Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Concern.

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.

2 comments:

  1. I have no idea about the breathing concern. My gut says that moms intuition is usually right, but I know strange breathing is pretty normal with newborns. I would think you would see other troubling signs if it was something really affecting his health. Is his color normal? Is he lethargic? That would be a pretty big clue if he wasn't getting enough oxygen.

    As for the eye problem, I can bet money it is either a clogged tear duct (the most probable) or regular old conjunctivitis. BOTH my kids had this soon after birth and have had it at least once since. It looks worse than it is. Just clean it with a warm wash cloth. If you read back on my blog you can see pics of Josie with it. I (foolishly) took her to urgent care thinking she was going blind or something, lol. It cleared up fast and they gave her antibiotics in case it was infected at all. Totally common, totally nothing to worry about! I was glad I knew what to do when Donny got the same thing.

    Glad you will be taking him it to get the breathing checked out. I'm sure he's be fine, but it's always good to be sure!

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  2. Scarlett had the same exact eye problem! You can squirt breast milk in it and/or lightly massage it with your pinky every morning. If it doesnt go away, as Scarletts did not the Dr can give you antibiotic drops. She still gets in if she gets sick.
    As for the breathing, the nurse in me knows that newborns are supposed to have fast and irregular breathing. As you know, if their color gets pale or blue you can then worry. The Dr should definatly know by looking if its normal.
    My nephew had super fast labored breathing. That turned out to be a heart issue that was resolved. Even though his breathing wasnt normal/healthy he was never in immediate danger.
    Whatever feedback you get, if you are unsettled about the little mans health go ahead and see a dr. I took bug to the ER for spitting up blood... Turned out to be blood from my nipples. The Dr said it is common, but i absolutely did the right thing by coming in because you never know until you know.

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