Ok, so I'm just gonna be real here. Ive spent the last couple hours pretty much just balling my eyes out, concerned that my newborn baby is not well. Normal for a lot of first time moms, but second time moms? Come on. Lets be real here. What are my concerns, you ask?
1) His right eye. I noticed it his second day of life. It had an unusual white crustiness to it after periods of having his eyes closed. When I mentioned it to the nurse (we were still in hospital) she dismissed it with the wave of her hand and said it was likely a reaction to the goop they put on their eyes after they're born. "It happens a lot." So fast forward one week, and each day has gotten progressively worse. Today, he can't open his eye unless I clean it for him. It's crusted closed in what looks like light green boogers, and then there's a circle around his eye of dried stuff, which today (for the first time) showed up in a totally unfashionable yellow-orange color. I called the nurses hotline. They are so so stupid & not helpful at all. Always the same conversation. (We called them when his circumcision was oober bleeding). "Fever? Swelling? Trouble eating? If so, take him in." Gee, thanks for clarifying that for me.
2) Labored breathing. My biggest concern. His tiny little chest is trying so hard with each breath - NOT something i experienced with Mckenzi. He's not congested, he's not gurgling, his breathing is clear. It's just heavy. He breathed normally for the most part, but today I've noticed it's more labored more frequently than not.
So I'm concerned. My whole family has been sick (meaning my nephews, my dad, my mom, mckenzi, neal...mostly in that order. only my dad is still sick) and although Diesel has none of the same symptoms, he is not perfectly well baby. My mind races with the possibilities. When I think about the REAL facts (no fever, no grumpiness, he nurses awesome, pees and poops like a champ) and then my mind tells me that things can't go all that bad too quick. I plan to take him to the doctor tomorrow. I'm just concerned my concerns will be dismissed.
Does anyone know why an infant's breathing is labored? Or if that's ever normal and ok? Every time I called the nurses hotline when Kenzi was little, about her being sick or something, they always asked a very specific question about her breathing. Whether it was labored, and if I could distinctly see her ribs with each breath. So that has me freaked. Obviously, I don't want my baby to stop breathing.
Being a mom is physically challenging, obviously. But the emotional challenges trump it all. You never know love like you do when you have a child, and trying to imagine life with empty arms is darned near impossible.
