I have decided to let Thomas have the seasonal flu jab which also includes the Swine Flu strain. After his time spent in hospital before Christmas with bronchitis and a chest infection I dont want to take any chances. Whilst he was in hospital the nurse said that he may be more prone to colds and flu now as his condition left his immune system and chest quite weak. So I called my doctors this week and booked an appointment for him to have the seasonal flu jab. I know the Swine Flu danger has lowered this year but there are still instances on the news where in severe cases several under 5′s have died from Swine Flu, I dont want to take the chance. At least if Thomas has the seasonal flu jab, god forbid if Swine Flu was to come back worse in years to come Thomas would have had the vaccination now and would be in a better position then if he hadn’t had the vaccine.

I have carried out a lot of research on the Internet and speaking to other mums, there is an element of uncertainty with the flu jab where many mums don’t trust it. Consequently health professionals and medical research point out that the vaccine is safe. Pregnant women in America have been having the seasonal flu jab for many years, a friend of mine who is also a Doctor is pregnant and has had the flu jab. If pregnant women can have the flu jab without it having any adverse affects on the fetus, it gives you confidence that a 1 year old baby would be ok to have the seasonal flu jab.

As a mother I have had to make some tough decisions in the best interest for Thomas, it is a hard thing to do as there are always pro’s and con’s for everything. Naturally I am a worrier and find it hard to make a decision, but since having Thomas I have found it in me to be more decisive I have a life to look after now its not just about me. I dont mind going without or taking the chance when it comes to me but Thomas I have developed a responsibility to give him what he needs and make decisions for his best interests which has often included me standing up and making myself heard.

I am not one to add to all the hype that is already going around about Swine Flu this winter which is why I am writing this post to share my recent experience with Thomas being ill. To hopefully alert any readers to the symptoms we experienced with Thomas, and if they are experiencing similar symptoms my advice as a mum would be to get them to hospital especially if you have a very young child. Throughout the time Thomas was off colour at home I was debating should I go to the doctors again?, am I wasting their time? I am glad I took him back to the doctors as they confirmed that Thomas needed to go to hospital.  I have gone into more detail about his time spent in hospital in my previous three part blogs – My baby is ill, part 1 can be read here

On the Monday Thomas started to show some flu like symptoms:

• A temperature of 38 Degrees
• Cough
• Sneeze
• General loss of appetite

We took him to the doctors who confirmed he is showing flu like symptoms and advised to keep his temperature down with Ibuprofen and try to get liquids down him – The doctor said he is likely to get worse before he gets better. On the Tuesday Thomas was worse, his temperature was up and down, he started to become very tired and was off his food and drink to the point where he was sick when I managed to get something in him. I was extremely concerned but I thought about what the doctor had said about him getting worse before getting better so I did everything could to keep him comfortable.

On the Wednesday Thomas had:

• A temperature of 39 Degrees
• Sleepy all day
  
• Not interested in anything apart from sleeping
  
• Shallow breathing – His chest was working hard when he breathed
  
• No appetite for food or drink
• Cough

It was at this point I thought that enough was enough, I knew something was seriously wrong and this was not a straight forward flu. I got an emergency appointment at the doctors where they confirmed Thomas needed to go to hospital. My previous blog goes into detail about the tests carried out but it was confirmed that Thomas had Bronchitis. He also had a 2nd infection highlighted in his blood test but the doctors could not diagnose this at the time, the antibiotics they put Thomas on in hospital thankfully cleared the infection. But to this day I torture myself about what the 2nd infection could have been. Swine Flu has been mentioned on my local news a lot recently there has been cases of babies being hospitalised because of it. I have done a lot of reading about the symptoms of Swine Flu which are identical to the symptoms that Thomas had. I do think he had Swine Flu – I wanted to write this blog for anyone who is concerned for their baby who may be showing similar symptoms, I am no doctor or health expert but as a mum I can say that it is worth getting them to hospital to be on the safe side.