Sam has his first cold. It’s so sad! He is so pitiful… he’s coughing and sneezing constantly and just generally doesn’t feel good. He hasn’t had a fever or anything and he’s not horribly sick, just a little under the weather.
This, of course, also means that his sleeping has gone from bad to worse. The last three nights he has pretty much woken up each time we’ve had the audacity to lay him down. The poor baby just wants to be held, which I can understand. Actually last night and the night before, we’ve just brought him into our bed so that we all could get some sleep, and that has worked pretty well. I resorted to that last night after waking up in the rocking chair and figuring out that I had been asleep sitting up (and holding the baby) for over an hour. Desperate times, people.
I’ve been giving him Advil about once a day, but I’m not sure if there’s anything else to do for him, besides giving him lots of snuggles.
What do you do to help your kids feel better when they’re sick? Any suggestions? I just want to fix it!
Have you tried saline nose drops? Just the generic kind – doesn’t even have to be the baby kind! These really helped Sophie when she was a baby with a cold (she wasn’t all that smiley though. 🙂 )
You may want to use a humidifier if you are not already. It really helps my kids when they are congested and coughing. Also I used that blue ball thingy (sorry, can’t remember the name) that suctions out the drainage which helped.
I’m so sorry your little one is sick! Ours just got her 1st cold a few days ago too. She was a snotty, feverish mess! I called our Pediatrician and he said Tylenol for fever or fussiness, Saline Nose Drops 3 or 4 times a day(get the gook out and prevent infection), bulb syringe to suck out their nose for easier feedings and a humidifier to help them breath easier and perhaps sleep more than 3 minutes at a time! lol Good luck!
Awww I really hope that Sam feels better soon!
*Use a humidifier or vaporizer.
*Prop up one end of the crib mattress, either by putting a wedge under the mattress or by raising one end of the bedsprings to a higher notch.
*Get some Johnson’s vapor cream. It’s safe for all babies over 6 months.
*Give him some cough medicine that is for “night-time”. It will help him sleep.
*It wouldn’t hurt to feed him some chicken broth for dinner. Try the low-sodium kind. Chicken soup is good for colds – on babies too! But broth doesn’t have the noodles or big chunky veggies.
Good luck. Our little girl has the same thing. She is miserable!
We have always propped up one end of the crib (the end he usually has is head on). Our crib wheels fit perfectly inside a brick, so we use one brick under each leg on one side (my husband works in concrete and masonry – go figure).
Saline and bulb syringe work well (but stick to do), use the humidifier and do whatever is necessary to get some sleep. When I was desparate to sleep and the baby needed to be held, I propped my arms up well with pillows (so the baby would not roll out of my arms in my sleep-less stupor) cuddled up for a bit of sleep while sort of sitting up. Not ideal – but feel like heaven after a few nights of no sleep!
Good luck!
Some mommies swear by breast milk up the nose instead of saline. It doesn’t taste bad the way the saline does and the antibacterial properties are helpful as well.
Have you tried the dr. yet? He could have an ear infection. Both times my daughter has gotten a bad cold, it turns into an ear infection. Every time you try to lie her down, she cries because it hurts so bad. We just got over one yesterday! Cool mist humidifiers help the stuffiness a little….
I’m so sorry your little one is not feeling well. We have tried some of the things already mentioned. We also use a nightlight thing that holds some Vicks Vapor smelly things inside. That seems to help pretty good. I hope he feels better soon!
I was going to write a few things – but I’d just be reiterating what everyone else has said! I would like to note, however, that you should under no circumstances give any child under 1yr old any cough medicine. Even after 1 yr, check with your md first. These meds are super super not-recomended for infants. I can give evidence based details if you like, but that might be boring and your md can do that 🙂
And Nancy mentioned the nightlight thing for vicks vapors – we use that, too. It’s basically just soothing, but it does seem to help them breathe a bit better. It’s called “Gentle Vapors” and is made by PediaCare, and can be found at Target. There’s also a coupon on their website for $4 off the starter kit 🙂
Also, one last item to plug – the suction bulbs never seemed to do crap for us, and Claire would get hysterical whenever I tried to use it. So I bought the “Nosefrida” and it is totally frickin fabulous. Sounds gross I know – but boy does it work! I bought it through the “One Step Ahead” catalog, but here’s the website – again, I can’t recommend it enough: http://www.nosefrida.com/
Our little one has the same thing right now – as do I, actually. Must be going around…. Hope everyone in your house is sleeping well right now!
Ok, since I posted about how to help out your little one, mine has now given me the same exact thing! How about a post with loving suggestions for how to help a nursing mommy feel better too?????? I am so tired of just sticking it out because I’m too afraid to take any medicine with her nursing! AND, I keep waking her up everytime I blow my nose! lol Her little eyes pop open in fear, looking at mommy like she’s nuts!