Dr. Judy (ped) wrote out a prescription for some more steroids. We gave Elijah a dose last night and then Dan and I shared the rest of the bottle because we were so tired. Just kidding. We did give him some, though, and he even seemed to sleep well through most of the night. We heard a little coughing here and there, but nothing too alarming. I had just fallen asleep around 10:00 when he started to cough/cry, so I crawled into his room and scrunched down next to his crib so he couldn't see me. I sat and listened for a while and made sure there was no sign of more croupiness. None! So I went back to bed.
This morning he woke up sounding really pretty good. He had a bit of a cough, but it was loose and the runny nose was gone. We decided not to give him a morning dose of steroids, and only to give him a dose for the next couple of nights before bed. Dan worked this morning, so Elijah went to daycare and did very well! It sounds like he was in a good mood and ate well, so that is encouraging.
Here is some info Dan took away from the appointment yesterday. Recurring croup can be common in premature babies and/or babies who have had breathing tubes down their throats a lot. On top of that, we do know that Elijah's airway is very slightly narrowed, so that can be a contributor to croup as well. Dan got croup a lot as a baby/toddler, so it could also be genetic. With all of these things, and possibly having mild asthma on top of that, he is going to be more prone to getting it.
Since we have gotten so good at knowing when it is coming, Dr. Judy gave us a few refills of prednisone (the steroid) that we can give to him if we start noticing suspicious symptoms. That way we can hopefully open up his airway in anticipation of it. Obviously we can't always know when it will come, but maybe this will help eliminate some episodes. She said to definitely run the vaporizer at night, and to continue with nebs as needed. I like the idea of giving him a pulmicort nebulizer treatment every night through the winter because it certainly cannot hurt.
We will still meet with the pulmonologist on the 17th, and in the meantime we'll do everything we can to prevent another round of croup. I feel much better now, knowing that his pediatrician isn't alarmed and worried like I had been. Having some extra steroids on hand is also a reassurance to me, since his airway responds to them so well.
Elijah even made it to PT last night to show off his new skills! He did awesome. Well, he was a little crabby, but I can't blame him. Vicki was so proud of his desire to kneel in front of everything AND crawl around! He will get more PT tonight and his other therapists are going to be very happy with his progress, too.
The Portas are exhausted. It has been a really draining week for us. We are hoping to get a solid night of good rest for our whole family tonight.
4 comments:
I'm sitting here... thinking I should stay awake for a bit and just see how Evan is going to do and check in on our heart buddies. Lo and Behold another one with croup... oh I feel your pain. Evan is 4.5 and has croup every single winter. We too were told his airway is slightly narrowed and that he is also prone due to the number of breathing tubes he has had. It is scary. We were up ALL NIGHT... Evan also has reflux and when there is coughing there is also vomit... 5th load in the dryer today, oiy. I'm praying for Elijah... these boys are so strong. Praying for good nights sleep. Check in with you guys tomorrow.
What a relief that Elijah is finally getting over the croup! You know, Hamza had something called spasmodic croup, ever since he was a couple of weeks old, it would happen ALWAYS at night, every few weeks and became less frequent with age, but he still had it once or twice a year when he was seven. We'd hear a (WHOOP), "Mama!" wail, and I'd run to steam up the bathroom while Zakir grabbed the bottle of steroids that we had to keep at home too. Now if he catches a cold he will still do it. He has never been intubated, but if you look at his baby pictures it looks like anatomically he didn't have much of a neck; we determined his airways and eustachian tubes were narrow. He also chronically had an ear infection until he got tubes. They DO outgrow croup, and I hope Elijah does too. Wouldn't it be so much better if it weren't at all related to his intubations? Might want to ask your pedi about spasmodic croup. Just a thought.... And sorry for this never ending post!
I have to start by saying...I got a great visual of you crawling into your baby's room! That is definitely the sign of a veteran mom!!
I am so glad that the doc is thinking ahead and trusts your judgement...you know that is near and dear to my heart. :0)
Loved watching Elijah crawl! What a big boy! Glad that he's feeling well and hopefully you guys got some rest!!
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