# my baby has meningitis at 2 weeks old.



## AmberLynn (Dec 2, 2008)

I am in the hospital with my little man.
He developed a fever of 102 literally in a matter of hours, and we rushed him to emergency...
He is doing really well, and we seem to have caught it in time.. all his cultures are coming back negative, which is really great.
Please send him your positive wishes, I know it's alot to ask but this is our first child, and were terrified.

Thank you so much
Amber and Patrick , and baby Conway.


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## xelakann (Jul 30, 2007)

Wow how scary. Sending lots of healing vibes your way!!


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## Aubergine68 (Jan 25, 2008)

Praying for a full recovery for baby Conway, and peace for his mom and dad, too. May you be cuddling your healthy baby back at home very, very, soon.

What a scary thing for *any* parents to have to go through, but especially firsttimers with a newborn. I'm so sorry you are in this situation right now.


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## greeny (Apr 27, 2007)

Oh my gosh, how scary! I hope he recovers quickly.


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## northwoods1995 (Nov 17, 2003)

I hope he has a fast recovery and is home soon!!


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## billikengirl (Sep 12, 2008)

Thinking of you and prayers for continued healing for your little man.


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## bajamergrrl (Nov 24, 2008)

and







: mama. Here's hoping your LO has a speedy recovery. Hang in there.


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## ledzepplon (Jun 28, 2004)

I'm so sorry your little one is so sick, but thank goodness you caught it so fast! I hope he's all better very, very soon.


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## Newbian Mama (Jun 12, 2009)

: Praying for a speedy recovery for Conway and peace for you and Patrick.


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## 2pinks (Dec 20, 2007)

Wow! I am praying for a fast and speedy recovery and for strenght for the parents as well.

I was in the hospital for 5 days with my 2yo when she was 5wks old. NOT fun!


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## Spark (Nov 21, 2001)

Oh, poor babe & mama!







Health & healing to him!

Those darn hospital acquired illnesses suck!


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## mysticmomma (Feb 8, 2005)

why is this in birth and beyond?








hope your lo is well and home soon.


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## majormajor (Nov 3, 2006)

big hugs to you and your little baby. i had the same experience with my first--sick at 12 days old, spiked a fever of 101.7, 3 days in the hospital. i know how terrifying it is. pm me if you need to talk about it! and be gentle with yourself, it took me a long time to get over what happened.

my little baby turned 4 though yesterday and is the picture of health!


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## majormajor (Nov 3, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Spark* 
Oh, poor babe & mama!







Health & healing to him!

Those darn hospital acquired illnesses suck!

how do we know this is a hospital acquired illness?


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## BugMacGee (Aug 18, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *majormajor* 
how do we know this is a hospital acquired illness?

Yeah how do we? Have they identified the pathogen?

I hope your little guy gets well very soon!


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## tireesix (Apr 27, 2006)

My week old baby got a sudden temp spike, took her into hospital and they treated her for meningitis only to find out on day 3 it was a UTI (I believe it takes a couple of days for meningitis test to come back).

The whole thing was absolutely terrifying and horrible. I had nightmares for ages after would and DD3 is still very sensitive about that area on her back being touched, it literally makes her jump.

The whole lumbar thing was bad enough (I opted to stay in with her, DH wasn't with me, he had to stay home with the other children and there was no one else who could come in to support me), but also, because they hadn't done a wee test to begin with, the day after she went in, I was sat there for 6 HOURS waiting for a clean enough wee specimen otherwise they were going to stick a needle in her bladder and get it that way. Thankfully, we got the specimen without getting that far.

And then, the second paed we had said the first paed should have done the wee test first, not the lumbar test, which, apparently was a shame because the poor babe suffered that for no reason. Aaaaaaaargh.

So, yeah, while DD didn't have meningitis, I know how scary it is to begin with and you just don't know anything thats going on.

Its plain horrible. Much sympathy for you and your baby!


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## TzippityDoulah (Jun 29, 2005)

((hugs)) I do hope is he doing well!


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## maddymama (Jan 5, 2008)

How scary. I am hoping for a speedy recovery for your Litlle Man!
~maddymama


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## saoirse2007 (Sep 4, 2007)

thinking of your little fella..hoping he is better now


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## EviesMom (Nov 30, 2004)

It is terrifying. I went through it with DS when he was 9 days old. He didn't have meningitis, but some mystery infection.

It will get better. You are doing everything you can. Be gentle with yourself. Insist that relatives, friends, and medical staff be gentle with you too.

If it's helpful, know that my son is now nearly 2 years old and a wild, normal, very healthy toddler. Ask someone else to watch out for PPD or PTSD symptoms in you after the fact, because this is a VERY traumatic, and difficult time. The PPD board here is very helpful.


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## mama de dos (Sep 11, 2003)

Sending prayers for all of you!

My 5 day baby developed a fever, (and she was born at HOME- had never been in a hospital!) and we took her to ER. Same awful, horrifying routine- blood draws, catheter urine, lumbar puncture (spinal tap), chest X-Ray.....

She also had meningitis- turns out it was viral, never identified which one it was, but drs were initially pretty sure it was bacterial based on her blood work numbers.....

Anyway, she is totally fine now, thank goodness.

Just wanted to send you a positive story from someone who's been in the same scary place.

Hugs for all of you!


