Advise please on coping with cold

[~BeckyD~]

Hi everyone,
DS is 11 weeks now, and a few weeks ago caught a bit of a cold which, as with everything, got a lot worse at night.
I decided to prop up his mattress with a pillow which seemed to ease the stuffiness and within a week or so it was all but gone.....
...now it is back, and we are back to being woken every 15 mins throughout the night because he cannot breathe through his nose properly.  He is not waking as such but is whining because he is uncomfortable.
He is too young to use any of the decongestants on the market so am wondering if anyone could share any advise on how to cope through the night and how to make him more comfortable??
Also, I am worried that he is very young to have already caught a cold.  I am sure DD never had anything this young, although I know she was not mixing with toddlers as he is now. Should I be concerned?
Thanks for reading!
Becky

[15milner]

I have just looked at the 'olbas for children' bottle I have in the cupboard.  It says from 3months+. I guess it depends on when you class 3months old?  the directions are to sprinkle a few drops on a tissue and perhaps place under the sheet of the cot or somewhere else in the room. 

Steam and elevation.  If he gets really stuffy and finding it difficult to breathe I think a saline solution gently dropped in the nose and then using one of those squeezy things (can't remember the name) to see if there's any 'gunk' to get out.

I guess he's getting used to toddler germs!

Hope he gets over it soon.

Alex

[evanskimberley]

check out the thread in health and medical section entitled - blocked nose. I think that's where it is anyway, sorry, but rushed for time and haven't got enough time to tyoe it all, there's lots of advice there.
Kxx

[Jaime]

Also, I am worried that he is very young to have already caught a cold.  I am sure DD never had anything this young, although I know she was not mixing with toddlers as he is now. Should I be concerned?

yeah, i had the same thing with my ds - cause the toddler brought around the germs, and it's the one thing she doesn't mind sharing.  :roll:

he had a bunch of colds the first few months, but now he's close to 8 months and doesn't get sick nearly as often.  he's just got allergies, but that's a whole 'nother ball o wax!  :wink:  :lol:

[NKmommy]

Sorry your LO is sick!  Have you tried a humidifier while he sleeps?  We found it helped with the congestion, plus the white noise of the humidifier helped him sleep.

[Ennypen]

Hiya
My little man is 9 weeks old and is already on his second cold. If there is a germ about he'll catch it poor little thing. He's had terrible trouble with his nose and he too can't use any of the decongestants on the market as they all say 3+ months and he is only 2 months! He makes some terrible noises in the night as he tries to breathe through his nose - we call them his dinosaur noises and they are really loud and pretty distressing - although often he is fast asleep as he does them.
I have elevated his matress to help his breathing and am using saline nasal drops which you can get free from the Dr or for about £1.30 from the pharmacy. They work really well moisturising a dry nose and liquifying anything blocking the nose... theyve helped me clear some horrendous junk from Williams nose poor kid!
Another thing that helps is allowing your little one to breathe in steam - I use my avent steam steriliser for this - just add plenty of water and plug it in by William's crib and run it without the lid on. You have to be careful its not too close though to avoid any scalding but it really works brilliantly to help clear the nose and aid easy breathing.
As I type this post its 4.31am... I put William to bed at about 10pm and it took me till 3.15am to get him to sleep because of his cold and here am I wide awake and can't be bothered to go to bed so near to daytime .. so believe me I know how you feel!

Helen

P.S. I use msn messenger and am ennypen@hotmail.com if you ever want to chat