Yep. Baby Max had the Croup (not to be confused with "The Clap", or, more seriously, "Whooping Cough"). He got it at about 5 1/2 months old. That was the first time he had gotten sick, so it was a little scary for me. He started out with just a little cough but after a few days of this, one morning it turned worse.
Hubby had told me the night before that we needed to take the baby to the doctor. When I got home from work at about 6am the next morning, (working midnights is fun!) I heard him cough just one time and it broke my heart. He sounded like a hoarse, dying seal with asthma. He looked forlorn and sad. And since he always has to interject his fake cough (for added drama), he sounded much worse than he actually was. I called the doctor's office in a panic when I first got home and heard him. I was crying and told his doctor about the baby's condition. She asked me to put him up to the phone, and then said he probably had Croup and I should make an appointment with the office as soon as it was open. She also said to take him into the bathroom with me, close the door, and turn the shower on hot on full blast; the steam apparently helps to break up the cough a little. If that didn't work, I needed to call back ASAP.
So I did what she asked and it seemed to help break up the cough a little where he could breathe just a little easier. I got an appointment as soon as I could with the doctor's office that morning. When I brought him in and the nurse heard him (and his fake cough), she looked a little panicked and immediately had another nurse bring in the Oxygen Saturation thingy in the room to test his oxygen levels. They were perfectly normal (thankfully). Remember the wheezing I was hearing? The doctor said Max didn't have asthma; what I was hearing was part of Croup called "Stridor". Stridor is an inflammation of the air passageways. So he was prescribed a steroid, Prednisone, for 4 days. It wouldn't actually help cure the Croup, but it would help to mask the symptoms so the recovery would be easier for little Max. Croup has to go away on its own. It also gets worse when the baby is upset or crying a lot, so I made sure hubby and I did absolutely everything we could to coddle him and not let him get too upset.
The Prednisone was not really his friend but it did help to lessen the symptoms so I can't complain too much. It made him super hungry! He wanted to eat a ton, all of the time. He even woke up for night feedings, about every 2 - 4 hours. But when he finished the medicine, that super-human hungriness all went away. His Croup lasted about a week, give or take, and then was gone. Seeing him sick made me so sad that I just wanted to hold him and cuddle with him all of the time. (Which he didn't object to.)
Then a couple of weeks later he developed a fever out of nowhere. He really had no other symptoms besides a fever. I initially thought he might be teething, but his fever got too high for that. I called the on-call doctor when I first took his temp and it was 101.4 (underarm). They said he was fine and it was probably just a virus, just to watch him and make sure he didn't develop any more symptoms. I called the next day and spoke to his nurse, and she said the same thing. So I thought we would wait it out. He was still playing just fine and seemed to be ok up until about Day 4. His fever had been going up and down, but getting just a little higher with every day that passed. He was very sad on Day 4 and stopped playing with his toys. He'd just look at them and cry (which made me want to cry.) His fever got up to 103.4 (underarm), so I called the on-call person again. They said he should have been taken in after about 48 hrs (which was complete opposite of what his own nurse had told me!) I took him in that day to the Urgie Care Center. We were in and out in less than 2 hours! They checked his ears and nose, did a nasal swab for RSV and the flu, and checked his lungs via xray for pneumonia. He was all free and clear, they said it was probably just viral. I was glad that we went in, even just for my own peace of mind. That night, his fever broke. (thank God!)
(This was him with a fever, as you can see from his red cheeks. Happy as a clam! About Day 3.)
I see him developing more and more everyday. We have started him on the Gerber baby foods (level 1). He loves eating solids! He loves trying to take away the spoon and try to feed himself. He kicks and bucks his legs when I dip the spoon back into the food. He loves reaching up and touching faces while being held. He can roll over from tummy to back and vice versa without so much as a second thought. He is now able to sit on his own and play for a few minutes at a time (before he topples over and cries). He loves giggling and one-on-one playing. He has started, just this week, to stick his knees under him to try and crawl! I'm so excited to see what the future holds. He is such a blessing. I love him so so very much.
Today my little miracle baby is 6 months, 2 weeks, and 3 days old.
Some days I find my writing very uninspiring and, quite frankly, boring. This is one of those days. My apologies.
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