7Wk Old with Cold

My baby had that too, a Chinese medicine student advised me to massage downward from the top of the nose to the cheeks on both sides, then massages the openings of the nostrils. We were able to get the sticky buggers out that way.

If you are breastfeeding, you can also put a drop or two of breastmilk in his nose which can help (I know it sounds weird but it works). Also, try putting books under the "head" side of his crib (45 degree angle) so that he is not laying flat which can help with his breathing/congestion. In general, keeping him more upright throughout the day can help.

Try elevating the crib, I put a pillow underneath the mattress. The elevation helps drain the sinuses instead of laying flat & the congestion building. Also, the bouncers that lay at an angle also help for naptimes.

Bring him in the bathroom with you and turn on the shower super hot. There really isn't much else you can do besides the saline drops and humidifier.

Hi C.! I see some moms mentioned raising the head of the crib...good idea, but all of my babies were sleeping in our room at that age still, so if you want to keep him closer to you, sleep him in the carseat. Our pediatrician ordered us to do this with our first son, and he slept well, and he's still on his back. Also, I KNOW it's really hard because they HATE it, but I always used the aspirator bulb with my kids along with the saline drops. He will definitely hate it, but feel so much better afterward. Also, Johnsons makes a soothing vapors bath for babies with colds. I am pretty sure it has an age limit...it might be for over 3 months, but you could always ask your dr. about using it for a younger baby. Good luck!

From what I've been told, nasal congestion in newborns is very common. My oldest went throug the same thing. My new baby is only 2.5 weeks old and he too has the stuffy-plugged up nose. Doing the saline drops, plus using the "bulb" to help clear and clean out the nose as well as having a humidifier is the best you can do. Also try and keep his head elevated while he's sleeping. I've been letting my baby sleep in either the swing or the bouncey chair. That helps too, keeps them from swallowing the "yuck" and gagging.
If it goes one for more then 10-14 days I'd take baby in and see if maybe he has an allergy.

Just wanted to say "hang in there." The first time your baby is sick is really rough. When my first had his first bad cold, I actually strapped him into his bouncy seat and put that in his crib when he went to bed - that seemed to help a lot with the drainage issue, and that helped him to sleep. Easier on you, too, than holding him on your shoulder all night so he can stay upright. Good luck - and stay in touch w/your pediatrician, take him in right away if he develops a fever.

Keep him upright as much as possible, so it drains out.

you could put him in the bathroom while you shower too. That always helps with all my children.

The sudafed vapor plugs work wonders! They'll keep your little guy's nose unstuffed while he's sleeping. I use them with my daughter with every cold she's gotten, and she's never been completely stuffed up!

Hope this helps!

Hi C.. When my son was very little I would rub children's Vicks on his feet at night. Or Tiger Balm also works. You can find it at Walgreeens. It is kind of expensive but a little bit goes a long way!

I highly recommend the Vicks Gentle Vapor Plug-Ins. They work WONDERS!

Try putting a towel under one end of his mattress. This will raise his head a little and help the congestion drain some. Suction his nose before he nurses or takes a bottle if he's having trouble eating. And best of all, give him some extra cuddling. :)
Hope he gets better soon.
B.

Gina gave great tips! The breastmilk in the nose (or eye infections) works well...that stuff is liquid gold! But otherwise you'll have to go the painful-for-both-of-you aspirator route and propping his head up. My daughter had a cold at only 7 weeks as well and it was so horrible to see her uncomfortable being so tiny. I hope he gets well soon!!!

My friend would let her baby sleep in his swing because it kept him upright and it was easier for him to breath. He had a lot of colds starting at 3 months.

what i do when my little man has a cold is use a lot of the vick's baby chest rub. put it on his chest, back, neck, and believe it or not on the bottoms of his feet. it seems to help with the congestion a bit.
hope that helps! i know how miserable a baby is when he has a cold...
K. :)

It's good to keep him propped up as several people mentioned, but don't let him sleep unattended in the swing as someone else mentioned. A few years ago a young baby died that way--she slipped down and strangled in one of the straps or openings. I used to put my stuffy little ones in their car seat in the crib or in a bouncy seat on the floor that didn't have the kind of straps you can slip down into. Even then the bouncy seat manufacturers recommend you don't leave them unattended. My youngest was born in the early fall and spent his entire first winter battling colds he got from his older brother. It's frustrating--best wishes.

