COVID-19 with a Baby: Day 1

Yesterday I got the phone call that I have been praying for the last 11 months I would never get. My sweet 10 1/2 month old baby tested positive for COVID-19.

My mama heart is struggling, but I know that God is good and He will use this for His glory. I’m writing this series of posts to share our experience in dealing with this awful sickness in hopes that it will help another mama to navigate it as well.

So how do we get here? Since Liliana was born we have been on lockdown. We have been cautious almost to the point of being neurotic. We don’t go out unless we have to. I do porch pick up for my orders. We wear our masks. We take our supplements. Honestly? I could not tell you where she picked this up. There are a few possibilities, but no known exposure.

She has been cutting her top teeth so a low-grade fever is nothing new around here. The other night she was making odd grunting noises when I would put her in her crib and had had a little bit of tummy upset but it was nothing I was super concerned about. (MAJOR shout out to the Owlet Smart Sock for giving this mama peace of mind! Worth every cent and then some, especially when they are sick like this.)

Fast forward to Sunday morning, and she didn’t really seem to want her breakfast, but again I just assumed that was teething. Her mood was fine. She was her usual happy self. At lunch she would not even touch foods that she typically loves. About 10 minutes after trying to convince her to eat, she projectile vomited all over the kitchen, her highchair, me, herself… You get the picture. Not pretty! This was my first clue that some thing may be going on. I cleaned her up and got her down for her nap and she seemed OK. After waking up she did a few really messy diapers but her fever was still very low grade.

She ate a little bit of dinner, so I was assuming maybe it was just something bothering her tummy or maybe a sensitivity to a new food. After dinner we were playing and Michael said that he thought she felt warm. I used our rectal thermometer to take her temperature for accuracy, and it came back 101.8. I placed a call to her pediatrician and he told us to alternate Motrin and Tylenol throughout the night and have her seen at the office on Monday.

The fever was still present even on Motrin and Tylenol but was manageable. That morning when I checked her it had actually dropped to 95.3, so I made sure to mention that when I called to make an appointment. Right before we went to the doctor that afternoon, her fever was back up to 101.something and I went ahead and took her for the curbside check up.

Her pediatrician looked in her ears and said that she had a nasty double ear infection but combined with the Gastrointestinal issues, he was concerned. He mentioned that with babies this little, a lot of times they’re seeing ear infections as a secondary side effect from an upper respiratory/COVID viral infection. Because of that, he decided to order a rapid Covid test as well while we started the antibiotics.

We came home and she took a nap. When she woke her fever was up to 102.6, so I gave her more Motrin and a warm bath. By bedtime the doctor called to let me know that her test result was positive. Because none of the rest of us have had symptoms, I am quarantining with her in our master suite and Michael is taking care of the two-year-old in the rest of the house. We are all being tested today to see how we should move forward. If Addilyn‘s test is negative then Lillie and I will stay quarantined by ourselves for the full 14 days. The pediatrician did say that if Addie’s is positive, there’s no reason that we can’t all quarantine together.

So that’s where we are! Today is Tuesday, and everything is much the same. Lillie still has a fever and is having diarrhea. Her appetite hasn’t really returned, but thankfully she’s nursing well and drinking the Pedialyte. As of now, I am still asymptomatic but do have a slight scratchy throat (this is nothing new. I have had this for months). 

I’m asking everyone for prayers for healing and protection as we navigate this, and I plan to do a daily update! For now, I am enjoying some one on one time with my baby, and trusting that my sweet husband is enjoying some special one on one time with my biggie girl. My mama heart hates to be away from her, especially last night when she was crying to kiss Lillie and me goodnight. God has a plan. He is good.