A Visit from Chicago Friends with a Little ER Thrown In

We were so excited for our friends Drew and Katina to visit from Chicago this weekend. Avery has seemed totally normal on Friday and we were ready for a fun weekend. They brought Avery some very cute clothes and Avery had fun reading books with Katina - not sure how much she liked sitting with Drew, though. Hung and I noticed that she was congested during the day and wheezing a bit - just not totally herself. But we knew she was in good hands with her "G" and we went out for an adult dinner to Le Petit Chou. We had a great time at dinner - lots of reminiscing and laughing. But the evening was interrupted when my mom let me know that Avery was waking every 20 minutes and "barking like a dog" and also very short of breath - My mom literally thought there was a dog in the yard barking and then realized it was poor Avery on the monitor. Uncle Cullen and I went home to check on her and call the pediatrician - who said it sounded like she had Croup and if she was short of breath we should go to the ER so that they could help her breath easier.

We decided it was best to have Hung stay back and hang with his college friends who we haven't seen in forever. And my mom and I took Avery to the ER. Apparently, cold air is one of the ways to calm Croup so when we arrived she was acting a ton better (see the first hospital pic). She was laughing and being silly and we thought maybe we had made a mistake bringing her. But the nurse who checked us in says that happens to everyone who brings in babies with Croup and she'd be doing her Croupy cough soon enough - and she was right. Avery was totally obsessed with her hospital bracelet and loved that I had one, too. She was sad that G and her monkey didn't have one, though. All day today she kept saying "Oh No" and looking for the bracelet - I should have kept it last night! Unfortunately, the ER was very busy and we didn't get home until after 1:30 am but it was very good we went. They examined her in her little hospital gown, took some chest x-rays (she did great with x-rays and held her arms and stayed still with my assistance), and gave her a steroid treatment that will last for 3 days. We had an amazing nurse who gave us lots of good tips to help her heal and keep her comfortable the next few days and also gave Avery a Popsicle to soothe her throat which she loved!

It was a rough night of sleep for everyone. We didn't get to bed until 2 and Avery was up about 3 times coughing and crying and then was up for good at 7. Luckily, we all got some naps on Sunday and Avery was feeling much better thanks to the Steroid treatment. She was in a good mood most of the day (a little fussy and clingy, decreased appetite, and still a raspy voice and a hitch in her breath and cough). We took her outside for a walk and a drive with the windows down before bed since the cool air really seems to help. And she got another Popsicle which she really enjoyed. She was a little stir crazy by the end of the night and got all of her toys out but we were happy to see her playing and acting more like herself. Apparently, Croup usually gets worse/better/worse/better for a few days before it goes away but she has not had a fever or any of the really bad coughing today so hopefully we are through the worst of it. We will cross our fingers for a peaceful and sleep filled night. Very glad we survived our first ER and hope that the 2nd one is a LONG ways off.

Reading with Katina

Trying to get away from Drew

Happy in the Waiting Room playing with G's necklace

Ready for her exam and x-rays

Destruction after her "sick day"