infection?

frogchic295

HI Ladies, 

My boys have been doing great in NICU for the last 9 days...yesterday Cooper lost his high flow which I was so excited about! today iI decided to stay home and try  to regain some sleep which I did accomplish but when I called NICU the dr. told me that cooper had a big brady overnight and his breathing has become faster so they did blood work which indicated he may have an infection.  They took blood and urine and are now waiting to see if anything grows so they hopefully can find out what/where the infection is. meanwhile they started him on broad spectrum antibiotics which they hope will begin to clear up what ever is bugging him.  Anyone have any experience with this? We were doing so good...I expected set backs but I guess you are never really ready for bad news!

AlwaysSunny925

Yes - Aiden had an infection probably within the first few weeks of life.  It took him a while to kick it...10 days maybe?  We were very worried at the time as well, so I totally know how you feel.  It's good that they already started antibiotics.  Hang in there, mama!

 ETA:  There have also been times when they suspected infection, started antibiotics while waiting for results, and no infection was found.  They just have to take proper precautions so that if it is an infection, they catch it early enough.  It seems that the neos take any change in behavior as a possibility of infection, but that might not be the case at all. 

frogchic295

Thanks for your reply, I know NICU is a rollercoaster ride but I guess I was just hoping maybe our rollercoaster would just stay on an upward path! Thanks for adding about looking for infection and not finding one.  the dr. indicated that if it is an infection they found it really early so that is a good thing. Your reply gives me comfort that it is a pretty common thing.  Thank you again, good luck to your boys!

GatorNurse

Something similar happened to my DD last week (or was it the week before? I can't ever remember what day it is, lol). For about 20 hours, her heart rate and resp rate were slightly elevated, so they drew some blood to check for infection. The neo maintained that her physical exam "looked great", but they were just taking precautions. Ended up her hematocrit was low, so they gave her some blood and she's been fine.

I hope that its something that "simple" for your guy, too. The NICU is definitely a freakin' rollercoaster ride, day to day, or hour by hour even. Congrats on losing the high flow - we are working on that, too! 

adrielegorburu

DD had at least two infections - one was fungal and another time she had MRSA. We also had a few instances of strange blood work or behavior that prompted antibiotics to be started "just in case" it was an infection. Infection is common - I hope it clears up soon.