Hi C.
I seen you said you have dehumidifier. You want to use a humidifier so the air is not so dry that will also help his mucus membrains stay moist. Good luck it is so hard to have them sick when they are that litte. T.

There is vapor bath that has the smell of vicks. Johnson & Johnson makes one and there are store brand ones as well. I love the stuff myself and always seemed to help (at least a little) when my daughter was stuffed up. If you can keep him propped up a little when he is sleeping that may help as well. Good luck- the 1st cold isn't fun but will pass sooner than you think.

I was always told to take my child into the bathroom with me when I shower. The steam helps them. You can put him in his little boundy seat right outside the shower.

Since you can't give someone so little medicine. I put her in her bucket car seat so she'd be sitting up to sleep and have better drainage.

Hi C.! Oh gosh, I know how it's going for you right now - I'm a mom with two boys - aged 4 and 7 months.
My 7 month old caught a bad cold at 8 weeks old. We did everything you have been doing, but also propped the head
of his crib mattress up about an inch at night so he
didn't get too stuffy. Worked great! Good luck and be sure to let us know how your little sweetpea fared!

R.

Seven weeks is pretty young to have a cold, so it may not actually be a cold... it may be an allergic reaction to what you are feeding him.

Whether it is a cold or an allergic reaction, if you are nursing, stop drinking milk and eating cheese or yoghurt. If he is bottle fed, find a formula without milk or corn syrup (one of the most common allergen's on the market). Don't panic about the allergy if you decide this is what the problem is:

Dairy products produce mucus which clogs the sinus's. Some people can easily process them, other's can't. If your baby has frequent "colds", they are more likely a dairy allergy. Don't worry, if you take him off dairy now, he will most likely be able to return to them later on when his digestive system develops. For now, just make sure he is eating good food ~ corn syrup is not good food for anyone, and dairy may not be good food for him.

Any time children have a runny nose, eliminating dairy products will go a long way toward eliminating the symptoms.

Hi C.,

My little girl was 3 weeks old when she got her first cold. It was terrible for all of us! The thing that worked the best was giving her the saline drops in her nose and then taking her into a steamy bathroom. Our humidifier did not work as well as a steamy bathroom. Of course, be careful not to over heat, it worked best to have our baby in just a diaper and loosely wrapped in a blanket. I did this about twice a day and it worked really well. Also, propping her up when she slept helped her control her secretions better. She slept in her car seat or swing the best. Hope this helps!!

When my guy was that young (7 months now) he had a cold - and I was very worried!! I did everything that you did and also put a little vicks on his chest to try to help clear up his nose. It seemed to help and make him breath a little better. Hang in there!

We are had the same problem a few months ago when my little one was only a couple of months old! Don't you feel like there should be something else that you can do to help!?! We tried one of those mentholatum vapor wall plugs--this was a savior for us! You put a menthol strip in the little nightlight and it gives off a scent like Vick's VapoRub. It helps the child to breathe free through the night and also helped my 2 year old with a cough/cold he just recently had. You can find these at the drugstore in the cold section. The other thing that works for us is Vick's VapoRub or Mentholatum Rub on the feet. My grandmother gave me this tip because I was so worried that the kids would rub it in their eyes or mouth if I used it on their chest or neck. For some reason, it works! I just rub the salve on my kids' feet and then put socks on. The mentholatum really opens the nasal passages up! Good luck!

I am a mom of 3. 2 girls one 4 the other 3 and a 15 month old boy. I have found with all my kids that putting Vick's Vapor Rub on the bottoms of their feet and then socks on so it won't get all over the sheets has been the best thing, I do it when they have mild colds and even severe colds. They use to not sleep through the night when they had colds and were congested. Now they sleep all night long when I do this. They have Vick's Vapor Rub for babies as well.

If you have a crib that you can raise the mattress at one end that can help to so they are not laying flat. You can also use a bouncy or your car seat for them to sleep on so they are propped up but only for a few days it is not good for them to sleep in there for too many nights.

-Amanda

Unfortunately, there's not much else you can do for such a little guy. You're already doing the best things for him.
Johnson's has a vapor bath that might help a little or you can try the Vicks baby rub.
Both of my boys were winter babies and had stuffy noses almost constantly until spring. For my youngest, we had him sleep in his car seat a few nights when the stuffiness was at it's worst.