Sami has a cold...already!?

[leahida]

Poor little guy has a stuffy nose (can still breathe while nursing) for the past few days. He doesn't seem to be majorly uncomfortable or anything but it still sucks.

Maybe I'm crazy, but I'm blaming myself! I know breastfeeding is not a cure-all, but I am shocked he got sick this quickly. Also, my best friend and her dp and dd (1 y.o.) were visiting us last week and her dd appeared to have a little cold. I wash my hands very frequently but I feel I should have been more hypervigilant about everyone else washing their hands, etc. I guess in the back of my mind I was not worried because I was so confident that the breastfeeding would protect him. Now I am feeling major guilt.

Any suggestions for natural remedies I can give him?

[kofduke]

My DS is on to his second cold. Since DS#1 goes to preschool, it's like a germ cesspool. I think that if he's comfortable, still breastfeeding normally, and doesn't develop a persistant cough, it will just go to strengthen his immune system (and just make sure everyone washes their hands from now on!)

[StarCat]

josie has a cold right now, so i suppose its only a matter of time before the rest of us get it. i will probably give the baby the hylands cold homeopathics. i've heard good things about them.

[spiralmg]

Everyone here had colds the other week. DD caught it too, but not so terribly. I tried to suction out her nose everynow and then and she actually seemed to appreciate that...otherwise, not much else you can do unfortunately. You could also try spraying some breastmilk into her nose to sanitize it. I cured her accompanying eye infection that way.

[hunnybumm]

#2 is sick right now too. It is so frustrating because he hasn't been sleeping so well because he is having a hard time breathing through his nose. He is nursing ok, not wonderfully, but eatting plenty, he just pops off a lot. I have been squirting breast milk in his nose and suctioning it out whenever it sounds really bad. DH does it a lot, he can't stand the sound of it. *rolleyes* DS hates it, but he can breath so much better afterwards.

I had a tiny sore throat for about a day, and #1 has a running yucky nose. A few of #1's friends are starting with the nose thing again so I just assumed he would get it. #1 was exclusivly BFed, we hardly left the house other than for errands (ie grocery shopping) and he was sick about 5 times in the first 4 months. I just have to apprecite how much worse it would be if they hadn't been BFed.

[allnaturalmama]

Originally Posted by leahida

I guess in the back of my mind I was not worried because I was so confident that the breastfeeding would protect him. Now I am feeling major guilt.

Don't feel guilty, mama! It doesn't sound like Sami is in great distress. Just think of it as an immunity-building experience for him.

I remember with DS1 I thought he'd never get sick b/c of all the benefits I'd learned about BFing, and the first cold he got was such a surprise and a letdown for me. I went through the same emotions, feeling guilt b/c I didn't protect him enough, since I believed he would never catch anything.

He came through it fine, and now I've learned that you do the best you can to protect them from sickness, but it's impossible to control 100% of what they're exposed to. But, with the BFing, you're giving them the best possible natural remedy you can!

[leahida]

sorry your kiddos are sick, too...i'm sending cold-go-away vibes your way

StarCat are these the homeopathics you mentioned? http://www.hylands.com/products/cplus.php
it says they are good for ages 1-6, so wondering if there is another kind for infants...or if it's ok to use anyhow...

we sprayed his nose with a little saline solution (read it in Dr. sears) and that seemed to help... I hadn't thought of breastmilk (even after reading about the medicinal uses of breastmilk in the nov/dec mothering)

thanks allnaturalmama for the kind words -- i always know i can count on support in this forum from others who have been there

[aisraeltax]

sorry to hear that....its horrible when they are sick at this age. im sure you protected him, but like others have said, you can't protect him from everything. and it will strengthen his immune system.
hope everyone feels better soon.

[amygoforth]

Drew was sick a week or so after he was born. It sucked sooo bad. I did everything mentioned above (saline drops and breastmilk in the nose, sucking boogs with the aspirator -- lordy, he hated that!), plus I used a humidifier in our room and propped up one end of the co-sleeper so that his head was elevated. That seemed to help too.

[hottmama]

I thought Luka had a cold for the past month+ and just finally realized that it's a dairy allergy (which was causing him to spit up all the time also). He's been stuffy-nosed and wheezy since late December. Don't feel bad about a little cold! It's good for kids to be exposed to germs- I worry more about the babies whose moms are psycho about having everyone wash their hands every 5 seconds.