It is that time of year......PLEASE READ!

It is that time of year again. I am not talking about the holidays but RSV season. Some of you may remember a post we did prior to the kids coming home about RSV. This post is regarding RSV and how it will affect our family. We encourage you to read through this and ask us any questions you may have about it or our plans for the season.

WHAT IS RSV?
Respiratory syncytial virus or RSV is a common, seasonal and easily spread virus. RSV can live up to 6 hours on clothing, toys, bedding, and other surfaces. RSV season starts in the beginning of November and ends at the end of April. RSV to a baby born full term (36 weeks or more) without heart or lung issues or adults is just a cold but for a baby born premature (35 weeks or less) or a baby with a heart or lung issue it is MUCH more. Usually a child will end up getting RSV by the time they are two years old. The reason it is so serious to preemies is because they have immature lungs - their lungs are still developing. Although they look like good health babies on the outside, their insides are still trying to catch up. We encourage you to check out this website for more info http://www.synagisinfo.com/ .

ISN'T THERE A SHOT FOR THIS?
There is a shot called Synagis. The Synagis shot is given monthly thru the season. Unfortunately the shot is EXTREMELY expensive, so the kids must qualify to receive it or insurance will not pay for them. This shot does not make the kids immune from RSV. The purpose of this shot is to help fight RSV if they should get it.

WHAT IS THE PLAN FOR US?
We have decided to take some precautions during the season , but do not plan on secluding ourselves completely. While we were in the hospital the Neonatologist and nurses highly recommended not taking the kids out during the season except for doctor visits, to limit visitors, to have very good handwashing procedures as well as using Purell, to have visitors take off shoes as well as coats, to change clothes if you have been out of the house shopping or such, to not have any sick or have been sick within the last 10 days visitors, not be around smoking or clothing that has the smoke smell on it and to limit interaction with other kids in school and/or daycare. So we can be extremely cautious or moderately cautious; we are choosing to be moderately cautious. Our pediatrician recommends this as well. We will expect visitors to wash their hands when they arrive as well as use Purell during their visit, coats and shoes to be taken off and left in the breezeway, we will ask you not to visit if you or your children are feeling like you or they are getting sick, are sick or have been sick within the last 7 days, visitors that smoke will be asked to wear a clean shirt when holding or to not smoke prior to getting here and while you are here, and we will be limiting our outings to only necessary things.

WHAT ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS/BIRTHDAY/OUTINGS?
As far as outings and get togethers, we will not be doing anything on a large scale. What does this mean? Thanksgiving, Christmas and their birthday will be spent with immediate family only. Although we do not want them to miss their 1st Christmas and 1st birthday, it was a very tough decision on what we should do & how much risk should we put them in. Visitors will be limited when making trips back to Montfort (Jeremy's hometown). A good example of this will be next weekend's trip back - visitors will include Great Grandparents, Grandparents, Aunt & Uncle and cousins. Please do not be offended if you are not invited over to see the kids, we want to 'show off' our kids and to see people, but it is too risky for the kids.

WHY DO THIS NOW WHEN YOU DID NOT DURING THE SUMMER?
Easiest answer is that it was not RSV season. Yes it is still possible to get RSV during the summer but a lot less likely. We still followed some of these things but we were a lot more lenient. We still made decisions based on what was best for the kids.

FINALLY......
Just like the flu, RSV is very serious for our children and we do not take it lightly. As our childrens' advocates, we must do what is best for them, even if it sucks for us. This is a harsh reality of being parents of preemies. Although they may look 'normal' on the outside, their inside are still dealing with being born 10 weeks early.

We are not intending to offend anyone or keep anyone from seeing our children; we are just trying to protect them the best we can with what we have control over. We know that people want to see them so we will try our best to keep the blog updated better during the season so you can follow their progress. We hope you do let us know if you have any questions or concerns. There are also a variety of websites and other sources of information on RSV. If anyone is interested in them, let us know and we can email them.

Love,

Jeremy, Jen and the trips