October, or “The Official Month of Fall”, as I like to call it, is my favorite month of the year.  For us Texans, it finally signifies cooler temps and cute layers of clothes!  But did you know that October is also National RSV Awareness Month?  I didn’t.  It even has hashtags:  #LittleLungs #RSVAwarenessMonth.  Search those and make sure to visit http://bit.ly/2bvRxSm to learn more about RSV disease and ways to keep your little one(s) healthy.   I wish I had known a lot more about RSV when my son Dax was born four years ago.  I hope the information I share with you in this post can help you be more proactive in protecting your kiddos against this potentially serious and very common disease.

RSV stands for Respiratory Syncytial Virus and usually occurs between November and March in the U.S.  This is right around the corner.  I’m sure we’re all careful during cold and flu season but when dealing with new babies with fragile lungs, we need to be extra diligent about RSV as well.  It is the leading cause of hospitalization for babies under a year old. 

Here’s my little “Superman” at almost four months old and fully recovered from RSV

My son Dax was diagnosed with RSV at only three months old.  It was a very worrisome time.  He was in daycare, and RSV is highly contagious and again quite common but I was basically clueless about it.  Luckily, his pediatrician was amazing and really helped us get a hold of this illness and understand it.  My little Daxie’s symptoms included fever, severe wheezing and chest retractions (super scary) and a pretty yucky cough.  The Mr. and I took turns staying home with him for about a week.  Thankfully, my little guy did not require hospitalization but it was still scary that he was so little and so sick.  

As most of my readers know, I am expecting another son, Briggs in December, smack dab in the middle of “RSV season”.  I am taking more time off to be home with him so that gives me some comfort knowing he’ll have less exposure than Dax did.  However, we will still have visitors and it is cold and flu season for us all.  Hopefully my friends and family will read the information below.  I encourage you to as well.  Click to expand so you can get knowledgeable about RSV and how to watch out for and possibly prevent this highly contagious disease.