4 Month Old with a Cold

I have a two year old little boy myself.. I was fortunate enough that he did't get sick until he was 10 months old... However once he got sick for the first time, it seemed like he was sick with a cold every other week... I did the same thing, took him to the dr. and they said there is nothing really I can do, its a cold.. What I did was.... Use johnsons vapor bath... That helped loosen up everything... Then use the suction thingy (sorry, i don't know the real name of it...) and try to remove all of what is keeping him stuffed up... My son was so stuffed that when he began to cough, it would loosen up and move and he began gagging and puking from it.. Even if you end up giving him a bath three times a day, the vapor bath really works.... And also the suctioning of his nose as often as possible should help out a great deal... Between these things and what you are doing already, he should be over it in no time.... The worse part of being a mom is DEFINATELY not being able to make it better, huh!!! I hope I helped you!!! patty

I have a five month old and she had a severe cold at 4 months. We ran a humidifier in her room at night, gave her saline drops twice a day and suctioned her nose (doctors advice). He said to also take her into the bathroom while we showered and the mist from the shower would help as well. Good luck and take care!

Dear A.,
Infant Saline Nasal drops are very helpful. With the baby laying on his/her back just hold the bottle up to each nostril and gently squeeze a few drops in....if there is a lot of mucous you would need to use the bulb syringe to get it out...with the bulb syringe you depress the bulb BEFORE you put it into the nostril (just the tip) and then release to create suction. The saline will probably make him/her cough for a minute, but it helps loosen the secretions. Also, sleeping in an upright position can help (ie. car seat, or wedge under mattress). Another thing that helps is to have the baby in the room with you while you take a hot shower...the steam will help with the congestion. I hope this helps.

Baby Ayr Saline Nose Drops are completely safe and drug free and will help losen up the mucous and make it easier to suction his nose. Putting his crib mattress on an incline by putting a pillow or rolled up towel will help ease the post nasal drip and help prevent the mucous from going to his ears and getting an ear infection. I use Puffs Plus tissures to wipe my daughter's nose to help prevent nose irritation. They have lotion in them.

Hi there A.:

My advise is to elevate him when sleeping (put a bolster under the crib mattress or leave him in a swing/car seat, etc. Use saline on his nose (they sell for little kids - little noses I think) which will help with congestion, baths help too and if you don't have one get one of those green suction bulbs (should have been sent home from hospital) to suck the mucous out. Cold steam humidifier will absolutely help as well.

Good luck!

S. Applestein

I have a four year old who has had many, many ear/sinus infections...

Use a vaporizor (hot air) with vicks in the well. I have found cool air humidifiers don't relieve congestion. It really works. When our daughter (5 months now) was in her bassinet, we ran the vaporizor in our room, we listened to her breathing (all stuffed up), as she inhaled the vapors you could hear the congestion subside and she was able to breathe with ease.

Our pediatrician explained the reason many pediatrician's don't recommend the hot air vaporizor is the risk of burns. So, use common sense, be careful to keep your older child away from the vaporizor when it's on.

I also use Vick's baby rub - a generous amount - and reapply it every couple of hours. If you are concerned about putting the rub directly on his skin, put it on his onesie or on the underneath side of a bib.

Good luck!

The thing that my doctor suggested that helped with my son was taking him in the shower with me. If I did that in the morning and his normal bath at night it seemed to help a lot (but you have to keep up with the lotion, otherwise you end up with a dry skin problem on your baby!). Good luck! Hope your little guy feels better.

Hi A.,

The only thing you can really do is to take one of those nose bulbs and suction out his nose so he can breathe easier. Colds are a hard thing - but they will pass in about a week.

Good luck!

J.

A Mother's Boutique
Breastfeeding clothing, nursing bras, breastpumps, slings and accessories
MamaSource members save 10% off their first order (excluding breastpumps) using promo code MAMSOURCE.
http://www.mothersboutique.com

A.,
If you are breast feeding try nursing more often. Your immune system will help him fight it off. And this will comfort him.
He may also benefit from his environment getting an extreme clean. I know we all keep our baby’s environments clean, I just mean take it to the next level. Incase it is allergies or he is reinfecting himself.
But mostly holding him will bring the most comfort.

With my son, when he got a cold as an infant I would sit in our smallest bathroom, run the shower very hot and just sit on the floor next to the shower with him for a long time. Humidifiers are great but the amount of steam in the bathroom seemed to alleviate some of his congestion...

did the pediatrician say you can give him Infant Tylenol? It won't cure him but might make him more compfortable. Since my son is now 4 and I know things are always changing...did the pediatrician mention saline drops?

