What to do about a sick baby with a cold

[poppy]

My DS is 8 mths old and has a cold, runny nose-clear mucus, slight cough and some sneezing, no fever. Keeps wheezing though. I gave him Tylenol Infant drops last night (.8--dropper full). Called nurse this morning and told me to give him nothing and just let it run it's course for a week, but she sounded unsure and first time I'm dealing with her--new nurse. I'm concerned b/c he has stopped eating. This is his first cold, he's been EBF mostly and supplemented with some formula, so I am worried.

What did you do? Also, if you did give baby medication, how much and how often? I know Hylands Cold Medicine was also recommended by a previous ped.--though I didn't need it at that time b/c he wasn't sick.

Thanks!

[HIU8]

My ped will not allow any meds except antibiotics to be given until age 2. Oh, except benadryl allergy for kids and infants tylenol or infants motrin. There have been several times where I have taken DS or DD in with just a cold b/c it sounded to me like they were wheezing and needed some help. So far, twice I was right and I'm glad I took them in.

[poppy]

What did the ped do for your baby when you took him in?

[infomama]

Don't give pain/fever reducers unless there is a fever or pain. A cold with no fever does not qualify.Have you tried suctioning his nose out with a bulb syringe? He may not be able to breathe while you are nursing him. Sit in the bathroom with the shower on hot to make a steamy room, that should help to decongest him. I wouldn't use Benadryl but that's just me. I would worry if he keeps wheezing (could just be drainage but good to have him listened to if you are concerned) or continues to not eat. If he spikes a fever, treat the fever. First illnesses are always tough. Hang in there.

[brittone2]

Don't give pain/fever reducers unless there is a fever or pain. A cold with no fever does not qualify.Have you tried suctioning his nose out with a bulb syringe? He may not be able to breathe while you are nursing him. Sit in the bathroom with the shower on hot to make a steamy room, that should help to decongest him. I wouldn't use Benadryl but that's just me. I would worry if he keeps wheezing (could just be drainage but good to have him listened to if you are concerned) or continues to not eat. If he spikes a fever, treat the fever. First illnesses are always tough. Hang in there.

:yeahthat:

If refusing to eat, you may want to also consider having his ears looked at.

[catpagmo]

My 7 week old DS has a cold, and there isn't a lot you can do, unfortunately. My ped said to take him into the bathroom while the shower is running for about 10-15 mins, and let him breathe the steam. She also said to use saline drops (2 drops per nostril) in his nose when he is especially congested, and then suck out all the junk with a nasal aspirator. I bought the Little Noses brand. I had to take DS into the steamy bathroom several times (like every 4 hours or so) before the mucus started to thin out enough to where I could get it out with the aspirator. He has had the cold for about 6 days now, and is just starting to get better. But the shower steam and the saline drops are really helping.

HTH!

[brittone2]

If you are BFing, you can also put a few drops of breastmilk up their nose vs. saline, and then suction out w/ a nasal aspirator.

Even w/ a fever, we tend to let it run its course as long as DC aren't totally miserable. Our peds have always been fine w/ letting it run its course w/ a fever if there was no other major concern (eta: assuming we were just dealing w/ a cold plus fever, not anything more serious, no major lethargy, etc). Our previous ped (before we moved out of state) was very mainstream and encouraged letting fevers run their course when appropriate.

[poppy]

Thank you! I did the steam thing for his bath last night and I've been using the bulb to suction out his mucus. I've been debating going to the ped but I don't know what they could do for him. He seems a little better today and eating applesauce (his favorite). I'll try putting expressed BM into his nose tonight and see if he'll sleep better.

[annasmom]

Lots and lots of steam. Elevate the baby when sleeping - put him in a chair or car seat. Saline drops in the nostrils. And when you are feeding, try feeding him more often but for shorter periods of time.

Hope he is better really soon!

[BelleoftheBallFlagstaff]

VICKS Vaporizer! Like the one's our parent used in the 70's and 80's. They work wonders. No Vicks liquid in it, though. Menthol and camphor aren't good for little ones. Now that DD is older I use rosemary and lavender essential oils in it. We use Hylands.

