7 Week Old with a Cold

Use a vaproizer in his room. Also a nice soothing warm bath with the Johnson's soothing wash (green bottle?? the name escapes me) Also fresh air as oppose to heat.

I know how frustrating it can be to have a baby with a cold! Running a humidifier at night should help with the congestion. I think other than that you are doing all you can. I think it is way too soon to expect your baby to sleep through the night or conform to a nap schedule. Most books say babies will start sleeping through the night at 3 or 4 months. Even then, by sleeping through the night, they mean more like a 6-hour stretch. I found in my own experience that the books on babies in no way reflect the experience of ALL babies. Only some. And many babies will not be biologically able to sleep through the night till age 2. That was the case with mine. I pracice attachment parenting and highly recommend books like The Baby Book and Attachment Parenting by Dr. William Sears. Nursing, as you are doing, is part of attachment parenting. I got the best sleep possible with my high need baby, who had GERD and was very sensitive to teething, by nursing on demand and co-sleeping with her. That way I was able to nurse her back to sleep immediately upon awakening. A bassinet by your bed at this age is a good option. Later you could switch to a side-car co-sleeper. Or just have your baby in bed with you. My baby would only nap if I nursed her to sleep or with motion. So she took naps in a baby swing, in the car, and with me carrying her in a sling. Please never force your baby prematurely into sleep patterns by letting her "cry it out". This horrible method causes serious emotional problems and is inhumane. Babies should not have to "self soothe" and they are not capable of "manipulation", as some people may try to convince you. Pick your baby up every time she cries. I know the nightmare of extreme sleep deprivation, but I did get through it, and met the needs of myself and my baby in what I believe was the best possible way.

Hi A., Yes get the humidifer. But get a cool mist humidifer. It helps. Also, 7 weeks old is way to young to enforce regular nap times. My baby is 5 months old and she is just now starting to nap around the same time everyday. When they are that small their sleep patterns will change almost daily. Also they go through growth spurts that throw everything off. Sleeping through the night does not come for awhile. I have a few friends that got their babies sleeping through the night at about 3-4 months old. My 5 month old still does not sleep throught the night. It will come with time. Follow the babies cues, he knows when he needs to sleep and when he doesn't.

As far as the runny nose, my baby girl has had a runny nose since she was 6 weeks old and it has never gone away. I use little noses also and the cool mist humidifer. She started teeting qround 3 months and that increased the runny nose and changed her sleep patterns. As long as there is no fever or cough then I think it is just somethings that most babies go through. Good luck and congrats new momma!

I have a 3 month old baby girl. She had her first cold at 2 weeks old and it lasted until she was about 8 weeks old. The doctor told us to use a cool mist humidifier at night, little noses saline drops, and to use the bulb to suction her nose but to only use the bulb once or twice a day because it can cause a lot of harm if used more than that and make their noses raw. He also said absolutely no medicine even over the counter baby cold medicine because they are actualy just too young for any of that. I thought for sure that she couldn't breathe because of how stuffy she sounded. Come to find out, babies don't realize they can breathe through their mouths, therefore a little snot in the nose will actually sound worse to us than it really is. Her cold lasted for six weeks. I know it seems like a long time and like he is suffering, but wait it out and keep up what you are already doing. I took my baby to the doctor 4 times with her cold because I swore she couldn't breathe when it was just a little snot. It will go away with a little time and mommy's love.

Hi A..

I remember both of mine getting what I thought were colds when they were very young. I was told that it was actually their mucas glands starting to work. It went away within a couple of weeks. With it being winter, I'd suggest putting a humidifier in his room while he's sleeping and keep doing what you're doing. If the mucus turns green, I'd take him to the dr. As far as nap times, mine were much older when they were on a schedule. It was around maybe 4 months when we started their night time bed time and daily nap times - but we'd go off of their cues and set the times according to what they needed. Enjoy your new baby! Hope this helps.

First, congrats on your new little one! I'm sorry he's been so stuffy, though.

One thing you can try that I didn't see suggested yet is to drip some breastmilk up his nose. It's antibacterial, so it can help clear up any kind of bacterial infection, and it would work like saline. FWIW, breastmilk can also help clear up pink eye and ear infections. :-)

I also agree with most who said that you can't really set a nap schedule at this age. Their sleep needs change so much in the first few months that even if you found something that worked this week, it would probably change with next week's growth spurt. Just try to follow his lead, and you'll eventually see a pattern emerge. I know my kids started to settle into a more consistent nap schedule around 6 months.

Hi A., congratulations on your little one, everytime was son was sick with a cold, I would rub some vicks on his chest and back and then I would put a humidifier under his crib so the moisture in the air will help clear some of his clogged lungs, also you can run a shower for about 10 mins, you can hold your son in the bathroom so he breaths the steam. Hope this helps! Good Luck.

