So it's been a rough couple of days for Sophia. On Wednesday night, Sophia developed this dry, seal-like cough that kept her up pretty much all night. I knew that Sophia had a doctor's appointment scheduled for Friday but seeing her worsen throughout the early morning on Thursday, I called and managed to get her seen a day early. The nurse practitioner checked her ears (which were clear and healing nicely) and after taking a listen to her chest called in the Doctor for a second opinion on her cough/breathing. At this point Sophia was crying constantly and you could tell that her cough was causing her extreme pain. The doctor came in, asked some questions and told me that he believed Sophia had 'croup' and wanted to discuss options as far as medication. Croup is a virus and virus' cannot be treated with antibiotics however he went on to tell me that they were worried about Sophia's airways because of the way that she was breathing. The poor thing was clearly struggling to breathe and you could hear her sitting across the room. To prevent further swelling and to hopefully reduce some of the inflammation on her airway, Sophia was given a steroid injection of dexamethasone and monitored for a reaction to the steroid. The doctor then sent us to have x-rays taken of her chest and throat to make sure that her lungs were clear. The x-rays in and of itself I think were the worst part of the day. My poor Sophia. While waiting to be seen, Sophia fell asleep on my shoulder and I had to wake her to sit on a cold, heavy piece of machinery and take torturous pictures. To make matters worse, there were two young guys taking the x-rays and as you can imagine, they didn't have the soothing voice of a pediatrician to keep Sophia calm. We finally finished, headed back to the doctor's and made a follow-up appointment for the next day. I was told that croup usually is at it's worst the first two or three nights and the doctor predicted that we were on day two. We came home ready for a long night and after a quick outing in the crisp night air to loosen her cough, we picked up a humidifier and settled in for a little bit of sporadic sleep. Last night was a lot better than the night before and Sophia was in MUCH better spirits this morning. The doctor saw her today and was very pleased with her progress. He also took a little time to talk with me and tell me what a great mom I was and that I should be proud of myself. It's funny how that sort of compliment never gets old. As a mom, it's almost as if we feel our child's pain with them and seeing them hurt is like 10 million knives in our heart. At that moment, my exhaustion seemingly disappeared and I revelled in the fact that my daughter was thriving under my care. It was just what I needed and I believe that God gave me that Doctor today for a reason. Sophia is on the mend and sleeping soundly for now. I hope for an easier day for her tomorrow and a speedy recovery for Thanksgiving with the family. Please keep the little angel in your prayers!