You could try those plug in vapor releasers I think they are by vicks there good for a one time use. Or did you try using a eucalyptus oil in a tart wamer. Avon sells them,, If you go on the web site or look at rite aid. Keep it out of reach of course but that works wonders. That way there is no drug or rubs involved. I think the humidifier may be to much moist air. You could also try a cool mist de humidifier. That worked well for me. But you should consult your doctor first.

Hi there

I have tried cool mist humidifier, saline drops 3 times a day and lots of cuddles. It works for my little guy. he is almost 7 months old and has some colds in the past. Just try and keep them as comfortable as you can..hope this helped!

Hi A.,

I have a 3 month old and when he was just 3 weeks he came down with a bad cold that turned into RSV. He landed in the hospital for a week ~ what a nightmare. I know exactly what you are going through. It's rough when you have such a young child that gets sick. Even the common cold can be had to cope with when they are so young.

I would recommend changing your humdifier to a cold mist vaporizer instead. One thing that I learned when my son was admitted is that the humdifiers make their mucus much more "sticky" and hard to cough up. The COOL mist vaporizer will help him breath much easier. Another thing you should do is elevate his crib. You can do this by putting books under one end of the crib. If you don't feel comfortable doing that...the nurses suggested letting my son sleep in his car seat for a few nights. Having him sit up or at least elevating his head will also help him breath better.

Using saline drops might be another thing you want to do. A few drops in his nose and then suction out the mucus will do wonders for him.

Good luck - I know how hard it is when you have too little ones at home. I'm a mother of 4 and my two youngest are 1 and 11 weeks.

If you'd like to chat, feel free to email me.

G.

Johnson and Johnson has a Menthol Bath-not sure if they still do-my kids are 4 and 6 yrs old now. But when my two were babies and got colds I would use that to bath them in a nice warm bath.
It helped loosen everything up.

The humidifier is a good idea. Let your baby sleep in the car seat. You can move the seat around and you know the baby won't fall out since the straps hold him in place. Having the baby's head upright made a big difference with my kids-I have 3.

Do you have one of those nose surrenges (like they used on your baby in the hospital when he was born)? If not the drug store sells them. Use one of those to gently remove the mucus from his nose to help him breathe better. Your doctor can give you directions on using it. My youngest when that age had a very bad cold. That was all I could do for him was what you are doing, plus the nose surrenge for removing the mucus since he was not old enough to blow his own nose. If you are breast feeding, your son will get your antibodies to fight this cold from you. So if so, you will be helping your son to naturally protect himself from the cold. Hope this helps..

Use saline nasal spray and the boogger sucker alot, lol. My son is now 7 mos and pretty used to it, does not even really cry since I believe he is learning that it helps. Lots of love, too.

It really stinks when they are so little with a cold, doesn't it?! The humidifier in his room is great--keep doing that. I wouldn't put it too close to him--just humidifying the room is great. Watch the vapor rub to make sure he's not too young. I found it very helpful with a stuffy nose to elevate the head of the crib. You can put thick books (phonebooks) under the 2 legs at the head of the crib or put a pillow or folded blanket under the mattress. The elevation helps clear the nose. Also, suction the mucous out of his nose with O. of those little bulb syringes. Good luck!

I have four children 2,4,7,9 you are doing a great job. The only thing that I could say would be run a hot shower until his /her nose starts to run,then lay him/her on your lap with his tummy on your lap and take a warm cloth and stroke his nose in a down mannerfrom the nasel cavity to the tip of his nose. do this befor bed and then make sure he/she sleeps in some what of an upward position. that seems to work well.

I use Vapo bath for my kids.And we use Vicks on them,they make a Baby Vicks.We also put some books under their mattress(wait with my last i had a wedgie thing).
But things have changed b/c now they are saying no meds until they are 2...glad i'm past that.
Maybe some saline drops will help too.

Our twins got cold last month when they were 5mos old. I did aspirate their noses with saline and the bulb. They didn't like it much but it did help them sleep a bit. I also used a baby bath that had something like vapor rub in it. Other than that, there isn't much else we could do either except wait it out. Of course my husband and I both got it too!

Good luck!

