Congestion in newborn having a hard time BFing

[Wendy HS]

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do naturally to help clear up nose congestion in a 2 month old. My DS is having a hard time nursing, especially at night due to nose congestion, he's not running fever and doesn't have any other symptoms just congestion in his head. It is much better during the day when he is up and moving around, it just gets bad after he's been sleeping. I am taking Vit C and D3. I had some congestion and ran a pretty good fever last week, but so far my little guy seems fine other than congestion. It's not horrible just annoying for him.

[steph66]

Have you tried squirting a few drops of normal saline in his nostrils and then suctioning with the bulb? That used to work fairly well for my dd. You might want to think about doing this before every feeding. Another thing-sitting in the bathroom while you let the hottest water run in the shower and steam the bathroom, then suction afterwards. And keeping DS upright or on a slant/propped up while eating should also help a bit. Hope he feels better soon!

[tanyalynn]

How much vitC are you taking?  If I took a lot, think 15,000 mg or more, sometimes a good chunk more (should be based on your own bowel tolerance, dial it back if you get diarrhea/loose stools), then it cleared up DS's congestion when he was sick.  I had to give it directly to him when he started solids, but when he was just getting milk, I could take it and if I upped my dosage enough, he'd get enough to noticeably help with illnesses.  I was happy--I didn't have to use the bulb syringe like I did with DD. 

[Wendy HS]

I went and got another type bulb syringe for his nose. I've always hated using those as I can't seem to get much out and the babies hate them, but I will try that too if he gets bad enough. I have saline drops and I've also done the hot shower thing. When I started getting my cold last week I was delayed two days getting some Sodium Ascorbate in me ( I ran out), but once I got some I dosed up until I hit the level needed. I've taken some each day since so hopefully that is helping some. I've heard you can mix some Sodium Ascorbate with a small amount of water and squirt a little in your nose and it will help clear you up too. Has anyone tried that personally and did it help? I don't know about doing that to a baby.

[tanyalynn]

I haven't tried squirting it in the nose, in theory it doesn't sound worse than saline spray in a baby's nose.

You're taking the SA spread out over the course of the day, right?  3-4 (or more if you like) doses? 

Hope something works soon!