my baby has meningitis at 2 weeks old. - Page 2

[mama de dos]

Sending prayers for all of you!

My 5 day baby developed a fever, (and she was born at HOME- had never been in a hospital!) and we took her to ER. Same awful, horrifying routine- blood draws, catheter urine, lumbar puncture (spinal tap), chest X-Ray.....

She also had meningitis- turns out it was viral, never identified which one it was, but drs were initially pretty sure it was bacterial based on her blood work numbers.....

Anyway, she is totally fine now, thank goodness.

Just wanted to send you a positive story from someone who's been in the same scary place.

Hugs for all of you!

[Turquesa]

Poor mama and baby! You're in my thoughts and prayers. I hope to hear a positive update soon.

[Jilian]

Lots of prayers and positive thoughts for you. I hope he is doing well and back home soon! Hang in there mama. I'll be thinking of you!

[AmberLynn]

Originally Posted by mama de dos

Sending prayers for all of you!

My 5 day baby developed a fever, (and she was born at HOME- had never been in a hospital!) and we took her to ER. Same awful, horrifying routine- blood draws, catheter urine, lumbar puncture (spinal tap), chest X-Ray.....

She also had meningitis- turns out it was viral, never identified which one it was, but drs were initially pretty sure it was bacterial based on her blood work numbers.....

Anyway, she is totally fine now, thank goodness.

Just wanted to send you a positive story from someone who's been in the same scary place.

Hugs for all of you!

Thank you so much for this.
He is on day 5 of his stay, we are here 5 more.. his fever broke the day after we arrived, but hes been on MAJOR ANTIBIOTICS since our intial trip to the ER... I worry abut his immune system in the future.. But he is doing really well. We were moved from Intensive Care status to Pediatric status... but still in same room. We were given a cot instead of chairs like before.
It is viral, and not bacterial... they think. All of his cultures have come back negative as of now. He is eating like a HOG!!! He is really gulpin the breast milk down now.. and he's awake alot more now. He is kind of fussy from all the wires, and seems irritated if he is awake when he gets his antiobiotics...
but the drs seem pretty optimistic he will make a full recovery, and be just fine.
Thank god we caught his fever when we did. Also, his catscan came back negative as well...

We are praying and feeling very blessed with this outcome. This has been absolutely terrifying. I hate hospitals, and after having to sacrifice my homebirth for a Csection, and now this... I am trying to stay positive. My DH has been AMAZING and is really keeping my spirits high. His parents also came out from St Louis to help us eat, and keep positive.. Thank god for that.. I don't know what I'd have done otherwise.
As it stands now, no PPD... but who knows...

Thank you ALL for your well wishes.

[mama de dos]

Awwwww, more hugs for you. If he is on day 5 and doing well, I think you can be incredibly confident that he will be totally FINE. My dd was also on major antibiotics IV, as well as some antiviral drugs until they figured out what was or wasn't going on. She recovered in a similar way to your ds, started eating better and getting a bit stronger, though it took us a while to get her back to the breast- she had been too weak to nurse. That was actually the 1st sign that something was wrong w/her. Then she spiked a fever. Hers also broke the 2nd day in the hospital.

She is 3 years old now, and her immune system and everything else have been totally normal. Actually, she is my 3rd child and has been sick the least of all of them! She's had no after effects from anything and she was followed for a long time by early intervention folks to pick up any problems as early as possible. There have been none. :

The infectious disease specialists that worked with us said that summer is a time of higher numbers of viral meningitis and that after a zillion tests they ran to identify what was making her sick, they came back with nothing. ((She was born in June)

All her bacterial cultures were stone cold negative and all the viral testing came back neg. as well. They told us that as there are 1000s of viruses, and any number that could have made her sick, they tested for some of the more common and more dangerous ones, but we will never know the culprit, since all those came back neg.

It was a terrifying ordeal for dh and me. I have never, ever been that scared in my whole life. It really took a physical and emotional toll that took a while to get over and can still be re-triggered by certain other events. When you go home, have lots of help so you can just hold your sweet baby and get to know him all over again. It will take a while to feel normal and not panicky, so give yourself time and patience. It will get better, but it won't be right away.

Our ped followed up with us frequently when we first came home and it was reassuring to have someone else look at her and see that she was fine.

SO, sounds like your little one is doing great and will continue to do so. I'm so happy about that for you!

Take good care of yourself and post and update when you can.

Hugs
Jennifer

[mija y mijo]

Wishing your LO a speedy recovery!!! And much peace to you!

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

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[Ackray]

Just jumping in, I saw this in new posts earlier and I was worried for you. I'm glad things are getting better. My youngest DD had bacterial meningitis last year and it was the scariest time of my life. I'm hoping for a full recovery for you and your baby.

[majormajor]

: glad to hear he's doing better! that is so wonderful.

my DD did not have meningitis (they never determined what she did have, i don't even know if it was viral or bacterial), but she was on IV antibiotics for 3 days and afterwards developed a very persistent case of thrush. we tried nystatin for weeks before it got deep into my breasts (VERY painful!) and had to switch to diflucan, which cleared it right up. just thought i'd let you know in case you get it too.

[minimunklemama]

oh my gosh amberlynn,You are all in my prayers.

[mi.birthdoula]

Our family will continue to pray for your little one and your family. I know it can be tough with a little one in the hospital. Our first born was admitted to Peds ICU when she was 13 months old for a seizure disorder caused by an immunization and it tore me up beyond belief. I will be sending healing vibes your way and wish your little one a speedy recovery.

[Aridel]

Glad to hear he is doing well!

If you are still thinking about re-building his immune system after you return home, check out Health and Healing, where there are a ton of suggestions.