Congested 1 Month Old

Hi A.,
I have a 2 1/2 yr old who suffers from allergies and at times gets a bad cold. What's worked for me besides saline drops and humidifier is also "baby vapor rub" and when taking naps or asleep--elevate baby's head. Good Luck~ :-)

When my kids were young anytime they were congested, I would tilt up their crip mattress. I would put a telephone book and a couple if needed. This will tilt them up just enough that they are not lying flat on their back. This will allow them to breath better. Even at age 7 & 10 if they are congested I place a pillow just above the back & then another one to tilt their head up more so they don't sleep in a silly position. Now my 10 year old does it on her own when she is congested b/c she knows it works & so do I!

are you breastfeeding?
try cutting ALL dairy and soy, including 'hidden' ingredients from your diet for a good 2 or even 3 weeks & see if there's an improvement...

or for formula, give nutrimigen or alimentum a good 2 weeks trial...

Thank God for Vicks! Try a nice bath with Vicks Vapor bath; and then rub a little on the baby's chest and a small streak right under his/her nose. It worked for both the babies & 3 yr. old I've raised. Don't forget to rub some on the back as well. God bless you & your baby!
Kathy N.

Hi A.! Boo..that is so stressful to have something bothering your little one. My two year old has recently been battling congestion as well. I know that you said you have tried a humidifier, but let me suggest one that might be different from the one you are using. It is from Vick's, and it is called a "Warm Steam Vaporizer". I bought it at Target for only $13. I love it. You can add a Vick's solution right to it, to give the air that Vicks smell. I choose to just use water. The warm steam really comforts my daughter. I close her door, and it is almost like a different climate in there. Very humid, but it is really helping her sleep through this cold. I have my own respitory issues from time to time, and I want to buy one of these for my room as well. You can really feel the relief when you walk in the room. For only $13, it might be worth a try...and Target would surely return it if you don't like it. Hope that might help!!
A. C. :)

I know how you feel. I have 2 children. My son who is now 7 and my daughter who is 19 months. So here is what I do.

At bath time bath him with really warm water and put vapor soap in the bath. Like the girl below mentioned put vicks vapor rubb on his back, chest and under his nose (cause he is small enough he will not rub it on his eyes). Get the vapor patches that plug into the wall and put one every evening and also get a vaporizer and buy the Vicks Vapor liquid (do not get the liquid that comes for vapor machines IT DOES NOT WORK). Suction his nose every possible time and before going to sleep in the evening put in a few drops of saline nasal spray for babies. If he continues (contrary to popular belief) give him some water to drink this dries him up. The milk may be congesting him.

I hope this helps and your baby gets well soon!

If you need anything else you are welcome to contact me.

Hi, If this was my child I would start by taking out of the bedroom/house any allergy type clothing: wool!and making sure to use laundry detergent with no dyes or perfumes, that includes personal colognes- As long as the doctor has cleared him from a medical condition, look for environmental irritants-Such as new carpet furniture, a change in a cleaning product-all the best,Ann

You could put him in the carseat to sleep at night. That way his sinuses can drain. We put the carseat in the stroller and brought the whole thing into our room for our daughter when she was 2 months old, and had to do it periodically until she was about 10 months old. A swing or bouncy seat would work just as well; anything with support that keeps him at an incline. Since he's still so young you could incline his crib or bassinet or whatever he's sleeping in.
The squirt and suck with a nasal bulb syringe also helps a lot. He'll scream, but it will work. You can make your own solution with 1/4 tsp of salt to a cup of warm water.

Since it is cold and flu season, I would double-check with your Dr. Having said that, my baby who is now 6 months old went through this for the first 2 or 3 months. I was so worried about him, but the Dr. checked him more than once and reassured me that this is normal. It doesn't affect them as much as it worries us.

humidafier or a vaporizer is all i can suggest. when ours were little the doctors saud it is ok to gove them the .04 of the baby dropper in dimatapp.

