Saturday, April 4, 2009

Elijah v. Croup, round 5

I knew it was coming. I can always tell by the way Elijah is breathing that a croup episode is going to happen. I gave him a high dose pulmicort neb and a dose of oral steroids before bed. Sure enough, at 9:00 I heard stridor over the baby monitor. For the first time, he wasn't crying, but he was struggling to breathe. I got him out of bed and took him into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Except, he was really struggling. He just could not catch a breath. Dan had started giving him an epi neb, but it wasn't working fast enough. Elijah was starting to get scared, and that was making things worse. I thought about calling 911, but then remembered something that worked very well for him before. I turned off the neb, put a hat on him, wrapped him up in a blanket and Dan carried him outside. The cool air did the trick. Almost instantly, he was breathing normally. We stayed outside for a few minutes, came back in and finished the neb and then put him back to bed. Not a single issue the rest of the night! I wish we had known about the cool outside air trick six months ago. It probably could have saved us some ambulance rides.

So, this probably means we have another week or two of coughing ahead. I am so done with this cough. Summer cannot come soon enough.

I am hoping for no snow today, even though it's predicted to come. Warm weather, I miss you! Come to me!

13 comments:

THE LYONS FAMILY! said...

Oh Megan I feel your pain! I hope the weather changes soon for you!

my life: said...

Good job momma! I remember doing the exact same thing when Caleb was little. I'm so sorry it's back...it seems that it hasn't stayed gone long. :0(

Cecilia said...

Thank goodness you have good memories about the cool air trick and save Elijah a trip to the hospital. Well done Megan. I hope the coughing monster stays away from your little man.

Have a peaceful weekend!

Hugs and kisses!

mina said...

Oh, croup is the pits! So glad the cold air trick worked! Hoping that it doesn't last long, and we'll be praying for some warm weather to come your way!

Andrea said...

Good Job Mama! Way to keep your cool and take care of your little guy. I'm sorry you are having to deal with this again. Hope Elijah is feeling better soon!

Sarah said...

I had heard that too and when Evan got croup right after we moved this winter nothing was working but, the cold air did the trick! So sorry to hear that little guy has croup again. Wishing we could send our nice weather your way!

jennifer said...

I hope Elijah feels better, soon! I'm so sorry you have to deal with this, again :( I'll chant with you--warm weather come, warm weather come!

Ehlan said...

Poor Elijah! Glad your trick worked!`

Tina:0) said...

If nothing else, the colder weather worked for little Elijah! So glad that you didn't have to make another trip to the ER:0)

Hope the cough goes away & stays away... along with the cooler weather!

Kathy said...

oh Elijah...you sure do deserve a break.

I hope this ride is short and his cough doesn't linger.
poor little thing:(

cindy said...

Oh no! What quick thinking about the cold air, though! Maybe the warm weather went away for a reason and is waiting to come back when the little man doesn't need it anymore!

Feel better, Elijah! xoxo

Lots of love,

Cindy

Unknown said...

I'm so glad the cold air worked. I read about that when Arianna had croup but she was never bad enough where I rushed her outside. I think the good ol' O2 does the trick for her.

We too can't wait for summer. I hope Elijah gets rid of that cough soon.

Mami Adame said...

Good for you Megan! Isn't it nice to find a solution, a way to help your baby without having to rush to hospital? So glad it worked out. Hopefully his croup will go away quickly!