Jordan does this weird thing every few days. He’ll take about 3 or 4 days and gain an ounce. Then one day he’ll gain an ounce. Then the following day he’ll shoot up and gain some unbelievable amount. Last night was that night. The nurse checked 3 times, but it’s official, he’s 4 pounds 6 ounces – about 2 kilos. I expect that he won’t gain much more tonight, but that’s really up to him. Other than that, Jordan is doing well, but this blog entry isn’t really about him.
It’s about his parents. I know most of you. I know that most of you care about us, and we care about you in return. I also know that there will be times when we disagree about how things are going to be when Jordan comes home. Some will criticize our parenting. Some have been criticizing the parenting of others since before I was born. Some have been criticizing my parenting for over 5 years (my son will be 3 months old next week). We can handle all of that. However, my concern is not our critics. My concern is Jordan and his health. My little boy is going to come home – I can say that with a high level of certainty. However, he was born too early and will have some consequences for most if not all of his life. The main one is his lungs. He will be at high risk of respiratory problems for quite some time. Over the next year his biggest obstacle will be RSV.
RSV is a virus that isn’t much of a problem for adults. In normal babies, RSV acts like a bad cold. In infants with bad lungs like Jordan’s, it could put him in the hospital. In order to avoid RSV when he comes home, we will have to take special measures. We can’t just pass him around like a hot potato and let everyone cough on him without precautions. We don’t know all precautions that need to be taken yet – we’ll find out from the doctor and hospital soon enough. When we start doing it, it will be more restrictive than a regular kid. It’s not just going to be washing hands, but much more. We won’t have many guests over as we would like. There will be times when we keep him at home even though he isn’t sick. Many of you will get upset when we make you scrub up to your elbows. The mama Ali doesn’t let me cough around the baby now while he is in an isolette. She will not let anyone else with a cough into her nursery. If you don’t believe me, try it. It’s about about our love for Jordan and his health.
When this occurs you may call us many things. You may say we are spoiling him. You may say we are coddling him. You might say that you didn’t do that with your baby and she turned out fine. You might possibly call us over protective. Whatever you do call us, I won’t care as long as you don’t call us while we are back in the hospital.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Ali: No one will ever fault you for doing what is best for your son. You and Mama Ali have already demonstrated that you are wonderful, strong parents. Keep being that inspiration and let no one tell you otherwise . . .
In the meantime: I promise I will purchase my full body haz-mat suit before coming to visit. :)
Oh the fun of RSV. I can tell you though from experience as my son came home on oxygen in January at 8months of age (4 corrected). We of course were HUGE on sanitizing and hand washing and NO ONE was allowed over if they even suspected a cold or anything. However this being said as time went on we were more comfortable and Ashton wasn't sick once that year.
Our ped is really good as well in explaining that a child who is house bound is going to have a harder time when they are older and exposed. They need to build up some immunity in the first couple of years.
You are doing the right thing by protecting Jordan from RSV. It's tough, and you are right that some will think that you are overprotective. Some will think that, just 'cause he's home, he's now a full term baby. But keep on keepin' on and keep Jordan away from people (especially ones who are or who are near little kids in daycare). Spring will be here soon (actually, it still feels like summer up here) and that will be time enough for a much stronger, tougher, and resilient Jordan with a lot more reserve to meet folks. And in the meantime, they can check in on his blog.
We have nothing at all critical to say about your parenting style, in other words!
No problem! Just tell me what I gotta do: quarantine, bleach bath, full body saran wrap suit, what? :) Just kidding...seriously, at the end of the day: someone's bad attitude because they can't hold him, or Jordan's health? That's an easy one: let 'em hate!
I don't know about anyone else but when you use terms like RSV I have to google it so I understand. "Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia among infants and children under 1 year of age. Illness begins most frequently with fever, runny nose, cough, and sometimes wheezing. During their first RSV infection, between 25% and 40% of infants and young children have signs or symptoms of bronchiolitis or pneumonia, and 0.5% to 2% require hospitalization. Most children recover from illness in 8 to 15 days. The majority of children hospitalized for RSV infection are under 6 months of age. RSV also causes repeated infections throughout life, usually associated with moderate-to-severe cold-like symptoms; however, severe lower respiratory tract disease may occur at any age, especially among the elderly or among those with compromised cardiac, pulmonary, or immune systems."
Post a Comment