What can I do for a 6 week old with a cold?

[SummerTwilight]

Anything?

[RiverSky]

I think that taking a baby into the bathroom with a hot shower going really helps to clear baby's nasal passages. I go one further and put a few drops of eucalyptus essential oil into the shower as well, and put a few drops on baby's clothing (not on skin) so that the scent permeates and help baby breathe better. I have had friends rave about the "nose frieda" (sp? Frida?) as well.
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[AFWife]

DDCC

DS got a stuffy nose around 12 weeks...

Lots of BFing, steamy bathrooms, and we used Baby Vicks (small amount on the chest or just hold the container under the nose for a minute) when it got bad and kept him from sleeping.

[gradstudentmommy]

I love the nose Frida! (sp?) You can use saline drops to loosen the boogers before you suck them out with the Nose Frida. You can try a humidifier. My nurse also suggested propping up the crib mattress so baby's head is elevated but we co-sleep so that wasn't really an option.

Hope your baby feels better soon.

[porcelina]

Ugh, I feel for you! We had a cold here at only 3 weeks. The only things I could do to help were:

1. Saline drops to nose prior to nursing, then nurse to help clear up a bit, then use the bulb syringe to pull out the mucus.
2. Sleep propped up on pillows with him in arms so that he was angled up. Or, for some reason it worked if he was laying on his own very hard to one side, almost on belly (I figure belly sleeping so that your nasal passage is open is better than back sleeping so your nasal passage is closed).
3. When things got really bad, go to bathroom and run hot shower. Breathe in steam. This really helped calm him, probably combo of the warmth, steam and white noise sounds.

That was about it! I didn't think to try Vicks, but that stuff never worked for me...

[bethanta]

Originally Posted by AFWife

DDCC

DS got a stuffy nose around 12 weeks...

Lots of BFing, steamy bathrooms, and we used Baby Vicks (small amount on the chest or just hold the container under the nose for a minute) when it got bad and kept him from sleeping.

I thought I had read not to use Baby Vicks until 6 months old, but I'm not positive. I'd double check on that one.

Our LO has had a stuffy nose for the past 2 weeks now. I think it is related to our air ducts needing to be cleaned and our furnace just being turned on for the year. Poor girl

So far we have found these things to be useful:

breastmilk up her nose (we tried saline and it didn't work as well, and she hated it even more than the breastmilk) with her head tilted down for a minute then sucking the loosened mucus out. we've also been told to then put a little more breastmilk in and leave it

taking her in the bathroom while a hot shower is running

using a vaporizer or humidifier overnight

holding her upright when feeding if she's especially stuffy (this is a hard one for me to get going)

[AFWife]

Originally Posted by bethanta

I thought I had read not to use Baby Vicks until 6 months old, but I'm not positive. I'd double check on that one.

I felt comfortable using the teeniest amount (like, just enough for the smell) and mostly just letting him smell it. (That's what *I* do when I have a cold and don't want to smell like Vicks all day...carry around the tub and sniff it from time to time)

[pacifica]

I used breastmilk to help stuffyness. And I went to the doctor 3 times in a week to have the advice of her doctor through her sickness (she was 2 weeks old). Oh, and I nursed her constantly. Get well soon baby!