Steam

When Andy was little, he used to get a croupy cough a few times a year. I don't think he ever got a full-on case of croup, but the cough is enough. If you've never heard it, it's absolutely horrible. It usually comes on in the middle of the night, it sounds like your child is barking, and it's just scary.

The first time he ever got it we were freaked out. Thanks to Al Gore and the internet Charlie quickly googled the symptoms and we figured out that it must be croup. There are two ways that you can alleviate the barking and coughing. First, you can go outside into the brisk air, which depending on the time of year you may or may not have available in Texas, or you can steam up your bathroom and sit in it for 30-45 minutes and let the steam do it's magic. I don't know that we've ever done the first treatment, but I've had my fair share of trips in a steamy bathroom in the middle of the night with a toddler in my lap. Eventually they go back to sleep without any issues, but it's a long night.

We've done this enough with Andy that he knows the drill. His is usually brought on by allergies. He doesn't have very many symptoms otherwise, nothing like either of the girls, but he still gets that croupy cough when his allergies kick in. So, when he started getting symptoms he knows what to do.

On Sunday night, or more accurately early Monday morning, he was all congested and couldn't sleep. It was about 5:00 a.m. So, he went into the guest bathroom, which is kind of secluded from the rest of the house, and turned on a hot shower. He was worried that Sarah would wake up and get scared that he wasn't there (as I've mentioned before they share a room), so he woke her up and took her to the bathroom with him. He read her books to keep her occupied. He gave himself a "steam bath", but didn't get into the water so it wasn't a bath, until he could breathe better and his cough went away. We slept through all of this.

I got up around 6:40 to get Amanda, and was kind of annoyed to see him going into the bathroom because he knows he is not allowed to get out of bed before 7:00. I thought he was just taking a shower. Little did I know what had actually transpired up to that point, Charlie had to fill me in on it later. I'm not sure if Sarah ever got back to sleep or not, but now I understand why she was so, so tired that day. The next morning he did it again, but this time after a gentle lecture from Charlie did not bring Sarah into the action.

So, tell me, what does he need me for? Oh yeah, he can't get a driver's license or a job quite yet. If it weren't for that I think the kid could take care of himself pretty well.