Cold/Congestion In Newborn

You can tell if your baby has a fever simply by kissing her forehead. If she feels hot you can put the thermometer under her arm. It should be accurate enough to know whether you will want to take the baby to the doctor.

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I wouldn't take her temp rectally on a regular basis. Under the arm is fine, UNLESS she seems really high then take a rectal temp and call the doc. otherwise, no meds, just saline drops and humidifier is normal at this age. Those little vapor plug ins work nice also. She may need to sleep in her car seat if she gets too congested.

C., Pediatric RN, and momma!

A. - I don't use the rectal thermometer. I use a thermometer in the armpit and add one degree. When reporting the temperature to the Pediatrician's office; let them know if it was taken in the armpit (and whether or not you've added the degree) or rectally. I've also found the head thermometer readers (like the doctor's office) are usually pretty accurate too ... as long as you run it on the correct course (see the directions).

As for other things for your baby's cold. Try propping the head of her crib up with some books. This will help the drainage. And, I agree with the saline drops and using the bulb. GOOD LUCK and I hope your daughter feels better soon. It is always hard when your little ones are sick!!!

They do empty out quickly. Any rectal thermometer will do. Just use jell on it and insert past the silver part. If you "pinch" (gently but firmly) her butt with one hand (to stop the thermometer from slipping out or going in too far) an support it with your other hand you should be fine. As a note when my four kids were younger (until they are rolling) I used my arm to simply hold their legs out of the way and used that hand for the support of the thermometer.

It is freaky with the first. I can tell you that it doesn't hurt them but as Moms we don't like the idea of sticking a foreign object into our kids. She will be fine and you'll be a pro in no time at all!

I would suggest rubbing Vick's on the soles of her feet and then put socks on her, that should clear her right up.
good luck
~J.

We never took either daughter's temp rectally- we did the armpit. I've heard that the "temperal scan" thermometers are great, but we never got around to getting one.

We have Sunbeam cool mist humidifiers, and they've always worked great for us - usually have to fill them up after about 24-28 hours, and there's a nightlight "built in".

You can also put her on an "incline" (we got ours at babys-r-us) and it'll have 2 triangles that'll help keep the baby from "falling off" - it's only maybe 1/2 inch high, but could help "drain" the sinuses a little better.

Good luck!

my mom got my daughter a pacifier thermometer that was digital and worked pretty well. i'm not sure where to find them, though...

They now have thermometers that are card board they take about three minutes under the arm but do it while she is sleeping on you and she will never notice. I am not sure where to get them at though. I got one when my 3 month old was born from the hospital. I hope that I helped you in some way. If not maybe someone else will have a better suggestion.

I found a great humidifer which only needs filled one time a day. It is a Holmes. I used vaporizers years ago and they have great ones that are cool mist. The one I currently have is (unfortunately) like 17 years old but I only have to fill it 2 times a day and it is a Sears.
Good Luck! I know how frustrating this is. My son got pneumonia at 6 weeks old! He is now 27.

You want to make sure you are using a cool mist humidifer, I guess that is the best kind. As for the brand I can not remember what kind I have, but it does have a big resovior. I can sometimes get through two nights with out filling up. Using the saline drops and the nose sucker are the only things to do for them when they are this age to help clear the nose. You can also elevate the mattress by placing some towels underneath it this will help them a little. Or sleeping in the car seat for when they are having trouble breathing when laying flat.

As for temping, unfortunately taking a rectal temp is the only accurate way to get the core temp. I think the suggestions the other posters gave you for positioning is the best option and using a "speed read" makes it go quickly.

Good luck, I know it sucks to watch them like this,

A.

Hi A.!
So sorry your baby isn't feeling well!! It's tough when they get sick for the first time isn't it?!
When our son had his first cold/congestion we put a couple of wedges under his sheet(if she rolls,she will roll off it during the night but,as long as they start out on it, it seemed to help!)and we are using a Crate(?) elephant cold mist humidifier..LOVE IT! It is really cute and holds up to 2 gallons of water. It doesn't come with a filter but, you can buy one if you are worried about it. We don't and it works great! You can get it at Target, they have a bunch of different animals to choose from.
Hope your little one is feeling better soon!
R.

I really liked my vick's humidifier - if you don't like refilling it so often try to find a humidifier with a bigger reservoir. I have a safety first thermometer - it has a flexible tip, just put them in the diaper changing position and hold their legs up you can lubricate the thermometer - it usually gets a pretty quick reading - you can look for a "speed read" type. Neither of my babies were ever bothered by this. I found best results using the saline drops followed by the bulb syringe to extract the loose mucus. They usually don't love this but it usually does a great job.

First off, an axillary temp (one in the armpit) is as accurate as a rectal temp...we only do axillary at the hospital I work at unless the child has a high fever, so I would do axillary.

You can buy higher capacity ones, but make sure it is a cool mist vaporizer. I had one of the vicks ones and it is small!

Sometimes it is harder on us when they are sick! I hope her sniffles go away soon :)

We had a lot of success using the Temporal scanners. I have used it on my 2 year old and on our newborn and they seem to be accurate. We have even compared the temperature to our own and it seems accurate. I do have to say I can use it very well but my husband has a little difficulty with it. I usually take the temperature 2-3 times to make sure. That seems like a lot but each time only takes a few seconds. I have even been able to use it on my 2 year old when she is sleeping and have not disturbed her. Good luck with the sick child!!

I think i used an invacare humidifier (i think thats the name) i liked it the water would stay there all night and still be half full the next morning!! there is a thermommeter that scans the forehead in 30 secs - 60 secs. its kinds pricey (around $60 in most drug stores) but if you want quick and painless thats the route to go...

I am not sure what the name of the thermometer is but they sell it at Walmart and at Baby's-R-Us. It is a rectal thermometer and you can only put it in so far, my husband had to get that one because he was so afraid of hurting my daughter. As for the Humidifier the vicks cool mist humidifier is wonderful because you can put the vicks pad in it and it also helps clear them up. You can also try taking her into a steamy bathroom have the shower run as hot as it can then just sit inthere with her. And lastly you can try the Bath wash that has the Vapor in it and that has seemed to help my daughter. I hope all this has helped. Best of luck. :)