Hey A.,

I have a 8 week old and I would love to put him on a schedule. Everything I have been reading and our ped has said that until 3 or 4 months it is unlikely to put him on any type of sleep schedule. He even said that any sleep at night is a blessing. Good luck. If you figure out the magic solution to sleeping and newborn, please let me know!

Hello A. and congrats on your little one, how precious they are and so much love goes into their growing. The best recipe I ever received was to put a baby chest rub on his chest and back and most of all on the bottom of his feet and then put footies on him. I don't know how it works but it does. Best of Luck and enjoy your little one they grow up so fast. :-)

I've been there with my son! When he was just 8 weeks old he developed a cold and the doctor recommended the following: Cool mist humidifier, put him in his chair while I take a shower to allow the steam to clear him up, he also recommended that I sit him a little upright as much as possible to allow him to not struggle to breath. My doctor also recommended to bundle him up and take him outside for fresh air. This really worked. My son is now 28 months and I still use these remedies. We never had to use any type of medication to cure his cold. I'll pray your baby gets well!

My daughter just turned 12 weeks and has had a cold since she started day care at 8 weeks!! I use a humidifier in her room and put the vicks liquid in the water. You may try propping her mattress up at an angle to elevate her head while she's sleeping. I also use saline and then the "ball" to get some of that mucus out. (After I squirt the saline, it seems to help get it out.) I use the aquaphor around her nose to keep it from getting dried and irritated. A warm bath seems to help my little one sleep better with her cold or I put her in a bouncy chair in my bathroom while I shower, the hot steamy air is nice.
At any rate, my baby has been sleeping (even with the cold) through the night for the last couple of weeks. Check out "Baby Wise", that book puts them on a feeding/sleeping schedule. If you really want to have a routine at a young age I would recommend it. I read it but don't follow it to a T, however I have seen results just loosely following their suggestions.

Congratulations on your newborn! You could also try a vaporizer at night for extra moisture. That may help some.

As for the napping, it depends on what feels right to you. When my two were newborns, I let them nurse and sleep on-demand. I didn't start with a "regular" nap time until around 6 mos. But, you know your baby better than anyone. I think the best advice is to do what feels right for you and your baby.

Have you checked in with the pediatrician? I'm sure you're doing all you can since it is just a cold, but I might run it past them just because he is so little and it has been going on for two weeks. A cool mist humidifier in his room can help too.

My girls did not fall into a nap routine until around three months. My oldest started sleeping through the night around this age as well. My little one was a different story due to health problems. Sounds like you've got some lucky friends with such good sleepers! You can try to set up a nap routine and see how he does with it, but it may take some time for him to get the hang of it and nap regularly on schedule. Good luck!

Try getting ahold of the book 12 hours in 12 weeks. Basically the first 6 weeks of your baby's life is on demand. By weeks 7 and 8 you want to make a diary of your child's eating and sleeping patterns. At the start of week 8-9 you want to start scheduling your child's feedings and try to strech them out to four hour intervals. This means letting your child learn to sooth themselves. Night feedings are to be as quick as possible. Don't change the baby and limit your interaction. Talking to the baby while feeding them stimiulates them and makes it harder for them to fall asleep. I followed the advice in the book and by the end of week eight my son was sleeping from 10 at night to 6 am. And it was amazing how little effort it took and naptimes just fell in place. Good luck. You might also be able to use the baby's vicks and keep a humidifer (cool mist is better) running in the babies room. Also if you have a infant carrier you could put your child in it on the floor of your bathroom while you shower. This way they can take advantage of the steam and you can shower too.

The cold will go away in time with the help of antibodies being passed to your baby in breastmilk. A little breastmilk up the nose helps as well. Also keep her more upright while nursing so mucus is draining. A little massage of her head and neck may also help move the mucus out.

As far as naps go, you are doing a good thing by listening to your baby's needs for sleep when she needs it. My 4th child is now 2 1/2 months old. He naps about 3 times during the day, usually on me or in the sling. At night, I can put him in his Amby baby hammock once he falls asleep until I get him out to go to bed next to me. All his sleep times vary, but he usually falls asleep for the night about 10 or 10:30. He fell into his own schedule by about 2 months.

First, you are doing what you can for the cold. A great way to help it move along is to drip breastmilk in instead of saline. It's anti-viral, -bacterial, and -fungal! It's a natural snot thinner:)

my boys didn't fall in to a good nap schedule until around 3 or 4 months but they are good sleepers so I didn't worry about making them fit in to my schedule, I worked around theirs.

You're doing great with the saline drops & the aspirator. My only other suggestion for such a little one is to prop up the baby's mattess slightly. Put a book or blanket (something like that) under his mattress so he's elevated a bit when he sleeps -- just a bit, though. You don't want him rolling around. =)

Good luck on the sleep schedule. I don't think it's something you can force/coerce at this age. I could be wrong, but I think he'll have to be a bit older. For now, you'll just have to tough it out & try not to compare to other moms/babies.

