croup, nosefrida, flying, milk supply....ugh

[1blueheron]

Looking for input on a few different issues....1 yo DD has croup, came on pretty strong last night, nobody slept more than a couple of hours.  Feeling better this morning, but not nursing very effectively (just enough to keep me from worrying about dehydration and to stave off painful engorgement).  

She HATES having her nose suctioned in any way (nosefrida, bulb, whatever), but she's so stuffy I'm sure it's interfering with her nursing.  I did it a couple of times yesterday, but with croup, when she gets agitated, the labored breathing starts up again, so I'm very reluctant to do it again.  

Will this mess with my milk supply?  I've always had plenty but we've never had a drop in nursing like this.

On top of everything, we're scheduled to fly tomorrow morning!  I'm going to ask her dr about delaying the trip, how long she's contagious, etc.  (I sure don't want to put other mamas through what we went through last night.)

Overall a sucky day, but strangely in the midst of all this, she took her first independent steps!  :)  

Any suggestions/BTDT on any of this stuff?

I need a nap. 

[cinnam0n]

Hugs mama! We just had our first bout with croup last week (my dd is 19 months old). After a particularly rough night we took her to the ped who confirmed croup and prescribed some steroids in case her breathing became labored. She said that generally they have two rough nights (croup is worst at night) followed by a cough that can last a week or so. Also they are contagious for about 24-48 hours after the fever breaks. Dry air is particularly rough for kiddos with croup, so the dry air on the plane could definitely cause some discomfort. Our ped recommended a cool mist humidifier and for walks outside in the cool air to help bring down the swelling. We also used ibuprofen to bring down the swelling.

As for your milk supply, I don't think a day or two should affect your supply, if you are concerned though you could try pumping or expressing extra milk after she feeds? Oh and congrats on taking her first steps, so exciting!!! :)

[Peony]

We flew home last summer with DD2 who had croup. We didn't have a choice, no way to get different tickets for a family of 5. It wasn't ideal obviously but she did very well considering. She was 3, has had croup numerous times before. Went to bed on Tuesday night fine, was in an ER with her 2 hours later because she couldn't breathe. She was quite ill Wed and Thursday, and we flew home Friday. She slept most of the time because she still had such a high fever. We didn't land until 1am Saturday because of flight delays, we got stuck on the runaway for hours, but she was sleeping and didn't notice. 

Your milk supply will be fine, it might decrease a bit but will rebound quickly if it does. 

[1blueheron]

Originally Posted by Peony 

We flew home last summer with DD2 who had croup. We didn't have a choice, no way to get different tickets for a family of 5. It wasn't ideal obviously but she did very well considering. She was 3, has had croup numerous times before. Went to bed on Tuesday night fine, was in an ER with her 2 hours later because she couldn't breathe. She was quite ill Wed and Thursday, and we flew home Friday. She slept most of the time because she still had such a high fever. We didn't land until 1am Saturday because of flight delays, we got stuck on the runaway for hours, but she was sleeping and didn't notice. 

Your milk supply will be fine, it might decrease a bit but will rebound quickly if it does. 

Ugh, that sounds like a rough trip!  Thanks for the good words.  Southwest was kind enough to change our ticket for free, so we at least get one more day to recover.  Whew!

[1blueheron]

Originally Posted by cinnam0n 

Also they are contagious for about 24-48 hours after the fever breaks. 

Good to know, thank you.  Hopefully now that we're leaving a little later we'll be in the clear.