Rock n Play Recall

My favorite baby purchase this go round has by far been my Fisher Price Rock n Play (RNP). Carter had reflux issues early on in addition to intolerance to what I was eating. Our pediatrician recommended propping his mattress at a 45 degree angle to help with reflux. That turned out to be impossible. He would turn himself sideways and slide right down the mattress when it was propped. Then we found the rock n play and our pedi agreed it would be perfect. Carter has slept in it ever since. His first night in it, he slept the longest stretch to date and I was completely amazed!

The RNP folds up nicely and is easy to pack up for travel. The top soft cover comes off easily for washing but underneath that is a plasticy layer with a hard plastic seat piece sewn inside. That piece does not come off for washing. Earlier this week, I took the washable cover off for routine cleaning. Underneath it on the plasticy piece was mildew!! Of course I tried to clean it but mildew doesn't exactly come off. I warned my mom friends to check theirs and started googling. I found a few others who had similar issues posting online. I emailed Fisher Price but their return email said it could take 48hrs for a response. That same night FP recalled these for inspection due to mildew/mold. They posted cleaning instructions but it is a pretty poor fix for bad design. The cover tends to wick moisture underneath it and trap it there. The cover itself feels and looks clean all the while underneath it is nastiness.

Over 2 weeks ago Carter went in to the doctor for crazy congestion and chest issues. He was gagging, spitting up, and choking in the night. He'd be awake for 2hr stretches in my arms because he could not breathe. During the day he was congested but nothing horrible and each night it got worse. At our first appt. the doctor though it was a routine cold on its way out. It just got worse from then on. After an especially bad night, I recorded him at night and took the video in to the doctor.

Seeing what happened each night, they had us do an albuterol treatment in office and swabbed him for RSV and the Flu. After one treatment, his chest went from retracting but sounding okay to sounding horrible. It loosed the mucus and let us hear what was happening. His chest was retracting with each breath and he had mucus plugs in his chest that were so solid the doctor couldn't tell he was wheezing. We went home with a prescription and more treatments. This week the morning before I found the mildew he went in to the doctor for a recheck. He was better while on albuterol but by no means clear yet (at this point it was 2.5wks from when it started). They talked about testing for pertussis but since he had received one vaccine and was now at least somewhat better they didn't think it was likely he'd test positive even if he had it previously.

We were sent home and told to do more breathing treatments. Later that day when I saw the mildew and realized how bad mold and mildew can be for lungs, I called back in to our doctor and mentioned the new found issue. They immediately said that could very well be the cause of all of his issues and would explain why he was not getting as well as we thought he should be given our treatment. Our RNP is all packed up and heading back to Fisher Price. A new one is on it's way but I'm not really sure if we'll use it. I was washing the cover regularly and this happened so I'm not sure how to stop it from happening again immediately! Carter has been sleeping in his bassinet for the past few nights. I was scared of this transition since the RNP helped him sleep so much better . Recently though, he has been sleeping so poorly that transitioning to the bassinet and flat on his back sleeping again isn't much different in terms of his restlessness. I hope my little man is back 100% healthy very soon!!!

After his first albuterol treatment sleeping peacefully in my arms!