[MommyofAmaya]

A cool mist humidifier really helped us last month when our little guy was sick. We went through several before we picked up a Crane humidifier from Target. They are really cute animal shapes and are by far the best out of the lot. In fact, we noticed that DH's snoring decreased significantly while we were using it too. All of the Vicks/Kaz/store brands were worthless. We previously had a warm steam vaporizer and while it works great for congestion, it is a dangerous. The steam burned me once and it went straight into the trash.

[brittone2]

Oh, and we also just do a lot of baths in general while sick. It often gets the mucus draining out of their nose (ideally, I'd steam up the whole bathroom first....hot shower w/ kids out of the way, no fan on. Get it steamy. Then bring DC in and do a regular bath).

I will use a few drops of eucalyptus essential oil in the bath. YMMV if your child has sensitive skin, etc. but it never bothered my children.

[BelleoftheBallFlagstaff]

A cool mist humidifier really helped us last month when our little guy was sick. We went through several before we picked up a Crane humidifier from Target. They are really cute animal shapes and are by far the best out of the lot. In fact, we noticed that DH's snoring decreased significantly while we were using it too. All of the Vicks/Kaz/store brands were worthless. We previously had a warm steam vaporizer and while it works great for congestion, it is a dangerous. The steam burned me once and it went straight into the trash.

With the Vicks one, we keep it in a place DD can't get to it. On a towel on the dresser. They can burn. The warm works better for us, YMMV.

[Ceepa]

Steam for congestion, keep soft cloths or aloe-enriched tissues around for nose wiping, try to keep baby upright as much as possible if laying down causes DS discomfort/excessive congestion. Also if you're BFing, be sure to keep baby's nose clear enough to breathe while eating. It helped to suction out the mucus right before a long nursing session. We also use a humidifier at night.

I've spent many a night holding DC in a steamy bathroom and trying to sleep propped up while cradling DC so they would be comfortable enough to get some rest. It'll get better!

[DrSally]

I would only give tylenol if there was a fever. Really, you're dealing with the congestion. I put baby in the bouncy seat and get the bathroom steamy from the shower. Then suction nose. Also, simply saline does a good job liquifying the gunky mucous so you can suction it out. I find that DD only sleeps upright when she's congested. So, either on me or DH while we're sitting or in her bouncy seat. That's the ONLY way she'd sleep. Hopefully if you can clear the nose before she eats, she'll eat better. You can also hand express some BM and put some drops in her nose.

Watch for ear infections with congestion b/c babies are on their back so much.

ETA: Also, yes to pp's suggestion on the humidifier at night!

FWIW, DD had a cold (except hers incl a fever) and I called the ped's office just to make sure I shouldn't bring her in. I was pretty sure it was just a cold, but they said b/c of her age bring her in to make sure it wasn't RSV. It wasn't, but they did find an ear infection. I would be concerned if the wheezing continues.

[tmarie]

Tylenol or motrin at night, saline drops to help the stuffy nose, humidifier, slightly tilt crib mattress by placing a pillow under one side of the crib mattress. Hope your little one feels better!

tmarie

[MCsMom]

We are on the second week of DD's cold and last week was HE!! on earth for all!
We did the Motrin when needed, Little Noses and suctioning, steamy nightly baths, cold mist humidifier and slightly elevated mattress (where her head lays). Found out last Saturday it had progressed to an ear infection but we caught it very early. DD was pitiful since Tuesday but was actually pushing away from my breast and wailing on Friday so we knew it was a little different. She is on antibiotics now and is doing so much better, if still a little congested. Eating up a storm again, YAY!

[MommyAllison]

Everyone has given great advice for cold treatment. I just wanted to echo the pp about RSV - DS had RSV in January and had the same symptoms you describe. We were able to treat at home with a nebulizer for breathing treatments, and had abx for the ear infection that was also present. Our pedi told me that pneumonia is a fairly common follower of RSV, so just be careful with the wheezing. Pneumonia can be sneaky in babies.