Four Months Old...and RSV

So James turned 4 months old on the tenth (Thursday) and decided to end off a really bad week by being diagnosed with RSV! Can you feel the sarcasm in that comment?

The only difference for James is that number one he received no inhaler or liquid steroid as treatment, AND he waited a month past the same age his sister was when she had it! Gracie also seems more prone to have a small cough turn into a respiratory infection, so we usually treat coughs with Mucinex at our house.


RSV often times sounds more serious than it is, but it CAN be serious. It usually affects children under the age of two, and can sometimes be a need for hospitalization. It is HIGHLY, HIGHLY contagious but in older children it only presents itself as cold symptoms.

It's taken more seriously in children under two because their airways are much smaller and it makes them have more difficulty breathing. Thankfully, James' RSV was caught in the early stages (wheezing and high fever are the later stages) and he was only running a low grade fever with no wheezing. Happy four month birthday to James!

James is having an extra hard time because the antibiotic he is on causes a loss in appetite and vomiting, which he has already done twice. He's just not getting enough food, but he seems content with the 3-4 ounces he will take.

So here is just a snapshot of what my dresser now looks like....

My at-home medicine counter!
1.The packages to the left are Pulmicort Respules and Xopenex that I have to put in the nebulizer to give for his breathing treatment.
2. infant's tylenol
3. Bactrim (an antiobiotic)
4.a nasal aspirator and saline drops
5.C-Phen Drops
and
6. Puff the Penguin Nebulizer
You can see the neonate nebulizer attachment in the background. James has been grabbing at it and trying to play with it.

His four month photo
And ladies and gentlemen, we learned a NEW trick!


These are first photos of James actually grasping/grabbing something. Now if he could just figure out how to let go....