Sick 11 Month Old Needs Comfort

T.,

My feelings on this are as follows....all bets are off when the kids are sick. Do any and all things you can think of to make them feel better! If he doesnt sleep with you I would allow him to while he is ill...my kids are a bit older but when they are sick I usually make a pallet on the floor in the living room and we all sleep in there together. I always feel better to have them by me when they sleep if they are ill.....what works for us as far as nose and cough goes is to let the babies take a loong steamy shower with daddy before bed and when they wake up....usually helps for about 30 min. or so after they get out...long enough to hopefully fall asleep!

K.

Ditto on "all bets are off"!

I'm also a strong believer in that the body heals faster when it's not in pain...so I always work with my pediatrician (ahem, to be more precise, her nurse!) to get the right combination of medicines into my son (like fever reducers, pain relievers, decongestants, etc.). Most of the time, they just take the misery away enough for him to sleep...which is what he needs the most.

I also always grit my teeth and do an "extra" day home sick. Usually makes my eyes cross by the end of it...but my super active little guy goes full tilt, the moment I let him. So the first day he's feeling better he'll be GREAT for 20 minutes, then crashes for 30, repeat ad nauseum. I've found that taking an extra day of no activities...keeps him from trying to power through...and then getting sick again. ::sigh:: He's the only one in the house that gets that treatment. My DH and I are usually sick with the same cold about 3 times as long as our DS, because we DO power through, and relapse, and relapse, and relapse.

So what we do for our son:
- Appropriate medicines
- Lots of fluids (no dairy, if it's congestion)
- Lots of rest
- No drafts (but fresh air!!!)
- Being clean (aka, baths...or a babywipe bath)
- Easy to digest foods (like the ever present Chicken soup!)
- No 'outta the house' activities (even the store, unless DH is out of town, & I don't have any friends to call)
- Lots of cuddle time...usually curled up on the couch with blankets reading books and watching movies
- Lots and lots and lots of patience

T.,

When my kids (2 and 5) are feeling crummy they usually want to cuddle more with Mommy, and usually sleep in bed with me for the majority of a couple nights. They don't know why they feel awful, they just know they do. More often than not Mommy can make *anything* better. Give him the extra loves and cuddles he craves. Who cares if the house gets a little dirtier, you baby needs you right now; hold him and love him.

Hope this helps,
Melissa

Try PediaCare Vapor plugs (or any other brand) in his room at night. They clear up noses and calm the cough.
http://www.pediacare.com/products_comfortcare

Baby Vick's rub works wonderful. My son had the coughing and stuff and with the humidifier it worked GREAT.

Rub Vicks Vapor rub on his feet and put sock over them. I don't know how or why this works but it does. It calms their cough so they can sleep. I know it sounds strange but so many people talked about it and I had to try.

Rub vicks vapor rub on his feet and then put on clean socks. it will not only help his caugh but it helps him get a more restful sleep. I have done it with all 5 of my children and it works very well. J.

Have you tried propping up his mattress? Just roll up a few towels and place them underneath the mattress but above the springs on the crib. When my son was miserable with a head cold, this kept his head elevated and alleviated some of the drainage (coughing). Hope he is on the mend soon, head colds can be as tough on Mommy as they are on the patient :).

Try propping up the head of the crib/bed. Even a little bit helps to relieve the congestion and coughing at night.

You did not say if you have taken your child to the doctor.
IF you haven't YOU NEED TO.
There are many things going arould and with a fever it's best to take the child in and be sure it's only a cold. The doctor then can give or tell you the proper medicene for what is wrong with the little guy.
Our dotor always told us if our childs fever hit 102 to get him in to his office asap.
Good luck, hope the little guy gets better.
One thing that helps the coughing is to take him out into the cold air to breath, it really dose help.

My 20 month old had these symptoms a couple weeks back and I took her to the doctor, just to be sure--it was walking pneumonia. Not sure if you've been in or not, but if it's something like that, better to know and get treatment. They gave us an antibiotic, which was good to fight the infection, but more importantly, they gave us an albuterol inhaler to use to help the coughin, which was the BIGGEST help for sleeping (on top of the humidifier, propped up head end of her bed, etc. that we were already doing).

Our pediatrician had us give my daughter (22 months old) benadryl to help with the drainage that causes the irritation in her throat. She felt much better and slept well too (yes it will make the child sleepy). Tylenol or Motrin will help with the pain/discomfort in the throat too.
I suggest talking to a nurse/dr though.