Croup

I haven't posted much lately...I've been dealing with a very sick child. On Sunday (11/11) evening, David and I took Eva to the ER with 103.8 degree fever. After waiting 3 hours, the ER Doctor told us that she had croup. He gave her a steroid shot (both legs) and instructions to keep her fever down. As well, as using a vaporizer, etc. She was fine--cough, depressed appetite, but no high fever--Monday and Tuesday morning, but Tuesday evening her fever started spiking again. Every time the Motrin wore off (Tylonol wouldn't touch it), her fever went right back to 104 degrees, she gushed blood out of her nose, her heart beat and she trembled. Can I express how terrifying that is at 2:00 a.m. She saw her Pediatrician on Wed. He prescribed some medicine which she wouldn't take. If we force it down her she throws it up every time. We try to trick her by putting it in her food or juice. She tells us that the "juice go bad, mommy" and refuses to drink it. In any case, her fever continued spiking. We went back to her Pediatrician on Friday. He checked her for urinary tract infection and pneumonia, again. And he stressed how important it was to get her to take her medicine. So, we were left with only once choice...we had to make her want to take it. We put her in timeout with the threat that she couldn't leave until she took her berry flavored (it doesn't even taste bad) medicine. She took it, and on Saturday she didn't have any fevers. But, her cough is just horrible. We fought with her again and got her to take her medicine on Saturday. On Sunday morning it took us 45 minutes. We took away favorite toys, had her on time out, gave her choices "Do you want to take it in this cup or this one?" She was determined she wasn't going to do it. David finally had enough and raised his voice... I was amazed at the quintesentially "Daddy" sound that can come out of a frustrated man when he yells "I've had enough... do it now!" Yes, she immediately drank the medicine. All I have to say about that is: "Thank God for Dads." Eva is doing much better. She has a cough, and her appetite is still depressed, but she is recovering nicely. BTW, her Pediatrician said that she kept hydrated during all of this really well and he thought that helped a lot in her viral infection not turning into pneumonia.

So, I didn't go to work much last week. I did take the time when we were home together on Monday to write down some quotes from that extremely bossy little girl who I adore. These were all from the same day in about a 2 hour span.

My mom greeted her in the morning by singing her You are my Sunshine. She did not want Granny to sing her that, and informed her "I not your sunshine, I Mommy's sunshine."

I let her help me grade pappers with me at the kitchen table. I let her use one of my red pens and scribble (write) all over the extra assignment and exam papers. She obsessed about that red pen... she had to have the one with the lid. she also could not use a dirty one "No... it dirty. I need new one," and was very upset that my pen didn't have a lid: "Mommy. You left your lid in your office. Have to get it. You have to."

She brought me a can of olives from the cupboard, accompanied by the following, in her sweetest voice, of course: "I like olives. On my fingers they wiggle and I eat them. Let's open them, shall we?"

David and I went on our first date as a couple ever... since we've been married. (Before we got Eva it wasn't that important to us... it is now.) It was great, and it fascinated Eva completely. She had a lot to say about it. "Mommy and Ba Ba go on date. Eva needs a date." I replied, "Really, we need to get you a date?" She informed me that "Yes, I need a date." So I asked her, "Who do you want to go on a date with?" She told me "Eva needs go on a date with Mommy and Baba." I guess David doesn't have to start his worried father routine quite yet.

She accidentally bumped her Wiggles guitar and made it play music when she didn't want it to. She told the guitar "Wiggles, Sh... them are sleeping" while pointing at the cats, who--by the way--are always sleeping.

She wanted me to carry her into the bedroom for a nap, so she tells me, "Mommy, come get me. I want you carry me. I go to hospital, you need to take good care of me." Talk about trying to use guilt to get her way... isn't she young for that?!

Once we got to the bedroom (I let her sleep in our bedroom because she's sick) she demanded I "Turn off the light...I go nappy now" I told her the lights were off and that it was the sun causing the room to be lit. To which, she demanded "Turn off the sun, mommy." I know I'm good, but really!

Other demands: "The crackers are in your purse. You gotta get them, I want them now." I don't actually do what she demands, but that doesn't stop her from bossying me around anyway.

I made her soup for lunch. She thanked me for it and told me it looked "delicious." Then, after I told her that she had to wait and let it cool before eating it, she made this comment: "I wanna put it in microwave." I asked her, "Why?" She told me why, "I want make it colder in microwave. I wanna put it in the microwave, I said!" I informed her that the microwave makes things hotter, not colder and that she's just going to have to wait. Sigh...