Croup: Season 5, Episode 1 (Elijah) ...and a few other thoughts

I was hopeful that we would make it through August and September without having a single croup episode. With literally hours left in the month, Elijah woke up with a raging case of croup during nap-time today. This is only the second time he has had an episode during the day. Dan was at work, so my shaking hands and panicked heart got him downstairs and gave him an epi neb as quickly as I could. The last time he had croup was pretty traumatic, so I have been a bit of a mess since this ordeal. He had a very hard time calming down, which always makes the situation worse. It took a good 15 minutes of the neb before things got better. He no longer had stridor when he was breathing normally, but I could hear it when he coughed or cried. Which meant that another episode tonight wasn't out of the question.

Dan is at the ER with him now, in hopes that the doctor will give him a shot of steroids. I know my boy and I know in my heart that if he doesn't get steroids, we will be up with him again in the middle of the night.

Croup aside..
Things are a little bit tough right now. Our work/life situation is taxing, but on top of that the boys are....difficult. I adore those two monkeys to PIECES. They are my wonderful little people. They sure know how to make Mama crazy, though! :)

On the way home from the dropzone today, I just about lost my mind. I will give you an idea of why...

[Imagine, amidst the following conversation, Sammy periodically SCREAMING at the top of his lungs for no apparent reason. Weee!]
Elijah: Mom, what's this song about?
Me: I don't know, listen to the words and see if you can figure it out!
E: Mom, what kind of truck is that?
Me: A semi-truck.
E: What's it called?
Me: A semi-truck.
E: Who is driving it?
Me: I don't know.
E: What's his name?
Me: Jim.
E: Where is Jim going?
Me: Probably to deliver something.
E: What is he going to deliver?
Me: Tables.
E: What kinds of tables?
Me: I don't know, honey.
E: Oh. What city are we in?
Me: Bloomington.
E: Who lives in Bloomington.
Me: The Mall of America is in Bloomington.
E: Who else?
Me: I don't know.
E: Who is "him" that they just said in the song on the radio?
Me: I don't know.
E: Who is he singing about?
Me: I don't know, honey.
E: What is Cities 97?
Me: A radio station.
E: What kind of radio station?
Me: [silence....]
E: Mom??

And on and on and on..

Kinda funny, but not so funny after hours of it!

I was thinking today, in between answering a million questions, how Elijah has been late in achieving so many milestones. Not just late, but really late. He started crawling at 21 months old. He started saying his first few words at 2 1/2 years old. He started walking at 3 years old. He was a total angel baby and didn't have a single tantrum until after he was 3. So, I was thinking, why would potty training be any different? He was late out of the gate. This potty thing may not be a total defiant/control thing with him. Yes, it is somewhat, but not totally. He is just taking a really long time. Just like everything else.

The thing that throws a wrench in that theory is his cognitive/academic skills. He knew his letters and numbers before he was 2. He has always had incredible retention and memory. He started to read short words at 4, and is reading almost everything at 5 (tonight he read the word "illustrated" with no help). So why is he so far ahead in this area??

I'm not really looking for an answer to that question, but I am glad I have taken the time to think through it all. It has given me a renewed patience with potty training. I have to constantly remind myself that he IS making progress. SLOWLY. But progress is happening over time. I remember wondering if he would ever crawl or talk or walk or enter his "terrible twos." And guess what. He did all of those things!

That leads me back to.... the "terrible twos." In many ways, I think Sammy and Elijah are in the same stage with their behavior. Sammy has started hitting and screaming his head off at inopportune times and doing the things standard for his age. Elijah is right there with him, doing his own rebellious and dramatic performances.

Despite the challenges, I love our little family. I love all three of my amazing boys to pieces. We are a very blessed family and I wouldn't change a thing.

I will end with Elijah's list of specialists, which I wrote up the other day after hearing about his failed hearing test and anticipating having to possibly (and very sadly) add another one. Thanks for checking in! If you have room on your prayer list this week, please pray that Elijah's hearing test this week shows improvement and that whatever is causing his loss of hearing is fixable/curable. Thank you!!

Primary doc
Cardiovascular surgeon
Cardiologist
Pulmonologist
Urologist
Neurosurgeon
Neourologist
Dermatologist
Physical Therapist
Occupational Therapist
Speech Therapist
ENT doc
Opthamologist
Geneticist
Audiologist (??)