Our 5 mo. old has a cold

[summerblu]

Our 5 mo. old has a cold. It's a head cold but sounds like it my be heading to his chest. He drinks only breast milk. EBM while I'm at work and directly from me when we're together. I'm using breastmilk to try to keep his nostrils clear...

My question is...is there something that I can take that will hopefully pass to him through my milk that will help with the cold? for example, echinachea (sp?), garlic? Is there anything that I can do through my milk. Oh, I am not sick at all. My hubby is and that's how our 5 mo. old got sick.

Any help is appreciated.

[xenabyte]

Just keep bfing him as much as possible. Your body produces natural antibodies for him. If you get exposed to the cold germ, your body will produce antibodies specifially for it and then pass them on to him, as his system is still 'under development', you are effectively giving him a natural immunity 'booster'.

So BFing him is the best thing you can do, EVEN and ESPECIALLY if you come down with the cold too.

You could take him in the bathroom, and hold him while you 'steam' the room with a hot running shower or sink. This will help with the stuffiness. Sit on toilet (lid down) and lay him tummy down across your knees/lap. You could gently rub his back and have some tissues ready. This will help any congestion to 'come up' and make nose runny.

[summerblu]

Thank you so much for responding. It was feeling a little "cool" in here. I ended up looking on kellymom.com and found your tips mentioned there as well. It must be good to know your stuff. Anyway, just wanted to tell you thanks.

[xenabyte]

Hey, glad to help. Sorry I didn't see your post earlier! It's always so stressful to the parents (more so than to the child) when they are sick!

I have been kinda distracted and haven't been around as much to check forums.

I hope the little one is feeling better!

I have some background in the medical field (not enough to give hard core advice to) but enough to usually stumble my way through most situations...so I don't know all the stuff, but usually know where to 'look' for more info.

[mom2zsel]

Hey!
Thanks for the question and the response! I am dealing with the same thing here with my guy. He is nursing lots and pooping lots, but still pretty miserable. I'll try the shower thing tonight-he seems worse at night and laying down makes him choke.