Pediatricians Are Parents Too

Thank you to my patients for allowing me some time with my family during the holidays. 

It hasn't always been easy for us this year. At 4 a.m. or so during Thanksgiving, I heard the telltale "croup cough" coming from my daughter's monitor. It's such a scary sound - that weird bark coming from deep inside your child's chest. They panic, and you panic. They were fine earlier...now this? I took this photo of her at a golf course near our house a mere hours before bed.

The hoarse cry, the worry in her eyes, the sometimes high fever (hers was 102 and making her feel miserable), and a cough that rivals any seal's bellow. And it's always in the middle of the night. Why can't croup make its appearance at lunchtime? 

I remembered the most important thing to do is to keep her calm, and comfortable. The coughing, the gagging, the throat pain - croup is really mean.

I gave her a dose of Motrin, laid down in bed with her (for any of you who know me....you know this is waaay outta the norm for Dr. Diane, Captain Strict of Sleepland), ran my fingers through her curls, and propped her up on me to help her cough. In the morning, we will take a steamy shower with a bunch of toys, and take it easy.

Just a reminder that we are parents, too. We worry just as much as you do, and are losing just as much sleep But as my arm burned up with her fever heat, as my neck grew cramped from laying on 3 unicorns instead of my favorite pillow, I realized she won't always need me like this. In fact, one day, she'll probably kick me out of her room and tell me to leave her alone.

So I bent my pediatrician sleep rules a little bit. Parenting really turns you into a softie, doesn't it? 

Dr. Diane