DS is sick? What do I do?

[neonalee]

I think DS is sick. Last week we turned on the furnace and we all started getting a little more stuffy. Figured it was just having the furnace on. But DS's nose just got more and more snotty and I know he's having trouble breathing. We got the saline and used that with the bulb thing. Yesterday DP said he's definitely coming down with something, and DS yesterday and the day before definitely had a cough. This morning I had a marathon de-snotting session for DS, which you can imagine how much he loved that Amazingly I can still hear snot in his nose after that (though he is breathing better)! How much can there possibly be?! Is there anything else I can do? I need to buy a thermometer, but he doesn't seem feverish at all. He's been more tired this week, but we just started daycare. He's no more fussy than usual.

Do I Just keep cleaning his nose for now and watch for fever or other signs? It's supposed to get to 80 today - is it ok to take him outside? Otherwise I can't get to the store for the thermometer and more saline.

[ErinYay]

I would keep him hydrated and de-snotted (I thought babies hated nothing more than having their faces wiped- nope, the nasal bulb seems to be their biggest enemy!) and carry on.

It's very possible that he picked something up in daycare, but unless he starts feeling hot to the touch, or producing lots of colored mucus, I don't think you need to see a doctor.

V had her first cold at almost months, and we did go in, as she was running an under-arm temp of 101. It was just a cold, though a pretty bad one. She did refuse to nurse or eat or drink for a day or two, which was pretty scary. For 2 days, she hovered just above the dehydrated point- only 4 wet diapers a day, so we offered juice, sorbet, anything non-dairy (due to the possibility of creating more mucus) to get her to ingest SOMETHING. She lost half a pound (her 9 mo WBV was the next week) but bounced back pretty quickly.

[Crazybean]

When my baby got sick at 4 weeks old, I elevated his crib mattress to about 30 degrees, I used breastmilk to put in his nostrils and use a bulb syringe occasionally. You have to be careful with their little nasal passages because the bulb syringe can cause inflammation and make things worse. Since their nasal passages are so small, it doesn't take much snot to clog it up.
I breastfed making sure he was sitting as upright as possible because laying down made him congested. I added more vitamin c and vitamin d to my diet so hopefully he got some of that (I also am on a dairy free diet or else I would have eliminated that). I also took him outside (it was also in the 80's during the day) and let him get some sun.
I also went as far as to buy a warm mist humidifier to help at night and that seemed to work too. DS took a few weeks to get over it but each day got better. He never got a fever and I listened to his lung sounds on a daily basis. If I ever felt it was getting worse, or he developed a high fever, I would have been at the doctors in a heartbeat. Luckily for us, he got over it without a problem and hopefully that is the case for you too.

Oh and my baby was very needy while sick so I gave him extra love and kisses.. he hardly slept on his own because he was so congested so I ended up using my moby wrap to carry him upright so he could breathe better and sleep on me.

[neonalee]

Thanks mamas!