We tried putting books under the mattress but my son would roll around before he was ready to be on his face> Our best results came from the aspirator and warm upright baths> We had him sleep next to our bed in his car seat during the worst nights> It was never pleasant and we get through them eventually< it just seems like forever when your are in the midst of a cold that can last for weeks> Hang in there and enjoy the fun times:}

Good Day A.,

My name is I. B. you have your hands FULL like me! My youngest 2 are 17 months apart!

Our Dr. always suggests a warm bath with the steam for clearing up the nose. Do you have an aspirator ( suctionball You can get one at the pharmacy they're cheap. Gently squeeze the excess mucus from his nose that should help alot. It does with mine! Most of the time their little noses sound so stuffy because the mucus is sitting right their (in the nose) they're too young to know how to blow out so it sounds most of the time worse than what it really is.
I hope this helps.
I'm a Mom of 4. I have a stay at home job which I love! I'm married to my best friend!
I. B.
www.trisharay.candlebizfromhome.com

A.,

Welcome to the worrisome side of motherhood. I have a 28 yr. old and twins that are 13 years. Unfortunately, I have had quite alot of experience with this as my daughter continues to get sinusitis multiple times a year and her twin brother has mild asthma and developes bronchitis every year. Also I am an RN. Before I got in my current business I probably would have recommended Vicks in the vaporizer to. But now that I am with a company that produces non-toxic products that are safe for our children, I would now recommend putting only Melaleuca oil in the vaporizer. One thing I did not know is that the vaporizer can grow mold while dipensing into the air. But with the Melaleuca oil it will not form mold because of its antifungal properties. It is the only thing I put in the vaporizer now. It opens the airways nicely while fighting bacteria and molds.I also love the fact that the children cough only minimally while using this. It is a blessing! If you want only the best for your newborn feel free to contact me for more info. Good Luck and God Bless!
J. H
____@____.com

A.,
My son is now 4, but he developed a running nose around 4 to 6 months. My son's pediatrician would not give him anything at that age, because the meds tend to make them very irritable. I cleaned his nose regularly and used the Ayr Saline drops, which he hated. I also placed a book under his mattress to keep his head elevated. The two things together seemed to work well. It takes about 10 to 14 days for the cold to leave their systems.

P.S. Using the suction bulb too often can have a reverse effect. Their noses will become even more stopped up.

Although it may be unpleasant, getting the mucus out will help tremendously. I am not sure what it is called but do you know the squeezy ball they used in the hospital to get the mucus out? Well that was great for my niece, as she had allergy problems and was constantly suffering from similar problems. There are also saline nasal drops to help.

when my 19 month old had the same problem for almost a month I used a vaporizer and within a couple days his nose dried up.

You can also try running a hot shower and closing the door to trap the steam in and sitting in their for 15 minutes with your son to help open him up so he can breathe better.

A little about me. I am a working mom age 35, with a 27 month old son and a husband. We've been married 7 years. I own my own business outside the home.

Run a humidifier at night (as you are already doing). Elevate one end of the crib slightly. This will help promote sinus drainage and make it a little easier for him to breath.

Use nasal drops, NOT medicated. Use the saline ones. We use the Little Noses brand. A few drops in each nostril and then wait a minute or two. Then use a nasal aspirator to suck out as much mucous as possible (most children hate this and will cry and bat at your hand while you are doing it).

Also, an old family recipe that we have used and helps with the congestion and is safe for ones even this young (I used it with my 7 month old when he was 2 months old). Take a medium size onion. take the outer skin off. Put it into a large pot and fill the pot with water. Boil the water and onion until the onion is soft. Let the water cool. Put the water into a bottle with a little sugar to sweeten it. Give the bottle to the baby. The onion juice helps to break up the congestion (like chicken soup for the little ones who cannot eat chicken soup).

During the day while you are at home, keep a large pot of water on the stove simmering. The steam it puts in the air will help to act like a vaporizer helping to put humidity in the air which will help to thin out your baby's mucous.

Try to make sure you eat and sleep as best as possible during this time. It will make things a little easier on you and may help you from catching it too. The only thing you can really do with a cold is to try to make the baby as comfortable as possible. And know that sometimes the baby will be miserable no matter what you do. It is during those times that you need the most patience. It is really hard work being a mom to a sick baby. Just remember that this will pass soon.

I hope that my message helps you. Good luck.

We use a spray saline in the nose. Then we use the nasal aspirator to help relieve some of the congestion. I hope your little one feels better soon!