Middle Of The Night Adventure
>> Monday, May 18, 2009 –
Life and Family,
Thomas
My little Thomas has croup. I'm thankful to say that our kids have always been extremely healthy, and this gasping-for-breath thing is very unusual for us.
Last night, we dosed him up on ibuprofen before bed to help keep him comfortable. We even remembered to get the humidifier going to help him breathe. It didn't really dawn on me that he might have croup - I just thought he had a chest cold.
And then, at about 10 PM he started in with the coughing. Man, he sounded horrible. And it hurt him - he would just sort of whimper every time. It's spooky - that silent "I can't cry because my voice isn't working" cry. It's a cry - just a very pitiful cry. A cry that makes mommies cry too.
And then, at about 11:30 (after hubby and I had gone to bed), things changed. He wasn't really coughing anymore. It seemed like the mere act of breathing hurt him. I kept going upstairs to tuck him in...only to have him struggle for breath again in a few minutes.
My heart started racing, and my mind started going to all those horrible places Mama's minds go when the baby can't breathe. And then...I went to his room to tuck him in... and he was clutching the rail of his crib, looking at me with wild wide eyes, and positively GASPING for breath.
I scooped him up and raced him to the ER.
After a breathing treatment and a dose of steroids he was breathing much better. Thank God for modern medicine. I wonder how many times I'll say that phrase during the course of raising these children!
AND...thank goodness for orange popsicles at 1:30 in the morning. Even after all that he was put through in the middle of that long night...the orange popsicle could still bring a smile to his little angel face.
And to mine.
I'm PRO at croup. In fact, they made me a doctor of croup (D.O.C).
Seriously, pre-tonsils-being-removed, Isaac had croup about 4-6 times a year! NO JOKE! It IS scary stuff and hearing that seal gasping for breath sound from their bedroom is enough to send any mother into histarics.
I hope your little guy feels better soon. Call me for tips...you've got my number.;-)
What a sweet, SWEET, boy.
Our one encounter with croup was terrifying. I kept finding myself doing this sympathetic hyperventilating thing as if it would coax my baby to BREATHE.
SoooOOOoo GLAD he's ok. You must just want to hug him and squish those cheeks for about forever now! :)
*sigh* There is nothing that worries me more, now, than to hear about babies and kids getting sick. I'm glad your little one is all better. And I'm glad that all is well because of the popsicle!
... I may need to try the Popsicle Method after paying the bills...
So glad he's okay!
The Dr. at the ER told us that what usually happens is that the child improves a bit when he gets to the ER, and that's because of the moist air when you take him outside to the car. So he suggested these quick things:
turn the shower on and let it just run til the bathroom is all steamy and just sit there with him.
Or if its moist outside, go walk around outside with him.
The other thing is, just boil a big pot of water with the cover off. The moisture will fill the air quicker than a humidifier. (of course, be cautious with boiling water when you have kiddos - I know you already know this, but it makes me feel better to say that!)
Of course, if those things don't help, take him in. But we have found that as soon as we hear that barky cough, we do the shower thing and it helps.
Glad to see he's better!
Hey Daiquiri, I haven't stopped by in a while and thought I would see how you are. I pray your little fellow is getting better. I enjoyed the pictures with the Popsicle. Too cute! Have a great rest of your week!
I HATE croup! When my older kids (now 12 and 15) had croup as babies it didn't seem like such a big deal, I took them outside, walked with them and it resolved. But last Christmas, my 4 yr old got so bad, he had a really tough time breathing and could not calm down as he was so scared. We took a frightful 30 mile drive through a huge snow storm to get him to the ER. Praise God, he fell asleep and stayed that way until we got to the hospital parking lot. They gave him the breathing treatment of racemic epinephrine, and some steroids and all got better! I was so worried that it would come back, and we live so far away, that the ER doc gave me some vials of the racemic epinephrine (the nebulized medication) to take home in case it happened again.
This year both my now 5 yr old and my baby (10 months old) had croup at the same time and ended up in the ER two nights apart from each other. Like I said....I HATE croup! I am glad all is better for you guys!
Zach had croup once and it sounded very scary! So glad Thomas is doing better!
Jen