Category: Health

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Monday update to “Caleb has RSV”

We had kind of a rough night.  Caleb was doing good on 1/4 L at midnight so they decided to slowly turn down the oxygen overnight.  (They were trying to get us home today!) Only they didn’t tell me.  So in the wee hours of the morning I couldn’t figure out why his oxygen levels kept falling to 80% and then spontaneously going back up to 90%.  When they fell below 80% I paged the nurse.  The nurse that responded wasn’t our nurse but she figured out that Caleb was on room air!   We turned it back up to 1/2 L and he fell asleep for a couple of hours and woke up his usual happy self.  But neither of us got a whole lot of sleep.  (Caleb’s taking a nap now so all is good.) 

We are now back to a 1/4 L and expecting to see the doctor over lunch.

(Caleb’s figured out how to get the oxygen tube out of his nose.  So he did that 3-4 times last night.  Luckily he hasn’t figured out how to keep the machine from beeping when his oxygen levels falls so I always find him out!)

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Sunday evening update to “Caleb has RSV”

They got his oxygen down to 1/4 liter this afternoon.  (They turned it down little by little and then waited to see if his numbers held steady.)  But we had to turn it back up to a 3/4 liter this evening because his heart rate jumped back up to the 200s and his oxygen went down to 88%.  (Actually, probably his oxygen dropped and then his heart rate went up as he tried to get more oxygen.)

I don’t know much about this but I don’t think we’ll be going home tomorrow.   He has to be completely off oxygen for four hours and still doing well before he’s ready to go home.

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Sunday update to “Caleb has RSV”

Caleb is doing much better today.  He slept all night, ate 5 ounces in
one sitting and woke up "talking" like he normally does.  His heart
rate has also come down a lot.  We even got a couple of smiles out of
him today.  (He’s been playing and interactive most of the time but no
smiles.)  As soon as he can maintain this without oxygen, we’ll be able
to go home.  In the meantime, it’s nice to be here in the hospital with all the help
from all the experts.

Oh … and did I mention that everyone that comes to visit has to wear
a mask, gown and gloves?  (RSV is very contagious.)  I think Caleb’s wondering why everyone looks
so funny … he stared at our new nurse this morning for a good 10
minutes.  Then he finally gave her a big smile!

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Caleb has RSV

In case you are wondering where we are – Frank and I are camped out with Caleb in a hospital room this weekend.  Caleb has Respiratory Syncytial Virus, RSV for short since I haven’t even figured out how to pronounce it yet.   For most of us this would be just a common cold but for the little guys like Caleb who are under six months of age, it can be quite serious. 

Caleb had been sick with a runny nose and a cough since Wednesday.  Many thanks to his day care provider who on Friday called us at work and said she thought we ought to take him to the doctor.  With a temperature of 99.6, a runny nose and a cough, we would have dismissed it as a cold until much later on Friday when it got much worse. 

After a very long wait in the urgent care waiting room (over 90 minutes during which our six year old was very, very good), we finally got in to see a doctor.  They immediately determined that his oxygen saturation was not sufficient (85% instead of at the 92+% they would have liked to have seen), his temperature was 101.6 and he was starting to have problems breathing.  You could hear him struggling to breath.   His heart rate was also over 200bmp – part of the trying to get enough oxygen to his body.  They immediately did chest xrays to eliminate pneumonia.  (The xrays were very cute – his whole torso fits on one xray.  You could also see his teeth even though none of come out yet!)  They sent us over to hospital and by 9pm we were checked into this room where we’ve spent the last few days.  They’ve been treating him with oxygen and nose suctioning.  (Not his favorite but he must realize it’s helping because he’s gotten better about them.)  The earliest we can hope to take him home is Monday morning.

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Why you should lose that extra 50 pounds

I really liked Steve Pavlina’s way of realizing how much extra weight you are carrying:

Go to the gym, pick up two 25-lb dumbbells, walk around with them, and
ask yourself if you really want to carry that burdensome weight 24/7
for another year.

(His post is about setting your year’s goal, not about losing weight in particular.)

See more health related posts at Living Well.


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Women that have epidurals are less likely to breastfeed

Women that have epidurals are much more likely to stop breastfeeding before six months. Epidurals ‘hamper breastfeeding’:

Three-quarters of those who had no analgesia were breastfeeding at 24 weeks, compared with 53% who received pethidine or epidurals.

The epidural is also tied to trouble breastfeeding in the first week.  They don’t know why, but one theory is that the epidurals make the babies more sleepy and it’s harder to breastfeed them.

I had an epidural against my wishes. (Well, the epidural wasn’t against my wishes – being tied to the bed was.  Once I wasn’t allowed to get out of bed, sit up or turnover, I gave in to an epidural.)  And I quit breastfeeding after a month – a very hard decision.

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Exercise, not diet, is the key

A recent study confirms that exercise alone can provide tremendous health benefits. BBC NEWS | Health | Obese should exercise not ‘diet’:

A programme which encouraged women not to diet but to take part in exercise classes found significant improvements in health and mental well-being.

The study showed exercise improved blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol levels.  In addition, I think exercise is crucial to maintaining quality of life.  I see too many heavy people that can’t carry their kids or grandkids, walk around the mall or try new activities.


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Drinking when pregnant

The New York Times has an article today on drinking alcohol and pregnancy: The Weighty Responsibility of Drinking for Two. They focused on a couple of themes.  One, how there are no studies about moderate drinking and pregnancy.  All the studies are about five drinks a day or no alcohol.  Two, how society tries to regulate pregnant women drinking.  We are all uncomfortable with pregnant women drinking.  (I have to admit to some of this myself.  Before I got pregnant, I saw a pregnant women at a sushi restaurant and I wondered what she was doing there.  Now I know.  She was probably eating sushi!)

I only had a problem once with someone trying to tell me what I should do when I was pregnant.  (Or should I say tell me what I shouldn’t do.  Don’t drink, don’t lift that, don’t stand there, sit down, etc.)  When I was six months pregnant we went to a really nice restaurant for my birthday.  I decided to get a glass of wine with my dinner to celebrate.  So we ordered two glasses of wine – one for him and one for me.  When the waiter brought them out, he did a double take, sat them down on an empty table and then came over with one glass and put it in front of Frank.  When Frank told him we’d ordered two glasses, he looked at me and said, "Oh, I thought you weren’t drinking."