<p>As the title says this is a little odd considering the ages of most of the parents/children that visit CC, but I know there is vast experience and knowledge here. I’m hoping for some suggestions as I’ve been googling for the past hour. </p>
<p>There is a large age gap between my brother (the youngest child) and myself (the oldest child). His wife gave birth to their first child today, seemingly a healthy baby boy. She was a couple of days overdue and was induced this morning.(I added that because it might be important.) From what the proud grandparents have told me everything went well. I phoned my mother awhile ago to get a hospital name and room number. They were on their way back to the hospital. It seems as if the baby is experiencing some breathing problems (about 5-6 hours after delivery). The may have detected a heart murmer. She also said he might be having seizures. It’s all pretty unclear, but it does seem that they will be putting him in the NICU. </p>
<p>I’ve been googling to see if I can find out what the possibilities are. Does any of this sound familiar to a parent? Any suggestions? </p>
<p>Well, this is much worse than my original information. They now believe he may have a brain hemorrhage and are preparing to do a spinal tap. I think I’m going to stop the googling for now. </p>
<p>Without going into too much personal information this is very hard. My family is fairly close. One of my S’s lost a baby shortly after birth a few years ago. (a random thing really) and another child is disabled (again, random) and nearly died as an infant. I can only imagine how my parents, and of course B and SIL, are feeling right now. Those two things have been on all of their minds for the entire pregnancy.</p>
<p>I hope you didn’t spend too much time googling this, because there can be any number of causes for such things, and the internet tends to turn up the more scary stories. Hopefully it is a minor issue that resolves rapidly with a full recovery. Even if it is a heart problem, lets hope it is one of the fixable ones. </p>
<p>Edit: Crossposted with your more recent post. Good luck with everything.</p>
<p>Yes, quit Googling. I hope it all turns out OK.</p>
<p>If it makes you feel better, I have a scary story that turned out fine. My second son developed a very high fever at 10 days. I could hear him screaming in the next room while the doc did a spinal tap. He was rushed to the hospital. I don’t remember how I got there. I was so frightened. After a couple of days, it turned out to be nothing. He’d caught a virus at the doctor’s office when we went for his one-week well visit.</p>
<p>I had a scary entrance into the world, too. At ten days old, I spiked a fever of 105, like Youdon’tsay’s son. I was rushed to the hospital, doctors were called in, and my parents were told to fear for the worst. (And, yes, a spinal tap was first on their list.) I spent a week in the hospital and was sent home. It took another couple of months to get a good diagnosis, but after that my issue turned out to be very manageable with the appropriate medical care. </p>
<p>Definitely stop googling. Don’t get too caught up in the possibilities that have been mentioned. Remember that the doctor may say something like “We are going to do a spinal tap in order to rule out a brain hemorrhage. Though it’s a very remote possibility, a hemorrhage would require the most immediate care, so we need to rule that out before we do any more tests.” Of course, from a parent’s perspective, the mind stops on “brain hemorrhage” and misses the rest of the sentence. </p>
<p>Thank you all for the kind thoughts and words. I worked most of the day so am just getting my daily CC fix now. </p>
<p>Test results have all been negative for infections, etc. No brain hemorrhage. No seizures since last night and breathing is getting better. Baby will remain in the hospital until midweek or so depending. I do think it’s like corranged said–the mind stopped. I don’t know when I’ll learn that second hand info from my parents isn’t always the most reliable. </p>
<p>I spoke with the new parents this evening. They sound tired (just wait until he turns 17 or so), but relieved, hopeful, and happy. I told them both that this was a 24 hour boot camp for the next 18 or so years… </p>
<p>Again, thanks for the kind words and concern. I’ve been reminded that, given the biological complexity of human beings, it’s truly amazing that most babies are born fine and perfect and healthy.</p>
<p>I want to add my prayers and best wishes to the little new one and family. It is difficult to predict what the long term consequences of any of those issues is going to be. I have known a number of babies who had a rocky start and turned out fine. Also many who acquired problems after a perfect start. Again, I hope all goes well.</p>