Seton Baby Talk

Ah, Montessori School , how I love thee! My sweet little baby has attended you for a month and a half now, and interestingly enough, it seems, my little guy has been sick more in the last month and a half than he has in his entire 18 months. I was aware that this would probably be an issue and tried not to be too surprised when he returned the very first day with a runny nose, but I’m afraid it seems to be getting a bit ridiculous!

Monday started out as a regular day. I got my little guy ready for Montessori, and off we went. He waved goodbye and marched down the hall with his little lunch box in hand, ready to learn and play for the day. I received a phone call from the school at about 2:00 to inform me I had to pick Owen up because he had a fever of 102. My little guy has had fevers before, but never that high, so of course I sped over to the school, making a doctor’s appointment while en route, to make sure we could get him in before the end of the day. When I picked him up he was definitely not feeling well, and I could tell this wasn’t just your normal, run of the mill, Montessori Muck that he had been having since starting school.

At the Doctor’s office he was fussy and didn’t seem to know what he wanted. He wanted to be held. Then he wanted to be put down. He wanted to read. Then he wanted to look at the sink. He wanted up. He wanted down. He cried. It was not a fun afternoon. The doctor eventually came in and checked his ears and his nose and his throat, listened to his heart and his breathing and informed me she could hear the slightest of wheezes when he breathed, so was going to order a test for RSV. She informed me it was an upper respiratory virus that she had seen quite a bit of in the last few weeks. The nurse came in with a swab to take a sample of Owen’s nasal mucus, and I’m pretty sure she may have reached his brain that swab went in so far. Owen cried of course, and we waited the 15 minutes for the results.

Yup.

Owen has RSV.

Awesome.

Respiratory syncytial (sin-SISH-uhl) virus, or RSV, is a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages. Most kids will have had RSV by the time they are two years old, so I guess it’s only fitting that Owen had a bout with it now. RSV symptoms are very similar to a bad cold, but can lead to things like bronchiolitis and pneumonia. Infants and Elderly are at high risk. Washing hands often, covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze and washing down hard surfaces regularly can reduce the spread of RSV. My favorite little piece of information is that if one family member has RSV generally speaking, 50% of the family will most likely come down with it.

I’ve spent the last 4 days at home with my little guy, and he’s been fever free for three days. I think we are pretty lucky considering many of my mommy friends have dealt with this already this season and shared some advice along with the not so fun stories. Irritable toddlers, although still cute, are not as fun as happy healthy toddlers! Owen is back in Montessori today. He still has the cold like symptoms but the doctor has informed us that if he is fever free for more than 24 hours he’s no longer contagious. Here’s hoping this is the last bout with some sort of Montessori Muck for awhile now!

To learn more about RSV, please visit the CDC website here.