One of the many, many things that gets drilled into your head when you are a preemie mom is that "A Cold Is Not Just A Cold".
So yesterday when
Greyson seemed under the weather I took note. Then when last night turned into a horror show of snot and coughing up snot I began to worry. He couldn't breath when laying down because he was so congested, so he slept on my chest as I sat up in bed with him. Not the most peaceful night sleep, but we managed. This morning he was still crazy stuffy and was having trouble nursing I decided it was time to call the doctor, worrying that his cold was more then a cold.
He's had some little colds before, but they've never been this bad and honestly after a few hours of constant nursing he's been better. Since he was having trouble nursing I didn't know what to do. So for the first time I called the doctor because he had a cold*. They had him come in so we could have a "baseline" of what a cold looks like in (on?)
Greyson.
The results:
- Low grade fever (his first - I'm serious, this is his first fever) that the doctor said not even to treat with Tylenol.
- No sign of infection in his ears
- Clear sounding lungs (He listened for a LONG time too)
- Throat colored throat
- Runny/Congested nose
Basically a cold.
He said it will probably get worse at night and better during the day. It might last up to 2 weeks. To give him Tylenol only if he seems really uncomfortable. Not to worry about a fever unless it is 105 or higher. Run a humidifier and put some
vapo-rub on his chest if we want to. Keep pushing fluids and the more he can nurse the better. And if he suddenly sounds worse/starts wheezing to bring him back in.
I love
Greyson's pediatrician. He is so calm, he is not a drug pusher at all and he totally supports breast-feeding. He also makes me feel like I'm doing a good job as a mommy. The best part of the visit was when he said "
Greyson has a really strong immune system. He's 14 months old and this is the first time you've had to bring him in for being sick." That statement just made me so happy. My little preemie, who I was told repeatedly would have a weak immune system, in fact has a strong one! All the precautions we took his first year have really paid off!
So as of right now, his cold is just a cold. But you can bet I'll be watching him.
*Shortly after Greyson came home from the NICU he developed a little cough and I freaked out and thought it was RSV, so we went to urgent care over it. His RSV test came back negative and he was diagnosed with "a cough" and we were told to run a humidifier. He was fine a few days later.
