Croup and Poop

On Monday night Eli came down with what I was calling "infant laryngitis". He had no fever, no snot beyond everyday snot, not much coughing, but just seemed hoarse. Like, really hoarse. I ended up taking him to daycare the next morning, but was a bit concerned. He had no voice left at all. His cute little baby sounds were so sad - just little hoarse squeaks. That morning, I got a call from our daycare provider who was getting concerned about Eli's breathing. They kept a very close eye on him, and I headed over to get him as soon as I could. His breathing was starting to get quite labored (he was retracting or what they call 'strider' where the area just below his lungs sucks in with every breath and his stomach bulges out as he was struggling to catch his breath), and I got him in to my doctor's office as quickly as I could. Initially, we tried a nebulizer treatment of albuteral that didn't work. That was one of those good news/ bad news deals. Good news: since it didn't work, Eli probably doesn't have asthma. Bad news: his breathing is not getting any better. Other options to consider were croup or a foreign object in his windpipe. So, they gave him some steroid and while we were waiting to see if it would help, we got a chest x-ray to see it there may have been a Cheerio or Matchbox car wheel lodged in his windpipe. Thankfully, no foreign objects. The steroid took quite a while to take effect - but after about 3 hours Eli started to breath easier. So, diagnosis: (after 5 hours at the doctor's office) croup - which is essentially an inflammation of the larynx or voice box. In infants it can be pretty tough on the poor kiddos - especially with their tiny little airway.

Andy stayed home with poor little Eli today. He was pretty miserable, but his breathing is much better today than yesterday. I think the steroid is helping, but making him crabby. We have a Rx for more steroid, but the best things we've found are cool, moist air (which, here in Oregon, is easy to come by), or steamy bathrooms. We've spent a lot of time outside today in the foggy air, and are hoping he is feeling better tomorrow.

Oh, and Ben is getting better and better at using the potty!! Only one accident all weekend, even with traveling a bit! He even did 2 #2's on the potty chair tonight! What a big boy!