantee you my son is NOT placid. It takes a great deal of work on my part to take his temp, rectally, or otherwise. And, I am always struggling to do so on my own.

As to your ER experience, that is why we always go to the Children's Hospital, even though there are several other hospitals closer. One is 5 minutes down the street. I would rather go 22 miles (in Atlanta traffic, that is like going to the moon!) to the Children's Hospital where I know my son will receive the specialized attention he requires. They also have his medical records, since they have been the place of all his ER visits and performed all his surgeries, with the exception of his heart surgery in NICU. Most adult hospitals don't really know what to do with children. In fact, the hospital where I delivered my children doesn't have children as patients, with the exception of neonates.

Reply

My son got pneumonia a few weeks ago in a very similar manner that you just described. Be thankful it's a bacterial pneumonia that is (hopefully) easily cured by a round of antibiotics. My son was better within a few days.

Yes, it is scary thing. I think you did everything you possibly you could You saw he was sick and took him to the doc. I'm almost certain there was nothing you could have done to prevent it from happening. Rest assured he's feeling better, now.

Your child needs to see that you take care of things, not freak out.

Be thankful, and have a happy thanksgiving!

Reply

Wanted to l et you know that we OWN this forehead thermometer and it works.. but not on the head. We push it on the part of the ear where it meets with your head... pushing very firmly at that. I don't recommend it personally. Usually it says my temp is 95-97 on my head. One time we got a 102 with it on the head of my son and then we knew it was sky high.... sure enough it was 106 rectally. We always end up checking that way because drs don't take the number seriously if it wasn't taken that way in a small child.. but isn't it ironic that if you go to the hospital they use an ear version?

Reply