Croup and Other Joys of Parenting

OK, so last night was one of "those nights". The nights that parents dread, but are proud that we survive. It's the stuff that makes us parents. The stuff that makes this one of the hardest jobs ever, but we still wouldn't trade it.

I was up with Porter at 12:45 to feed him. Got back in bed around 1:30, got snuggled in and just started to drift off when Connor comes in to our room and flips on the light!! He's got that cough, the one that you know means you are headed into the steamy bathroom with the shower on. Poor little guy. He was coughing and crying and said it hurt to swallow. I managed to get him to take some ibuprofen and eventually the steam did it's job. We headed back into his room and I laid down with him until he got settled in. About that time the smoke detectors went off in all of our rooms from the steam! Yikes! I'm praying that the baby doesn't wake up, and praying that they just stop soon. They did after a few minutes luckily. After a bit I left Connor and got back into my own bed, and no sooner did I start to drift off, but Connor is back in our room flipping on the lights! He said the humidifier I put in his room was too loud and was worried that if he needed steam again we would set off the smoke detectors. Before I had a chance to reassure him and get him back in his room, my dear husband invited him into our bed! We hardly ever have him in our bed, and I prefer not to have him there, but I guess there are a few times I would relax that rule, so I suppose this situation warranted him getting in our bed. Actually he was fine all night, was quiet and didn't squirm around too much. Thankfully the baby didn't wake up again until around 4:15, so I managed to get a couple hours of sleep before he was up at 6am again to be fed.

Connor feels fine this morning, though he still has a cough. At least he can swallow without pain and isn't complaining. We did have to cancel a playdate with my friend Molly and her 2 kids, and I will be keeping him home from daycare too. I may not get a nap today, but I think I see a movie and some quiet time in our future. I'm just hoping it doesn't happen again tonight! I could really use a little sleep. I'm also hoping that newborns can't get croup! Porter does have a bit of a stuffy nose, but hopefully that will get better in the next few days.

On a good note, our friend Maggie came through her surgery with flying colors. They were able to repair the hole in her heart, and she was off the ventilator when I spoke with Nancy last night. They are hoping she will get transferred out of ICU today and will be able to go home in a few days.