Newborn Colds

Hi poor thing!! My boy's just turned 32 and 33 in jan.my second son daren while i was in labor i cought a cold. I thought daren had a little cold ,but then found out he was allergy to milk.good luck ! It will pass!! Junie

Hi C.,
I would suggest giving the baby two baths a day: one when they wake up and one before going to bed at night. In the bath you could use Johnson's soothing vapor bath with five drops of rubbing alcohol(don't use the alcohol drops for longer than three days). The alcohol helps dry the running nose. Using disposable towels to clean the nose or even running water helps too.
I hope it works for you. This is what I did with my kids when they were little, and still do it today. I also rub Vickys Vaporub on their chest, before bed time, when they are congested (my son is 6 and my daughter is 3). Vickys suggests asking the doctor about the correct procedure with kids under 2yrs old.

All the best,

K. Knudsen.

Get a humidifier. I use one when my son goes through the stuffy nose and cough and congestion. It helps alot at night to help him sleep. There are different ones you can buy so just look. I found ours at WalMart. Keep using the syringe bulb cause that will help get the gunk outta his nose.

Have you done the cool mist humidifier? Also there is baby vicks rub now (I don't know how young though) that you can try on their chest. The Saline and humidifer seem to do well - good luck - I know what you are going through our 7mos old has had a cold/congestion off and on and 3 ear infections (doubles) in 3mos - so we arent sleeping either!

Hi C....
Poor baby. Don't you hate it when they are sick at that age and it seems like there is nothing you can do. No magic pills like there are for us adults.
It seems as though you are doing everything our doctor suggested too... steamy bathroom especially seems to help before eating. Also try a humidifier in the room... Vicks makes a baby rub, but I'm not sure if there is an minimum age, but Little Noses makes one too.
Good luck. I hope he's feeling better soon!

They also sell vicks vaporizer plug ins that are convenient and easy to use when you need them.

I have experienced the exact same thing. My newborn who is now 10 months old got a cold from his brother when he was two weeks old. Had phlem ratteling around in his chest, he would constantly stir from sleep choking on the phlem. Very frustrating and sad. I did not want to give my newborn tylenol or any other cold remedy, but started feeling desperate. Thankfully I found a great alternative that I didn't feel guilty about giving my new buddy. You can find it at ELLIOTTS Health Food store in Folsom, by the old 24hr work out. It's called the HYLANDS Kids Kit. Similar to the teething tablets, that disolve in their mouth. It will help with the snot, and coughing. THey have tablets that will help with several different symptoms. Cough & runny nose, fever, etc. Check it out. Also, start taking a probiotic or eat lots of yogurt, then he will get the good bacteria from your breast milk. Hope this helps!
S.
Married, working Mother of 2 boys, 2 year old and a 10 month old.

Try a humidifier. Sounds like you're doing all you can!

Hi C.,

Are you making sure that his head is elevated? That's what they had me do with my daughter when she was an infant. We rolled up a receiving blanket and put it under the head end of her mattress in her bassinet. Also a humidifier.

Most babies get congested within the first week coming home from the hospital, even without a cold.

Just making sure that you keep listening to his breathing. If it starts to sound like kind of "wet" or almost like he is breathing under water, you need to get him in to see the pediatrician and make them do a pulse-ox test on him. I don't mean to scare you, but newborns are vulnerable to RSV and this is the season. My little one came down with it when he was about 5 weeks old. Luckily it was caught before it got too advanced and I was able to take care of him at home with breathing treatments. If you doc is not worried, it is probably just a common cold, but I just felt it was better for you to be aware than not!

Hi,

I know. It is miserable when they are so little. The only other thing you might want to try is a humidifier. Oh, it can also help to put wherever she sleeps on an incline to elevate her head. It will help with the stuffy thing - well, theoretically! I think you'll just have to stick it out. Make sure you clear her out right before feedings, so she'll take a little more and maybe sleep longer.

Mine had one cold and then got another one right away, so keep her away from sick people since her immune system is already down.

Sorry! Good luck with the sleep thing - cold or no cold.

