Anika's Story

It is the middle of the night and pēpi is unwell – where do you turn for advice?  

First-time māmā Anika found herself in just that situation recently, with her five-month-old baby boy.  

His five-month immunisation was that day, and she and her husband were prepared for him to be unsettled.  

“In the morning everything was fine, but from midnight our baby was not himself. His breathing seemed off and he was grunting,” Anika says. “This was a new symptom; it hadn’t happened before.

“Both parents were now wide awake and wondering what to do. I went to prep his bottle and I saw the PlunketLine magnet on the fridge! By then it was 3am.

“I mentioned his breathing to the Plunket nurse, and lo and behold she sends me a text message with a video line! That was surprising for me - we were not just talking on the other end of the phone, she could actually see the baby! That was quite cool.

“She looked at his chest and how he was breathing, and she was really reassuring, not just for us, but for baby too, saying, ‘oh hello darling, it's okay’. She kept us calm - this wonderful calm voice at 3am in the morning."

“We were also advised where to go locally if he got worse and how close those health clinics were from our house - that was really nice that she could reconfirm where we needed to go.  

“She was so calm, she made us feel calm also. When the baby is crying and unsettled, they are there with you in that moment.’’ 

PlunketLine is a free, 24/7 parenting and child health helpline. Call 0800 933 922 to speak to a registered Plunket nurse. You don't need to be a Whānau Āwhina Plunket client to call.