Natalie has Croup
I always thought croup was a horrible disease. Turns out most cases of croup are caused by cold viruses that concentrate in the upper airway, causing a loud barking cough and wheezing (which in bad cases can cause difficulty breathing). Natalie’s case of croup came on rather suddenly on Thursday night. One minute she was in a great mood and seemed totally healthy, the next minute we realized she had a fever, and then she was up half the night coughing and barking like a seal. Since then she’s been mostly okay during the day—we’ve been keeping the humidifier on full-blast and occasionally turning our bathroom into a steam room. Motrin is helping keep the inflammation in her throat down.
Yesterday we decided to take her to Terhune’s just to get out of the house and get some fresh air. Despite her illness, she had a great time visiting the animals. On the way home Natalie was happily eating an apple, choked a little and then could. not. stop. coughing. Poor thing ended up throwing up a bunch of phlegm. Yuck. Luckily, she recovered pretty quickly once we got home.
Since she’s been sick, Natalie will not sleep without me holding her. Every time I’ve made sure she’s in a really deep sleep and tried to sneak away, she’s woken up crying within minutes. So I’ve been spending the nights (and nap time) squeezing into Natalie’s tiny bed with her. We have an incline pillow under Natalie’s mattress that keeps her head elevated, plus the humidifier is in her room (otherwise I would’ve just put her in our bed).
