Home from the hospital

As many of you know Kinley has been in the hospital for the last 5 days.  She went to the ER last Wednesday because she was wheezing and coughing.  They gave her some ventalin and tested her for whooping cough and sent us home with a prescription for some antibiotics.  By Friday Kinley was still wheezing and coughing so I took her back in.  While we were there she had 4 different inhalers and nothing was clearing up her wheeze. So in came the pediatrician.  He sent us for an x-ray, had an IV put in and blood taken, and sent us to a room in pediatrics.  She had an infection in her right lung and bronchial pneumonia with respitory distress. She was put into isolation, so from now on no one (except for me) could come within 6 feet of her without being in a gown, mask and gloves!  I am glad I was allowed to keep my face clear so Kinley had at least one familiar face to look at.  When we first got to her room her oxygen levels dipped pretty low so she had to be put on oxygen.  She was then also put on IV antibiotics.  She got her oxygen levels back up but still had a wheeze.  She spent 2 days on IV antibiotics before being moved to oral ones.  She was also dehydrated when we got there so she was given IV fluids as well.  She was also on a nebulizor every 3 hours to help with her wheeze.  On Sunday her IV burst through her vein.  That was a little messy but we got her all cleaned up and they decided to try her without the IV for a day.  It was not my favourite day.  Her throat was raw from all the coughing she was doing and her nose was pretty plugged so she couldn't drink her bottle.  We essentially forced liquid into her.  We had to premeasure what went in with what came out.  Such a long day!  She lost 1.5 pounds that day!  Monday she started eating so much more but still very limited liquids.  We got to come home today! She is drinking so much more today and seems to be in happier spirits.  She is on 2 inhalers for at least another week and then hopefully we can taper off.  She has a follow up appointment on Friday with the pediatrician.
Things I learned while spending 4.5 days in the hospital and not ever really leaving the room:
*There are nurses you dislike, nurses you tolerate, and nurses you LOVE!  The nurses you love become your lifeline and they communicate all your fears and concerns to the doctor when you can't find the words.
*Doctors don't really spend a lot of time with you.
*Staff outside of pediatrics are 'scared' of babies.  Don't worry it is ok to touch them!
*When you are the only one in the ER, there is constant entertainment for Kinley.
*You as a Mother will get blamed for not bringing your child in sooner until you get mad at them and remind them you had brought her in before and got sent home!
*Kinley loves to play peek-a-boo.
*Kinley has become an expert sitter.
*Some nurses let your child sleep, some don't....you learn to dread the ones that don't.  (See above note about love and dislike of nurses)
*You will be amazed what you can handle.
*You will be amazed what you are expected to do.....I still don't know if it was my job to change Kinley's sheets and find new ones after her IV went through her vein.
*You start to dread words like "We need to wait and see" "Just be patient" "Give her a minute to catch her breath"
*Kinley loved the male nurses the most....we are not looking forward to the teen years :)
*X-Ray techs in (what looked like) hazmat suits, treating your child like she has the plague will not made the x-ray any easier.  Oh and getting mad because everything will need to be washed down because I won't leave the room for the x-ray will not make me even contemplate leaving my screaming baby by herself for an x-ray.
*You turn the monster crib into a play area, because lets be honest, she isn't going to be sleeping in it!
*When you keep calling my daughter HE I am not going to be nice to you......READ HER CHART!
*When someone tells you 'We will let you know when we are ready" be prepared to get yelled at for not being ready when no one came back to tell you to get ready.
*When you get home from being stuck in a little room for 4.5 days you wander from room to room just because you can!
*Suprisingly maternity nurses aren't that useful with babies older than just born.
*You wish you could take the nurses you love home with you so that if you have a question in the middle of the night you can just press the call button!
*Finally, You are so excited to be home with your whole family you can't stop giving hugs and kisses to everyone!
All the pictures were taken with my cell phone so they aren't the best quality.  She was quite the trooper and was praised constantly on how well she handled the mask.  She was a nurse favourite and we often had nurses just dropping in to see if they could get a smile!
We are glad to be home and hope to stay here!