Daddy and I are definitely coming down with a cold. :( I'm nursing baby Miles, who is almost 4 months old. He is totally happy and not sick at all. I'm going to ask his doctor, too, but I wanted to get some moms' opinions. Can we prevent Miles from catching this? Can he still nurse safely? Any suggestions? All we have done so far is constantly wash hands and just try to fight it off. Bleh. Help.
Yes, you can safely nurse. Most viruses cannot be passed through breastmilk. However, they can be passed by close contact, which a baby will have whether breastfed or not.
Otherwise, wash your hands, but in all likelihood, your child will get the cold in some form.
Should your child get sick, I have found that saline nasal spray is your best friend for baby head congestion (my pediatrician recommends it too).
Good luck.
Actually they say if you get a cold and your breast feeding the baby will not get it and that you could get rid of the cold a lot faster. good luck and i hoped it helped.
Nursing is actually the best chance your baby has of fighting the cold since you pass your immunities on to the baby through breast milk. However, like Erin said, baby may catch the cold- he is about to enter that phase where he will have a runny nose a lot- don't fret too much and I agree, saline spray is a must! Good luck!
You can safely nurse him. Your body is already producing antibodies to your illness and he is getting them through your milk. It is not unusual for a nursing baby to stay healthy when both mom and dad and brother sister are sick. If you catch it first it is much better for baby!
yup, you can still nurse. in fact, that will be one way to boost baby's immune system. feel better!
I highly recommend an enzyme product called Virastop. It sounds crazy, but it really works. http://www.enzymedica.com/products/ViraStop It's sometimes hard to get around here at the health food stores, but you can also order it online. I swear by that stuff - it's kept me from getting any number of colds and even stopped the flu once. You should also consider a Vitamin C supplement through the winter to help you boost your immunity. Good luck!
Unfortunately, it's not 100% that baby won't get it (my DD is sick and so is the rest of our house) but nursing is good for babies who are sick and a comfort. I'd keep nursing him, but don't take meds without confirming that they are safe/won't wreck your milk supply. You can call the lactation center at Holy Cross and they'll look it up for you.
If he does get sick, put a pillow under his mattress on one end to raise it and help prop him so he can sleep, run a humidifier in his room and if he's really stuffy, take him in the bathroom and hold him while you run the shower on hot (for steam). We called Kaiser yesterday to ask what we could do for my daughter and they said pretty much what we were already doing. Oh, and you can get saline drops for the nose and use the snot sucker (the one from the hospital is the best) to get the snot out of his nose.