I would ask a Dr. about using vicks on a 1 month old. I use it on my daughter but she is older. I'm not sure the difference between a humidifier & a vaporizer but the vaporizer worked really well for my daughter, just be sure to change the water out daily. Agree with suctioning his nose & lots of saline drops.

my son was congested every day of his life until he turned 6 months old. It was so frustrating. You can provide temporary relief by taking him into the bathroom with you while you take a hot shower or just run the shower on hot. Then suctioning his nose with a bulb syringe. To do it properly, make sure to close the opposite nostril with your finger while you suck the other one. It doesn't make the congestion disappear but it can provide a temp. relief. My son's improved at 6 months because we moved here to Miami from Texas. I think he had sensitivities to all the pollen in Texas or maybe it was our house.

I used to place a small pillow under the mattress to elevate it a bit. This works for a while before the baby starts to "travel" in the bed. Purpose is to aide digestion and relieve the congestion. Keep up the humidifier (I swear by Vicks...maybe a little on the his chest, in the humidifier or on the sheet near his head, not directly on or in his nose) Forget meds...Check for allergy causing items in the home: wool, feathers, synthetic carpet, animals, that could be irritating him. Clean your a/c filter regularly?
I also worked for a medical intuitive who will tell you the "root cause" and recommend herbs. Let me know if you want his contact info.
Blessings

My son (now 2) go the flu when he was 10 weeks old and we had this battle for 2 weeks!

I would definitely talk to your pediatrician before administering anything over the counter. including Vicks - I'm not sure that is safe on a baby that young. The only thing that my doctor allowed us to use other than saline was little noses decongestant, which has since been pulled off the market. If you can get some it really worked. The catch with this medicine is to not give too much (overdose)and my dr stressed that it could not be used for more than 72 hours.

Outside of that steam baths worked, no humidifiers or vaporizers ever did. Inclining the baby definitely helped him breath better too. The car seat or swing is ideal but the phone books under one side of the crib legs helped too, just not as much.

I would also definitely look into the allergens in your home as well. This can help alleviate it altogether if he is allergic and it still helps somewhat if its from a cold. I would start by changing the air filter and making sure its clean. Then you ask the dr what products he/she recommends in case its allergies. My son had to have a bath with the Aveeno bar and we still use only ivory snow detergent to wash his clothes. Beleive it or not, these minor things help. Soemtimes it can be your perfume or your husbands cologne that's irritating his airways.

My son is now asthmatic and if my husband or I hold him with a shirt of second hand smoke that's enough to get his nose itching.

Good luck!

I know how that feels. When my little one was about 6 months, she had an awful cold- wheezing, congestion, coughing... It was horrible. My pediatrician was wonderful. He told me to sit in a steamed bathroom with her for a while. Then, go to the freezer and have her breath in the cold air for a few seconds. It really worked. I still do it, even for myself. I can't recall how long it last though.

Good Luck and God Bless,
H.

I dont know if someone already suggested this,,but ask your doctor for a nebulizer. When my first son was 4 months he was really sick. They gave me a nebulizer to take home and prescription for the medicine to put in it. Now that I have one Im so thankful. I have since had 2 more boys and they each have used it at some point. Especially now not being able to give babies under 2 cold medicine, I use it on my one year old when he has a really bad cough & cold and cant breath easily.

just a suggestion but you may want to change his sleeping position or jack up one end of the mattress so that his head is up higher than his feet. maybe try a johnsons vapor bath, my friend said it works for her baby.

Turn shower on full heat and sit in bathroom with. Humidifier worked great for my son. Make sure you keep warm when getting in and out of baths because that will keep congestion from getting worse.

I would take him to a chiropractor and have him checked. Many people don't know this, but spinal misalignments begin with the birthing process. Not only is it traumatic for us moms but also our babies. It's very safe and if he has any misaglinments putting pressure on nerves it could easily cause him to be congested or many other symptoms could appear. If you'd like more informations just email me and I would be happy to help. Good luck.

A.,

I totally understand how you feel, my 10 mo. old just got over being really congested. We finally took her to the doctor after two weeks of her feeling miserable. They gave her an antibiotic, which I usually don't like but I knew she had something. It is very frustrating cause there is really nothing you can give them. What I do is the classic suction, with bulb. I use "Little Remedies" saline drops for noses. I also would prop her crib mattress up with a small pillow. I just found a new "Little Remedies" nasal cleaner thing. It has a nozzle on it and it will squirt the saline solution in the nostrils cleaning them out. Of course the baby does not like it but it seems to work. Hopefully it will pass soon, just hang in there.