Winter is coming! Though it really doesn't seem that way... My car read 70 today and I thought to myself how odd it is that it is November 1st and the car reads 70. I would say we have had very mild weather overall this year, especially considering it is not uncommon to have already seen snow (I know, it's a dirty 4 letter word to some...).
I just wanted to use a post to talk about RSV one more time (yeah I kind of already talked about it a few months back, but it wasn't RSV season then, so I thought I should just revisit it really quickly. Some may think the snow is the worst part of winter, but I think this year for me it is having a preemie and winter meaning RSV season. Thankfully our doctor told us yesterday that there has not been much RSV in the area as of yet, let's just pray it stays that way.
We also have a situation that greatly reduces the risk of RSV, by that I mean that I stay at home with Samuel and therefore he isn't in daycare. It also helps that he has no older siblings in school that could get it and bring it home. Basically in older healthy children and adults RSV seems just like the common cold, so what is the big deal about RSV?
Well, with babies that are high-risk for RSV it is unfortunately not as simple as a common cold. RSV frequently lands a premature baby or a baby with other health concerns in the hospital over night or longer. I think the desire alone to not spend another night in the hospital with Samuel is a big enough one for me to be protective! Basically high risk babies (like Samuel due to being born premature) have big problems breathing due to RSV and RSV can cause complications that can affect them for many years.
The good news for Samuel is that he thankfully qualifies for synagis, which I was recently told is actually an antibody and not a vaccine. Synagis does a lot of good in preventing the more severe symptoms and complications from happening when a baby gets RSV. So it does not necessarily prevent RSV, but tends to make it more manageable. Synagis is VERY expensive, so we are happy Samuel qualifies. It's expensive because not it cost $800+ per shot, but it is a shot that has to be given once a month during RSV season, that means Samuel will likely get 5 synagis shots this winter, that's $4000!!! Thankfully our insurance will help pay for it, if it did not we would not be getting it because that is just really expensive. We'd probably just never go anywhere with Samuel during RSV season. :-)
There is a blog I read geared towards everything preemie. Recently one of the Mom's wrote a really good post about RSV, please click this to read it. This is also a really good blog to pass onto someone you know has a preemie, is going to have a preemie or knows someone who has a preemie. It really is written primarily for the parents, but if you want to have a better understanding for all things preemie, it's a good read.
I guess I just wanted to let people know that I am not trying to be mean when out in public and I don't just pass Samuel around (besides he's going through stranger danger right now anyways, he gets very unsettled with the wrong people...), I am just trying to do what I need to do to keep my son healthy. Don't worry he does get exposed to other people and I don't mind when people hold him and play with him in a smaller, more private setting. Just with him being a preemie I'm not comfortable with playing pass the baby until we get out of this RSV season. Then I will be able to breathe easier knowing that he is bigger, stronger and more capable of fighting anything he catches himself!
His 9 month check-up went very well if you were wondering. He still growing fine and the doctor said he looked healthy. Based on what we told him about Samuel's development his ped would say he is developmentally on track with a 6 month old, which is perfect because that is his adjusted age!
Until next week... Have a great weekend!
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