In addition to the humidifier you can also put a rolled up towel or thin pillow under the head of the mattress or bassinet so he is on a small incline. It helps to keep the head elevated a bit when they are stuffy. I would just make sure you check his temperature frequently, since it can lead to an infection quicker in a newborn and any fever warrants a call to the doctor. Also, just keep nursing, it will help him to continue to build immunity to all of his sibling's germs.

hi this is molly, not J....some glitch in the system. i have a 3 1/2 month old and when he is stuffy, i nurse him in the shower and trickle salt water down my breast so that he snorts it up his nose when nursing. it works really well.you should also eliminate dairy and other mucous foods out of your diet until he clears up.

Hi C.,
It is not nice when they are sooo tiny and with a stuffy nose already. My second one got a cold with 2 weeks too.
I always used a chopped onion at the bedside table. It is antibacterial and cleans the sinuses.
If you chop onion and add a few tsp of sugar - let stand for a while till the juice separates - use the juice as great cough syrup!

I always raised the head side of the bed - so the baby's head is higher and the mucus run out of the nose rather than into it.
Otherwise, well, they have to stick it out!

Good luck!

R.

have him sleep with a humidifier. They really help. Believe me, you will use it more than for this cold.
Good luck and good night!

C. -

You are doing the right thing with the saline and breastmilk. Breastmilk has antiviral and antibacterial effects so putting it where the infectionis is great. Also breast milk is great in the eyes for pink eye too. My sister and I were just talking the other day that newborn colds seem to be the rule with second and later born children. You can also make sure that your breastmilk is as premium as possible by getting as mcuh fresh fruits and veggies as you can. I take echinacea whenever my breastfed babies are ill. We also use symptom specific homeopathic remedies. You can get these at your health food store and they have no side effects. Pulsatilla and Ferrum Phos are the ones that we usually use for colds as they work for the syptoms in our family. Talk to the person working in the supplement area of the helth food store, they are usually very informative. Our pediatrician friend suggests crushing the pellets to give them to newborns and just giving three pellets. Try and get a nap during the day if you can. Also keep an eye on him, hopefully it is just a cold but my 6 month old and many other babies I know have RSV (also called bronchiolitis) so if he seems worse take him right back to the doctor.

H.

What works for my son when he is congested is a warm air vaporizer and then you add to the water Vapor Steam by Vicks. My son is older, so check to make sure it's safe for infants but it's just in the air, so I'd think it should be ok.

Good luck!
J. in Sacramento

My youngest son got a cold right after we brought him home from his brother. Our pedi. told us as long as he ate he was fine. Just keep an eye out for unusually thick mucas. Keep using the bulb syringe. He should be fine after a week or two. Breast feeding is the best thing for babies espesially verry young ones bescause it builds there immune systems. Breast feeding will help him fight the cold.

My daughter had a cold at three weeks as well. It was so bad, that in the middle of the night i would go into the bathroom, put on the shower as hotas possible and hold her in the bathroom with all the steam or bounce her in there on my physioball. It helped her to be able to nurse in the night. Also, I slept her in her car seat next to my bed. The cold turned into larangitis and i couldn't hear her cry, so i had to keep her right next to my bed, but she slept really well in the car seat. Also, there is an oil known as Theives oil, by Young Living. We put it in a difuser next to her before bed, I swear by it. I think it was the only thing that really helped her. You can only get it through a distributor. I borrowed it from a friend...Good luck.

Try putting a vaporizer in his bedroom that always helped my son

C., consider that it might not be a cold but allergic to something in the environment - in clothes, in the house, chemicals of all types abound and so many of us including infants react. http://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/TrashGoesToSchool/Household.html

http://www.groundwork.org.za/Resources/household_toxic_to...

It is not normal for children to come with asthma and many do at a very young age. Our environment needs to be cleaned up so do you and your child a favor and check out anything that could be causing this problem. I had breast cancer and took all chemicals out of my house within reason. no more phosphates, lysol, clorox, furniture polish, etc and use healthy stuff. No more allergies and no cancer for 12 years. can't prove it but my immunse system seems strong. Just a thought. Ask around.

I know that when my babys got colds I always use to run the humidifier and put some menthol inhalant in the the humidifier so that the can breath a litle better.

