My munchkin has croup!

Yesterday morning, the baby was playing like usual in his exersaucer, having a grand ol' time. When all of a sudden he started doing this wheezing/gasping for air noise every so often. At first I though he was just being silly because in the past he sometimes did this when super excited. The sound I'm talking about is if you jump out at someone and yell "Boo", and the other person gasps out loud. It's a scary sound when it's coming from your cute & cuddly 6 month old.

So after about an hour of being frantic I knew I had to bring him to see his pedi. Thankfully our pedi is really good with squeezing us in whenever we feel nervous about something. Of course when we got there, the baby made a liar out of me and didn't make the noise once. His lungs sounded clear and he sat there all smug, playing with his plastic keys. BUT me being Ms. Prepared, and knowing how sneaky my little one can be (tee hee), I videotaped the sounds he was making with my iPhone. ::shakes fists in air with triumph:: So I played it for the pedi and he immediately said that it was something called Croup, which is a viral infection caused by the common cold. It's a swelling around the vocal cords, and is common in infants and children. If it's mild, it'll go away on its own. The munchkin didn't have a fever, just very slight congestion and a cough every once in awhile.


So what were the doctor's orders?

- Keep his Cool Mist Humidifier on at all times
- Lots of fluids
- Steam him up by turning on all the hot water in the bathroom, then sitting with him (outside of the shower) just to inhale the vapors with the door closed
- Keep a close eye on his breathing and temperature

It's Day 2, and so far he still has that wheezing sound (which is actually called Stridor.) I hope this goes away soon. Babies who have a severe case have to go to the ER and get oxygen treatment! :( I tell ya, I'm watching my lovebug like a hawk. Right now he's sleeping comfortably in his bouncer with a blanket and his wooby. What's a wooby you ask? Only his BEST FRIEND.



I guess it's going to be a nice quiet day of us cuddling and loving and babying our little one... and me going nuts disinfecting everything in the house. No relaxed weekend for this mama ::sigh::