Another tooth and croup

Elizabeth gave us our first big scare last weekend. Friday, I picked her up from the babysitter at 4:00. Jason and I met for a quick bite to eat, then we went to Target. When we were in Target, Elizabeth coughed a couple of times. It was one of those deep, croupy sounding coughs. We sort of looked at each other and hoped she wasn't getting sick. We got home around 5:45 and her cough seemed to be getting worse and more frequent. We read in our baby books about croup and coughing and considered taking her to the ER. She wasn't too bad. Jason went outside to mow the lawn, but after about 10 minutes, I became even more worried about her breathing which had become loud and noisy. I went outside to get Jason and we decided to go ahead and go to the ER. We were collecting ourselves to leave and she just got worse and worse. We were then starting to rush to the ER.

When we got to the hospital, we checked in and we went to triage within a few minutes (there was a waiting room full of people--Jason was worried we'd have to wait awhile, but I didn't think we would by the way she sounded). When we were called to triage, Elizabeth's breathing was very loud and hoarse sounding. Despite her difficulty breathing, she gave the nurse a huge smile. The nurse said, "You sure are happy for someone who can't breath!" She took us straight back to the ER and a doctor was there soon after. He listed to her and said she had croup. Her trachea (windpipe) and larynx (voice box) were swelling. They gave her a breathing treatment of some type of epinephrine, then a cool-mist humidifier and steroids. After all that and after consulting with a pediatrician, the doctor decided that she needed to stay overnight to be monitored.

It was about 2:45 am by the time I finished answering all the questions and they got her breathing treatment set up in her room. She sounded much better by morning.

It just so happened that she got a tooth that same day. Fortunately, she's fine now. She has a little cough but it's not croupy at all.

Today, Elizabeth has us a little worried with the new sound she is making. It's sort of a bratty, squealing, demanding sound. We're hoping this new sound passes quickly. Jason said, "She sounds like one of those autistic kids." (I'm not exactly sure what an autistic kid sounds like, but maybe you can relate to Jason's description.)

Have a great week...Becca

New pics are here

First Tooth!

Today, Elizabeth's first tooth broke through. We knew it would be coming soon, due to all the fussiness, drooling, and chewing lately. She'll be 5 months old in a few days. . . time flies! I just wanted to share the news...I'll try to post more this weekend. It's bed time!

She just might be a genius!

Well, not really a genius, but we like to think that she's pretty smart! Yesterday, Elizabeth learned how to sit up (not the act of sitting up from the floor, but staying sat up once put in that position). She can stay up for a while, but eventually topples over (a little top heavy, I guess).

If you hold her hands while she's standing, she'll now take steps. She's definitely going to be an early walker! (Good--I'll have a reason to buy shoes soon!) She devoured a jar of applesauce yesterday and she's getting better at keeping it in her mouth. She prefers to eat off of mommy's finger, but we're working on the spoon.

At this moment, she is sleeping in her jumper that hangs from the doorway. I guess getting ready for church wore her out this morning.

Jason and I have really had fun with her this weekend. Her colic seems to be over with and she's been much happier lately. She loves to "talk" and has added squealing and yelling to her repertoire.
I'm posting photos for April here.