Croup It Up

This just goes to show you how the life of a mommy can change on a dime.

Yesterday, about 4:15 pm, I was enjoying my half day off work (from working on Sunday) by baking two pumpkin pies. I had just begun to blend the wet stuff with the dry, when the daycare called. Marcus had a fever of 102 or 103. Yippee.

Since I was at a place where I really couldn't stop, and since Chris was just leaving work anyway, I called him and warned him that Mr. Man was ill. Sure enough, when he arrived at the house, the pies were smelling yummy in the oven, and Marcus was warm enough that perhaps I could have baked one in his mouth.

He's had a runny nose for about a week, as has everyone in the family. 'Tis the season and all. But last night, he had developed a little cough. Athena has also had a cough, and although it has sounded bad, it hasn't kept her up at night or anything. Well, Marcus went down about a half hour earlier than usual, and about an hour into his sleep, I heard a noise in his room that sounded like perhaps I had locked Murphy in the room with him. I looked down at my feet, and there was Murphy snoozing happily on the carpet in my room. Crap.

This morning, his fever had gone down to about 100, and his smile was big and his eyes were bright. I thought perhaps he would kick this as he has every other illness. I gave him some Tylenol then plugged his morning bottle in his mouth.

He ate merrily and happily. Then about halfway through, he exploded. Let's just forget about the fact that he was in my lap at the time... the important thing is that he threw up twice as much as had been in his bottle. It was impressive. Mucous and milk plus Tylenol in the tummy is apparently combustible.

As soon as the pediatrician's office opened, I called and got an 8:40 appointment. At the time, Marcus still seemed happy and alert, so the doctor concluded it might be croup, it might not... but he wasn't sure enough to prescribe the steroids normally given for croup. After all, why take the things if that's not what is wrong with you.

So he gave me some tips on what to look for and sent me home. Marcus slept in the car and then another 1/2 hour, when he woke up coughing. I gave him some warm water and some Tylenol (since the first batch came up with his breakfast) and tried to entertain him. He just really wanted to go back to sleep. His cough is now much worse and more persistent. But he's napping now, and I'm doing dishes/laundry/domestic goddess stuff.

Today is my evening shift day, so I'm taking the afternoon off, and then Chris and I will switch off so I can go in for the 5-9pm shift. Then I'll work tomorrow and he'll take off. Next on the list is to call Shelley to see if she wants Marcus around Zoe. The doctor said that it should be fine as long as we keep the babies separate and we wash our hands a lot... but I would feel horrible if Zoe got sick. So currently, I'm thinking that Chris and Athena will drive up to Baltimore and I'll hang here with Mr. Man. Not the ideal Thanksgiving, but Chris needs to see his family, and Athena needs to meet her cousin. It's a bummer, but what can you do?

Damn croup.