Sounds like you've pretty much been given all the advice you'll need. Just know that you're not alone. My new little one was actually born with a bit of a cold as I'd had one for the previouse week. She was plugged up, we spent an extra day in the hospital, but were told to just use saline drops, bulb syringe and a humidifier. I do agree that either holding her upright while she sleeps makes her breathing easier too. Just remember, if it doesn't start to ease after a couple of weeks, or gets worse or he runs a fever, get him back into the doctor. Good luck and try not to let the lack of sleep get to you too bad.

I found an herbal form of "vapor rub" in our health food store when my youngest was a baby. It's important that you find one without petroleum. Or make your own. This is mostly menthol and cloves in a castor oil/coconut oil base. I rubbed a lit under her nose and the "vapors" help with the stuffiness. My girls are 5 and 7 now and I still use this so they can sleep through colds.

My baby had a cold when he was about 4 weeks old. I had a horrible version (fever, coughing all the time) and dh was out of town. Baby wasn't too bad - just snuffly like you said, which I think put him off his food a bit. it cleared up in a few days. I put on a humidifier in his room to try and help. His mattress is also propped up (for reflux) so that might help, too?

My daughter had double ear infections at 3 weeks old....my doctor told me to have her sleep in her car carrier with a humidifer until her nose cleared up....good luck and congrads :)

Congratulation's! A humidifier really helps out:)

My 6 week old had a cold that sounded exactly like that. He also had a severe cough that concerned me, though. I took him into the doctor just to be sure and he said we were doing everything we could. We had him sleeping with a humidifier, we also used the bulb syringe when needed and took him in a steamy bathroom for 15 minutes or so and that typically helped. I felt frustrated feeling that there was nothing else we could do. It was hard to see him like that. He did eventually get through it and all is well now. They said the best thing for them is breastmilk and I know that had to have helped. The only thing our Dr. told us that we weren't doing, was the put a little vaseline on his nose after using the bulb syringe so his nose would not dry out. If it dries out, he is more susceptible to getting an infection. Sorry I couldn't give you any more help, but at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

Hi C.,
I would really recommend you buy a humidifier. The work GREAT!!
It will help your baby sleep better and keep his airways open a little longer than saline drops. I tell you, you will be able to sleep better also. Good luck.
P.S. Do not us Vick's on humidifiers us as directed.

My son had a cold at 7 weeks and our ped told us to have him sleep in his car seat (would help him breathe better) and put a humidifier in the room.

Sounds like you're doing everything my doctor always has told me for my kids, but in addition to what you're doing a cool-mist humidifier is good to run at bedtime too, it helps keep the mucus thinned and helps with coughing. We run ours all night when our kids have colds/coughs, seems to help out. We got ours at Target, I bought an inexpensive one and it works great.

The first day my husband went back to work after paternal leave, came back coughing and probably gave it to our 3 week old baby. He was wheezing and coughing very badly and it sounded "wet" in his lung. He didn't have a fever either. He was very congested though and only wanted to be held upright to sleep. I suspected RSV and the pedi confirmed it. She said that b/c I had nursed him, that he was in better shape than most babies who weren't (ie hospitalized and on respirator). She also said to let it take its course (2-3 weeks) and hold him to sleep upright. The steamy showers and syring bulb are all good things to do to help her. We also bought a humidifier and he slept for 5 hours straight! (which was heaven since he wakes around 2-3 hours). Sorry to tell you that you won't get too much sleep until she's better!

When my newborn had colds as well as into the 1 to 2 year old ages, we were told to put pillows or a few blankets UNDER THE MATTRESS so the baby's top half of his/her body would be elevated. Good luck.
C.

Prop up the mattress at at 45 degree angle like they do in the cribs at the hospital. I put a pillow under the crib mattress and this lets them breathe at little easier. We just went through this.

I know it's frustrating but there's really nothing you can do but stick it out. It should be over in about a week or so. All the things that you're already doing are great. Make sure to breastfeed as often as possible... all the sucking will help keep his ears drained to avoid an ear infection. You can try sleeping upright in a chair with him so that he is not laying down flat or let him sleep propped up in something like a bouncie seat (close to you). Just keep telling yourself - this too will pass and his immune system is only getting stronger for it. It sucks when newborns are sick. I managed to make it a whole year without my first born getting so much as a sniffle but I am currently pregnant and our new baby is due about one week before my daughter starts first grade -- so I'm sure this baby will be getting sick early on as well. Hang in there mama - you're doing great!!