Good luck & congrats on your first child! They are miracles!

Every baby is different. You really cannot control his sleep time yet. You can try to keep him up certain hours and hope that he will sleep when you want him to, but there is no guarantee.
Some colds hang on longer than other. If he is not coughing or feverish,just continue what you are doing;might want to try a humidifier.
My children cut teeth at this young age and always had a runny nose with it.

I know there is Baby Vick's - - I have some and I don't think it works well because of the missing ingredient, but I understand that it is made to be safe for infants. When mine were stuffy and having a hard time staying latched for nursing, I would put regular Vick's on the side of my breast, about 5" from my armpit. The baby seemed to get relief during nursing. I have mentioned it to the lactation consultant many times over the years and she thinks it's a good idea. My children's ped also said, "Great, if it works!" It doesn't seem to be a gray issue because the regular Vicks is not on them, and it is just during the nursing session. I was glad for it. It hard to listen to them struggle to breath through a stuffy nose while trying to eat.

I started to structure naps as soon as possible, although you are always working around their hunger and eating patterns. You don't have to be on a strict nap schedule from day one, it can evolve over time, but I do suggest trying to start something now - you'll be glad in the long run.

A.,
The saline drops and suctioning are the best things you can do. I have also read that you can also squirt some breast milk up their nose before eating to help clear the mucous. I would recommend a warm mist humidifier over the cool one. The warm mist not only makes the room warm, vs. a cool one, but it really seems to moisten the air better. Vicks makes one that is sold at Wal-mart and probably other drug stores, and its maybe $15-$20. You can also buy mentholated drops to put in it. Regarding the napping schedule, I read the Baby Wise book, but never enforced a routine, but if I remember correctly, if you were going to try to do it, you really would need to start ASAP since your baby is already 7 weeks. I personally let my baby dictate what he needed. Eventually, he developed his own schedule, probably around 5-6 months. I have never understood how some moms already had babies sleeping through the night at 7 weeks! They say its normal and healthy for them to wake up, especially breastfed infants.

If the runny nose continues I would call the pediatrician. The saline drops help. I certainly wouldn't give him anything else.

And I would not worry about enforcing a naptime. If you really think about it, that's a silly concept. For the first year, at least, a baby's wants and needs are the same. He'll eat and sleep when he needs to and while it may not always be convenient for you, that's motherhood. If you are sensitive to his cues of being sleepy (disinterested in playing, rubbing eyes, irritable, etc) and provide a calm environment so he can sleep when he's tired he'll fall into a routine. And that routine will also change every few months as he develops. My children didn't sleep through the night until well past a year, which isn't to say that your baby won't, but the best resource I found was Elizabeth Pantley's "No Cry Sleep Solution". It is the best book on baby sleep I've found and would encourage you to get a copy. I got mine really cheap on amazon. With my first baby, who was a disaster at napping and sleeping at night, when I finally got this book she was sleeping all night in less than two weeks and napping better too. But again, I wouldn't worry about scheduling and enforcing naps. Your baby will tell you what he needs.

Have you tried using a humidifier in his room at night? I usually have to use one at least a few times a week during the winter months in my kids' rooms. The dry heat from the furnace makes runny noses and congestion a little worse. I put it in front of where the register is to add a little moisture to the air.

It sounds more like a allergy than a cold if there is no fever or coughing.Keep the childs head elevated so the congestion comes out , you might also try putting chap stick on the skin around his nose where it would turn red from the runny nose.Keep using the Saline nose drops and aspirator. It should clear up in a while.If it doesn't see your childs Dr.
I would not push timed napping sessions yet, I know you are probably tired, Sleep when he does and enjoy your baby you have plenty of time to put him on a schedule.They are only small and helpless once in their lifes, try to enjoy both the good and bad and use that time for bonding.

Its so hard to see the tiny babies with runny noses. I went through it with all of mine also. The ones born in late summer and fall are the worse. Sleeping in the bouncy seat and swing were life savers for me. We also used baby vicks. It does not have eucalyptus in it, so it is safe for infants. It also does not smell nearly as strong, but it does help with the congestion while they sleep. Just make sure you wash it off before taking him outside.
I wouldn't worry about a regular nap time just yet. I agree with the other moms who said that he is too young. His body knows what he needs. He will sleep when he is tired and eat when he is hungry. As soon as you get a schedule established, he'll change or go through a growth spurt and everything will get all turned around. The only one who will be upset by it is you. Just go with his flow. They're only tiny once, just enjoy it.

Sleep and stay upright. Bouncy chairs or other papasan chairs work well - think it's too hard to prop mattress - just sleep in chair.

Also - regarding naps - friends of mine followed baby wise: after feeding try to keep up as long as possble - some make it one hour and then nap for one hour - then feed, awake for one hour, nap for an hour then feed - so on and so forth - sleeping longer at night seemed to come naturally for them.