Update - good vibes for dd - croup

[maestramommy]

Update
Well, last night went pretty well. Dora would've slept through had I not kept going in to check on her. We had the monitor on, and if I couldn't hear her breathing after a coughing spell I'd go in. Once I tried sliding her back onto the pillow. Big mistake; boy she was pissed (oops!). Today, her coughing is more of the slightly phlegmy hack, after which I hear a tiny bit of whistling, but otherwise her breathing is fine, and she is her normal self. I'm crossing my fingers for tonight and tomorrow though, because I know it usually peaks then. BTW, would I be contagious as well? I'm supposed to go to a Creative Memories demo tonight at someone's house, but she has a little one and I don't want to infect the family. Dora and I are staying home except for occasional walks when it's cold.
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Dora came down with croup this afternoon, literally out of the blue. It woke her up from her nap and she wasn't able to go down again. For the rest of the day she was actually fine, and only barked a few times. Her voice is normal, she has no temp, and no other cold symptoms. When we put her down tonight, we had a pillow to prop her up, but apparently it just doesn't work for her, she just keeps sliding off. I heard her bark intermittently, then that rattly breathing and went to check on her. She was sleeping, just noisily, so what do I do? I try to move her onto the pillow, which woke her up. Boy she was not happy, and it made her sound worse. She seems to have gone back to sleep now, but the sound of her breathing just kills me. Should I assume that as long as she's sleeping "peacefully" she's okay, and I should just leave her alone? She will suddenly have that bark/cough, then nothing, or something that sounds like she's clearing her throat, then she's fine. We have all the monitors on. According to the Sears website, it'll peak on night 2-3. We're only on night 1 and I'm not sure what to do. We know about the steamy shower and all if she really wakes and has trouble breathing, but for noisy breathing while asleep should I just leave her be?

Her entire life she's never had anything worse than a stuffy runny nose, so this is pretty freaky.

BTW, I have already read the most recent thread by jgriffen about croup.

[writermama]

Sending healing vibes your way.

DD had this a few summers ago. I remember it as sleepless nights for me. I slept on the floor in DD's room. I printed out the Dr. Sears info -- it was handy to refer to at 3 am when we headed for the shower.

We went to the ped on day 2 and got the prescription and it got better very fast after that.

Hope Dora rests well tonight and is feeling better soon.

[writermama]

forgot: if she slides off a pillow, can you prop under the mattress? a rolled towel works pretty well.

[maestramommy]

What was the prescription for? My ped. told me it was viral, so she couldn't give me anything for it.

[maestramommy]

Thanks, I never thought to try that, duh!

[buddyleebaby]

No advice, but sending lots of healing vibes for Dora and (hugs) for you. I hope she's better very, very soon.

[tarabenet]

Quicker than the shower, you might try opening the freezer door and holding her in front for a minute. That is what the pedi suggested for Aubrey. Just the change in the air changes the airway somehow?

[lorien_ca]

no experience with croup, but wishing your DD a speedy recovery. hugs to you mama.

lori
Sam 5/19/05 How lucky I am that you chose me.

[brittone2]

Thinking of you and Dora. Logan had croup right around a year of age and it was scary for us.

He did really well going outside in the cool night air. We took walks in the evening, including one night where it was sort of misty. It worked wonders. It was near the holidays so we walked around our neighborhood looking at lights. He could breathe sooo much better outside. If you get desperate you can bundle her and head outside if the freezer or steamy bathroom aren't doing the trick. The cool air really helps.

We did the vaporizer thingie too.

By the 2nd night he was really struggling (not to scare you). His chest was starting to retract when he'd breathe. We probably should have headed to the ER but if he slept upright propped on my chest, he was better.

You know I'm pretty much a "let it run its course" kind of mom, but we did do a short course of steroids (oral prednisone) after that scary 2nd night. During the day he had very few symptoms. Yes it is usually viral but I know oral prednisone is pretty commonly used to alleviate the inflammation if their breathing becomes really labored or difficult.

The good news is that the oral pred worked well and he was over it in about 3 days total.

Hopefully it won't be too bad for her. Definitely do steamy showers (we did a few a day), walks in the cool night air if needed, and the freezer trick. Keep the room humidified if you can.

THinking of you all.

[mudder17]

Sending many healing vibes your way! Hugs and prayers!

Eileen

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