The Scary Croup Monster

Croup is scary.

I took my daughter to the doctor this morning, and we were right...she has croup.

Apparently you just wait croup out and it eventually goes away.

This is easier said than done.

The doctor suggested a penguin-shaped cool mist vaporizer (see photo above) and lots of liquids. Since Banana refuses most liquids when she's sick, she has been subsisting almost entirely on popsicles (also see photo above).

Between scary coughing spells, though, we really had a lovely sick day at home together. We watched Cars several times and took a nap together. And I admit it, I had a popsicle, too!

And then there were the scary croup monster coughing fits. Seriously scary. Gasping for breath scary.

During said spells, I have to remind myself to underreact to the situation (something I learned from Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project blog). Because apparently croup spells get more intense when the child is distressed.

So, I underreact, and say, "Oh, it's hard to breathe right now. Yuck. That's no fun! Let's take a sip of your Orangina and see if that helps."

When what I really want to do is freak out and call the doctor and demand steroids or an inhaler or some other treatment that I've read online is only used as a last resort when croup lasts longer than it should. But no, I'm going to underreact and remain calm and even a little silly so Banana stays calm, too.

So for now, I'm off to sleep with my sick girlie. And to remain calm. And to listen for sounds of "inhalatory stridor at rest" all night. And to try to figure out exactly what "retractions" look like so I can keep an eye out for those, too.

Can you tell I'm not so good at underreacting yet?

Oh, well, I guess it's a work in progress.