Colds and Sleep

I used vicks vaporub & put Eucalyptus in his humidifier. Also gave him baby tylenol & he slept well, like a baby. Good luck. Oh & if she is really congested, use saline drops in her nose & use the bulb to suck all the nasties out. Helps them breathe.

IF she has trouble breathing with congestion, trying rubbing
baby vicks on her chest before she goes to bed. I always
do that with my daughter and it sometimes helps.
good luck!
Ali

A couple of very practical things:

Get a humidifier running in her room at night. It really helps!

Prop up the part of the crib/bed where her head is. Use big books or blocks. ONly about 4-5 " is necessary.

Take a long hot shower with her right before bed (or at least have her in the bathroom when the shower is going). THis acts like a super humidifier.

IF her nose is stuffy, use the 'nose bulb' to draw some of her congestion out righ after the shower.

GIve her LOTS of liquids to keep the mucous running.

YOu'll get through it!

GOod luck!

This is what I've done for my son when he has had a cold..first, elevate the head side of her crib, by folding a couple of towels and placing them under the mattress. Also, run a cool mist humidifier in her room, but be absolutely certain it is clean and does not have any mold since that would make her symptoms much worse. Since most one year olds cannot blow their noses, some people use those bulb syringes, however, my pediatricians have said they just agitate the nose and make a baby more uncomfortable, so while a wet, runny nose is gross, just continue to wipe away the mucus with the softest tissues you can buy. Have your daughter drink as much water as possible. Do not give her milk products.
Hope this helps.

Hi there! You're very lucky that your daughter's first cold didn't occur until age one. My daughter has had several colds and she's just shy of 11 months. We always use a cool mist humidifier and use a nasal aspirator just before she goes to bed to clear out all the stuff in her nose. She sleeps just fine with it. If we don't do that, she does not sleep well at all. When she was younger we used to raise one side of the crib (put pillows under neath) so she wasn't flat on her back. But now she moves all over the place in the crib so that doesn't really work anymore.
Good luck.

Hey Alison,
My daughter just came down with a cold over the weekend...at first I thought it was the change of weather temp but now Im not too sure...My grandma always told me that if you take Vicks Rub, put it on the bottom of there feet and then put socks on them before bed it allows there nose to not be stuffy..I know it sounds crazy and the first time she told me to do it I was like "what?" But it totally worked.....Hope this helped...Hope she feels better soon!!
Meg :)

Cool Mist humidifier. It really helps them breathe at night. If it is really bad - you can rub a little vicks on her chest before bedtime.

Our doctor told us to give our 8 mo. old 1/2 teaspoon of Benadryl 30 minutes before bed time - which has helped him to be able to breath and sleep during the night.

There are already all the top suggestions I have for you below.

I only have 1 more, last resort, only if you are comfortable with it -

Depending on how you feel about medications - You can call your doctor and see if your daughter can have Benadryl. After my son turned 1 my doctor said when he has a cold he can have Benadryl at bedtime only to help him breathe so he will get a good night's sleep, which is very important for him to recover. She gave me his correct dosage based on his age and weight. Only when everything else is not working. Absolutely no cough or cold meds, but it sounds like you know that.

Good Luck

Elevate the mattress. Use a humidifier in the room. Saline nose drops. Tylenol if you think she is achy (and if you are ok with giving it). Warm bath before bed to break up the nasal congestion and let it run out some. We've been through this many times with my 17 months old. Just finished going through it last week and Mommy and Daddy are sick now too.

Dear Alison,

Have you tried a humidifier? Sometimes slightly elevating the mattress in the crib can help with stuffy noses. Also saline drops which they hate may help loosen up the mucus. I know cold meds are not allowed, however I would try some tylenol just for general discomfort. I know its hard but it is only temporary. Good luck!!!

