One Sick Boy

Early last week, the boy had a slight cough, runny nose, runny poop, etc. Just some basic signs of a cold - or as I was convinced it was - signs of teething. He has had the exact same symptoms (above) with every tooth.

Friday morning when I dropped him off at the sitter, his symptoms seemed about the same, but he was a little clingier than usual. I told the sitter to call me if she wanted me to come get him.

She didn't call. I picked him up after work and he was still clingy and the symptoms seemed the same. I put him to bed at his usual time (8pm) and by 9:15 he was coughing so hard I felt terrible. Standing outside his door...I debated going in. Hoping it would pass. Well, it didn't. And he began SCREAMING for me...and coughing/barking at the same time. I went in. He jumped up and said "mommy! {sob} mommy! {sob} wanna get me out". How could I argue?

So, I got him out. We sat on the couch in his room for a little while. Neither of us could get comfortable. So, I asked if he wanted to get in mommy's bed. "Uh huh". He's never slept in our bed. He's only played/jumped on our bed. So, hmm. This should be fun. He fell right to sleep, arm thrown around my neck. I sort of fall asleep. It was difficult...what with a foreign object in my bed and all. Then the coughing/barking starts up again. He can't stop. He can't get comfortable. He tries. I try. We spend the next few hours trying to get sleep. It doesn't work. We end up awake at about 3:15am. He wants to come downstairs and watch Scooby. I tell him that it's too early and we'll watch Scooby later. That's not what he wanted to hear. Crying, coughing/barking begin. So, we spend the next couple hours watching Scooby. He is in my arms, dozing on and off. Me, I'm sitting upright. I'm wide awake.

We run out to Target to get some milk and cough meds. We get home, I give him the meds, and wait for them to kick in. And I wait. And wait. They never kick in. Meanwhile, he is coughing/barking non-stop. Literally. Non-stop. I'm heartbroken, and scared, so I load him in the car and head to the ER. Everyone in the place knows instantly that it's croup. They didn't even triage him because they wanted to get him in and get him treated. He was that miserable.

They give him a shot of steriods (apparently this is how they treat croup) and tell me I should see improvement within the next 6 hours. Great. What am I going to do for the next 6 hours. So, we head home, plop down on the couch, and watch dvd's all day.

I tried to put him to bed at 8pm. He wants to sleep in mommy's bed. Mommy's so damn tired, she doesn't protest. Well. Another restless night. Up at midnight...in a hot steamy bathroom. Up at 1:30am, sitting on the front porch breathing in cool night air. Neither of which bring any relief. I tried to put him in his bed. Nope. So, we laid, restlessly, in Mommy's bed, for another half hour or so only to get up and come down to the couch and watch Scooby Doo.

Thankfully, Daddy is home today and can help. Only...the boy wants nothing to do with him. Daddy tries to hold the boy, the boy protests "No daddy, not you, only mommy". This is how we spent the rest of the day. Anyway, we tried the steamy bathroom a couple more times and I do think the last time helped. He was sound asleep in my arms at 7:30pm, so I carried him upstairs, changed his diaper (to which he didn't move or make a sound), and put him in HIS bed, closed the door and walked away. We'll see.

I stayed home with him today. We went to the Pediatrician in the morning. The Doc was very concerned with his breathing. So they gave him a breathing treatment. No change. And another, different kind of breathing treatment. His breathing calms, and so does the cough. If it wouldn't have worked...he would have been admitted to the hospital! She sends us home with a prescription for steriods. He took the steriods like a trooper and I could tell that it made him feel better. We spent most of the day laying on the couch watching cartoons.

Daddy is staying home with him tomorrow. Hopefully the boy will accept that.