Yes, my newborn had a cold within two to 3 weeks of birth. Crrrazy... but with an older sibling, you can't help it! I am not sure about the saline and breastmilk in the nostrils and topping that off with the syringe bulb... seems barbaric (sp?) to me, maybe a last resort for a screaming baby!!
We moved the cold along by propping up his mattress, (books under the mattress), sleeping him in his carseat, and bouncy seat so that his sinuses would drain as well as run a warm mist humidifier to keep the air moist and nasal passages moist and night dry and stuffy . It helped tremendously.

Good Luck, it won't last long!

I feel for you and the baby. Humidifier, the steamy showers are great, I've used these vapor plugins and they seem to help but my boys are also older. If you have an infant car seat I'd strap her in and let her sleep in it. It may not start the best sleep habits but at least there will be sleep. But you must fasten the seat belts like you were taking her for a ride. If she isn't fastened in she could wiggle around and be strangled by the seatbelt.

My newborn got a cold at about three weeks, and our pediatrician said basically the same thing yours did. The only additional advice she gave me was to drink extra fluids myself so that the baby would get extra fluids in the foremilk. I treated my own body as if I had the cold in terms of fluid intake and rest, and my daughter recovered quickly. Our pediatrician also said that the antibodies in breastmilk help babies recover more quickly, so you are already on the right track! Good Luck!

Hello C.,
Give your baby lots of fluids and lots of extra love because he probably feels really yucky. Try taking short naps while he sleeps during the day, the rest will help you out since you're not getting it at night. House work can wait. Best of luck and congratulations on your baby.
K.

C.:

You might already be doing this but I would also reccomend putting him to sleep in his car seat, boucy seat or swing where he can sleep sitting up. Also if you can have him sleep on you in the Bjorn or Ergo carrier during the day this will also help.

Hang in there and it will soon be over and enjoy your new little girl.

N.
N.

Hi C.,

Congratulations to you on your new arrival!!! As far as the cold goes, I suggest getting a humidifier.The noise of the humidifier also helps babies sleep--sounds like the womb. :) They are wonderful for helping colds-- also, you can elevate your baby's crib/bassinet so that he isn't sleeping flat. The elevation can help congestion and breathing. Good luck to you and I hope this helps you get some sleep.

M.

When my daughter was about 5 weeks old, I encountered a similar issue. My pediatrician said it was a result of the infants who do not have the ability to clean out their sinuses. He suggested a humidifier. It will pass and you will get a little more sleep. Good luck and congradulations on the birth of your son.

Something that might help is Echinacea tincture
If you put 10 drops in a glass of water and drink it
a couple of times daily it should help your baby.
This is safe for you and baby. If you are breastfeeding
the tincture will be diluted through your milk on its
way to baby. This will boost your immune system and his too.
If you want to read more about this remedy, Susun Weed has
a book "the childbearing year" that has some wonderful
natural remedies for mamas and babies.

I am a mother of 3 and also a registered nurse. My oldest had bad asthma and so I experienced many nights in the shower steaming her , I also would apply a small amount of vicks vapor rub to her chest and this worked very well. I think that there is a new vicks vapor rub product for use on infants and children. I also like " shower soothers". It is a tablet that you put into the shower while you continously run it and steam up the bathroom, meanwhile the tablet disolves and releases menthol/eucolyptes into the steam that you and your baby then breathe in , it will help soothe and open the babys airway. Good luck , and always call your pediatrician with questions or worries.

Joan Gilbert Rn

We went through the same issues with our now-6-month old daughter picking up all the colds our 3-year-old came home with. I found taking her into the shower with us worked wonders to completely clear her nose. Be sure no-one else is turning water on/off elswhere so your shower doesn't get suddenly hot. We would do a 3 a.m. shower just so we could all get some sleep. Nothing else worked as well as this, and she would fall asleep easily afterwards. Good luck!