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## Turquesa (May 30, 2007)

Poor mama and baby! You're in my thoughts and prayers. I hope to hear a positive update soon.


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## Jilian (Jun 16, 2003)

Lots of prayers and positive thoughts for you. I hope he is doing well and back home soon! Hang in there mama. I'll be thinking of you!


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## AmberLynn (Dec 2, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mama de dos* 
Sending prayers for all of you!

My 5 day baby developed a fever, (and she was born at HOME- had never been in a hospital!) and we took her to ER. Same awful, horrifying routine- blood draws, catheter urine, lumbar puncture (spinal tap), chest X-Ray.....

She also had meningitis- turns out it was viral, never identified which one it was, but drs were initially pretty sure it was bacterial based on her blood work numbers.....

Anyway, she is totally fine now, thank goodness.

Just wanted to send you a positive story from someone who's been in the same scary place.

Hugs for all of you!

Thank you so much for this.
He is on day 5 of his stay, we are here 5 more.. his fever broke the day after we arrived, but hes been on MAJOR ANTIBIOTICS since our intial trip to the ER... I worry abut his immune system in the future.. But he is doing really well. We were moved from Intensive Care status to Pediatric status... but still in same room. We were given a cot instead of chairs like before.
It is viral, and not bacterial... they think. All of his cultures have come back negative as of now. He is eating like a HOG!!! He is really gulpin the breast milk down now.. and he's awake alot more now. He is kind of fussy from all the wires, and seems irritated if he is awake when he gets his antiobiotics...
but the drs seem pretty optimistic he will make a full recovery, and be just fine.
Thank god we caught his fever when we did. Also, his catscan came back negative as well...

We are praying and feeling very blessed with this outcome. This has been absolutely terrifying. I hate hospitals, and after having to sacrifice my homebirth for a Csection, and now this... I am trying to stay positive. My DH has been AMAZING and is really keeping my spirits high. His parents also came out from St Louis to help us eat, and keep positive.. Thank god for that.. I don't know what I'd have done otherwise.
As it stands now, no PPD... but who knows...

Thank you ALL for your well wishes.


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## mama de dos (Sep 11, 2003)

Awwwww, more hugs for you. If he is on day 5 and doing well, I think you can be incredibly confident that he will be totally FINE. My dd was also on major antibiotics IV, as well as some antiviral drugs until they figured out what was or wasn't going on. She recovered in a similar way to your ds, started eating better and getting a bit stronger, though it took us a while to get her back to the breast- she had been too weak to nurse.







That was actually the 1st sign that something was wrong w/her. Then she spiked a fever. Hers also broke the 2nd day in the hospital.

She is 3 years old now, and her immune system and everything else have been totally normal. Actually, she is my 3rd child and has been sick the least of all of them! She's had no after effects from anything and she was followed for a long time by early intervention folks to pick up any problems as early as possible. There have been none.







:

The infectious disease specialists that worked with us said that summer is a time of higher numbers of viral meningitis and that after a zillion tests they ran to identify what was making her sick, they came back with nothing. ((She was born in June)

All her bacterial cultures were stone cold negative and all the viral testing came back neg. as well. They told us that as there are 1000s of viruses, and any number that could have made her sick, they tested for some of the more common and more dangerous ones, but we will never know the culprit, since all those came back neg.

It was a terrifying ordeal for dh and me. I have never, ever been that scared in my whole life. It really took a physical and emotional toll that took a while to get over and can still be re-triggered by certain other events. When you go home, have lots of help so you can just hold your sweet baby and get to know him all over again. It will take a while to feel normal and not panicky, so give yourself time and patience. It will get better, but it won't be right away.

Our ped followed up with us frequently when we first came home and it was reassuring to have someone else look at her and see that she was fine.

SO, sounds like your little one is doing great and will continue to do so. I'm so happy about that for you!

Take good care of yourself and post and update when you can.

Hugs
Jennifer


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## mija y mijo (Dec 6, 2006)

Wishing your LO a speedy recovery!!! And much peace to you!


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## MCatLvrMom2A&X (Nov 18, 2004)

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## Ackray (Feb 11, 2004)

Just jumping in, I saw this in new posts earlier and I was worried for you. I'm glad things are getting better. My youngest DD had bacterial meningitis last year and it was the scariest time of my life. I'm hoping for a full recovery for you and your baby.


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## majormajor (Nov 3, 2006)

: glad to hear he's doing better! that is so wonderful.

my DD did not have meningitis (they never determined what she did have, i don't even know if it was viral or bacterial), but she was on IV antibiotics for 3 days and afterwards developed a very persistent case of thrush. we tried nystatin for weeks before it got deep into my breasts (VERY painful!) and had to switch to diflucan, which cleared it right up. just thought i'd let you know in case you get it too.


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## minimunklemama (Nov 24, 2004)

oh my gosh amberlynn,You are all in my prayers.


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## mi.birthdoula (Jun 12, 2008)

Our family will continue to pray for your little one and your family. I know it can be tough with a little one in the hospital. Our first born was admitted to Peds ICU when she was 13 months old for a seizure disorder caused by an immunization and it tore me up beyond belief. I will be sending healing vibes your way and wish your little one a speedy recovery.


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## Aridel (Apr 25, 2004)

Glad to hear he is doing well!

If you are still thinking about re-building his immune system after you return home, check out Health and Healing, where there are a ton of suggestions.


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