Hi Alison,
Several things you can try to prevent cough and congestion:
Keeping a small humidifier in her room.
Rubbing infant's vapor rub on her chest (made by Johnsons)
Elevating her head by giving her a pillow if she doesn't already have one.
Saline drops for her nose (called "little noses")
Staying away from dairy, if possible - it creates more mucous
Giving her tylenol if she seems irritable in the night - she probably has sinus pain from congestion.
Colds at this age are tough. Sometimes you just have a few sleepless nights, but sometimes these tricks can help.
Hope you both sleep better soon.
K. G.

try to elevate her top half when sleeping. They sell "slides" that you put under the mattress. If she is little enough you can put her in the carry car seat which might help her sleep better. Good Luck - it certainly isn't fun!!!!!!

Hi Alison,

I recommend:
Humidifier
Tylenol for the aches and pains associated with a cold
Saline nasal drops

Good Luck, it'll be over soon!
J.

When my children were little I put a vaporizer in their room. I would close the door and put it on before they went to sleep. Another thing I did was to massage their body and pat their back to loosen any mucus that might be accumulating in their lungs.

I would try elevating her head with a crib wedge pillow that fits under the sheets, running a humidifer at night in her room and keeping her really busy in the fresh air during the day when she is not naping. Also if you are getting sick too try to go to bed early at night right after she goes to bed. Even if she just sleeps for an hour at least you will get an hours nap. Colds are tough because they take time to go away. Wash hands frequently.
I am a SAHM too, my little one is two and currently has a cold. My doctor usually tells me to do these things and they do help but not immediately. Also if you can make or buy homemade soup and broths have some for yourself and for your baby. I hope that you and your baby are already feeling better.

I have heard some say to prop up one end of the mattress. If she still fits in her infant car seat that makes a good "bed" while she is sick. My daughter slept in hers when she had a head cold and I strapped her in and set her next to my bed. This way she was proped up, close at hand and I could check her often without getting out of bed.

Our doctor also told us saline drops (Little Noses I think is the name of them) put a couple drops up her nose and that helps. Getting them in her nose is the hard thing. Hang in there this too shall pass. A.

Alison,

My daughter is going through the exact same thing. She just got a cold on Sunday and Sunday night was really bad for her.. she was congested and couldint breath. We bought the Vicks Soothing Vapors Plug-In Vaporizer, it looks like an air freshener, and she actually slept alot better last night... actually she didnt wake up once. You plug it in and it releases the vicks vapors in the air. We closed the door to the room and windows and let it fill the room. If you can try it, but I like vicks products and they do have pediatric products. Good luck and let us know what happened.

Hi Alison ... This may sound silly, but along with all the other great suggestions, try putting the vicks vapo rub on the bottoms of your baby's feet and then put a pair of socks on her (or her jammies with feeties). For some reason, this really helps! Shoot a little saline solution in her nose before bed too! And, a dose of Tylenol! This is the "ritual" I used when my son got a cold, and it really helped him sleep! Good luck!

Alison,

Unfortunately, we are going through this with our three month old son! We elevated one side of his crib mattress to help with breathing/drainage and put a cool mist humidifier in his room. Both of these items seem to really help.

Take care,
A.

Many good suggestions here. A few to add...I used a steam vaporizer, because apparently the cool mist one can easily harbor germs and mold (due to the fact that the water isn't heated). This, in turn, can cause breathing complications when the child inhales the mold and bacteria. I believe the only instance when you truly want a cool mist humidifier is when the child has croup. Doctors will tell you to always use cool mist, but that is because they are concerned about your child getting burned by the hot vaporizer. (There's a short discussion of this topic in the Dr. Sears "Baby Book.") Also, before bed and after your daughter wakes in the morning, take her into the bathroom and sit with her or hold her and turn on the shower REALLY hot--the steam from the shower will fill the bathroom and help to clear her sinuses. (Also a tip from the Sears book) Oh, and obviously you're not putting her in the shower, just letting her breathe in the steam! :)

Hi Alison...

That's not bad making it to a year without a cold!

HAVE HER DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!!
Humidifier
Baby Vicks on chest
Slightly elevate the mattress where her head lays
Infants Motrin for any fever/aches associated with a cold
Baby Ayr nose drops
AGAIN - LOTS OF WATER!!!

It'll be better soon! Hang in there!

J.

You have great advice here on taking care of your daughter. But don't forget to take care of yourself! Let dad help for now, because if you get really sick...that's bad news as a stay at home mom!

Like a new mom, nap whenever she does!