I Wasn’t a ‘Helicopter’ New Mom & Now I Seriously Regret It

Kayla Ross

Helicopter moms: I never understood you. … I get it now. 
These photos are morbid and I cry every time I look at them because it reminds me of the worst day of my life, but i think people need to know what actually can happen.

RSV season is here and apparently hitting harder than ever.

Kayla Ross

It is very common in babies. “It has to get worse before it gets better.” Some parents never see “gets better.” We almost didn’t. We almost lost our baby.

RSV is transmitted by 1) airborne.

Kayla Ross

So if you’re sick around a baby they get it.

2) Saliva. Even if your lips are dry and crusty, there’s still saliva on them.

Kayla Ross

When you kiss a baby you transmit your stuffy nose even before you realize you have a stuffy nose. Adult stuffy nose will fill up a baby’s lung like you have no idea. I saw his X-ray. His chest was completely white with mucus.

3) Touch.

Kayla Ross

When you snuggle a baby or touch a baby’s hands they stick that straight in their mouth, and if they don’t then it goes right back to airborne.  When we don’t feel sick, that doesn’t mean we don’t have some funk going on. Our bodies are immune to it, babies have no immune system. WHAT SO EVER.

These pictures show “worst case scenario,” but it happens. We never thought it would happen to us.

Kayla Ross

Not that I let any and everybody touch love and kiss my baby, but I wasn’t strict on it either. It made me happy to see other people loving my baby as much as we do.

When I was in the hospital after giving birth, a family friend said “you’re the best kind of first time mom.”

Kayla Ross

That’s what I strived to be. The “cool mom.”

RSV is common but is also very deadly depending on how hard it hits. It happened to hit mine HARD.

Kayla Ross

I watched my baby on oxygen and a feeding tube fight for his life because i let everybody love him the way I do. So much mom guilt, but God provided. I say that to say BE A HELICOPTER MOM. Be THAT mom.

For anyone that doesn’t have kids, you don’t get it. I didn’t until I had him.

Kayla Ross

Respect the mother’s wishes. The older generation, you’re not exempt. Respect the mother’s wishes. Mother’s aren’t helicopters bc they’re selfish and want their babies to themselves. Mother’s are helicopters bc they value their baby's life.

This post was written by Kayla Ross and reprinted with permission.