CROUP

Just checking in really quickly before heading to bed. I took Nate to the doctor on Thursday because he just wasn't sounding right and he was congested. The doctor sent us home saying he was just sick, lungs were clear. He continued to sound different and developed a barking cough that night. I knew I had heard of that as a symptom, looked it up Friday, and was back in the office Friday. We saw our doctor this time; Thursday we had to see another doctor. She diagnosed Nate with croup and prescribed a steroid to ease the swelling of his vocal chords. She had us do a double dose that night and the croup symptoms were gone Saturday morning, however the cough and congestion have remained.

Wednesday we saw our doctor again, this time for Nate's six month appointment. She checked his lungs and ears again and said the croup was gone and that he still had a bad cold. He should be seen again if his cough got worse. Well, last night and today it got worse. He had a ten minute coughing attack with my Mom today. It scared her enough that she called me at work but Tylenol seemed to help quite a bit. I called the doctor and left a message with the nurse line. In retrospect, I should have spoken with somebody because they didn't get back to me until 4:15 pm but said Nate needed to be seen so we had to go to urgent care. My Mom was still here and Dan was stuck in traffic so she went with me. We got there around 4:50 pm and were told that the pediatrician wouldn't be there until 6. Ugh! After an hour wait and quite a bit more coughing, Nate was examined and the doctor said the cough was still a result of the croup virus. Also, Nate has the beginning of an ear infection. She gave us an antibiotic and an inhaler for when he has coughing fits.

I'm really looking forward to this virus going away! Not only do I hate seeing Nate sick but I'm exhausted; he's been waking up every 2-4 hours for almost a week now. When he was a newborn, it was tough but I wasn't working so it was doable. Now, it's just exhausting! I think that if he's still not sleeping and the cough isn't gone, I'm going to take Monday off.

I'll write more about Nate's 6 month appointment and new developments the next time I get a chance.