My baby just got diagnosed with croup, and it’s one of the most stressful things I have ever gone through. My 15 month old is struggling to swallow and breathing is a challenge. Eating is difficult for him and he doesn’t want to drink anything. He’s on steroids now, but he still sounds awful and is crying whenever he coughs. I have been up for 38 hours straight, monitoring him, dosing him with Tylenol and having him sleep on my chest in the glider since that’s the only reliable way to get him to rest.

He’s going to get better over the next few days, but damn is this hard. Watching your little one in such discomfort and knowing that everything you’re doing is only barely making this manageable for them.

Feel free to share your own stories about this, it helps to know we aren’t going through this alone.