Croup- Anxiety nightmare fuel

My 2.5 year old is battling her third bout of croup in 2 years. The first time it freaked us out so much we almost ended up in the ER, the second time was really mild and pretty much gone after one nigh but this third one is strange. She had the bad croupy cough and some bad stridor last night and wheezing a lot. Freaked me out so much I slept one floor next to her crib but she seemed mostly fine during the day. She ate ok, drank and ran around and played( with the occasional cough and a bit of a hoarse voice). Tonight on night two, the croup cough is back in full force but the breathing seems ok. Just a bit congested and snoring. I tried to call the registered nurses line but every time it’s breathing related they tell you that you need to go to ER to be assessed. I don’t really want to take her in only to wait 12 hours and for her to get no sleep on top of being sickly.

What does a “normal” course of croup look like at this age? It’s freaking me out if I should or shouldn’t take her in to be seen.