My 3 Month Old Has a Cold

Saline nose drops. I like "little noses". And raise one end of the mattress to prop your dc's head. It will do wonders. Lots of nursing and Lots of snuggleing.

Good luck!

Hi L.,
Since colds are viruses there isn't anything you can really do to get rid of it, but you can help ease your baby's symptoms.

When my son was an infant, I stuck a rolled up blanket (or pillow) under the end of my son's mattress to prop him up a bit.

I used to use Little Noses saline drops (http://www.littleremedies.com/littlenoses_saline.html for more info)

Also, using a humidifer will help because it puts moisture back into the air which will help keep your baby's nasal passages open. There are two kinds - warm mist and cool mist. There isn't much difference between them, as they both put moisture in the air. I opted for a cool mist because I have pets and warm mist does get hot and my cats sniff the humidifiers sometimes and I didnt want them to get burned. Warm mist can also cause wallpaper to peel. The downside to a cool mist in the winter is that it can cool your baby's room by a degree or two, so you may have to compensate for that (heavy blanket sleeper as opposed to a light one). **the important thing, regardless of the kind of humidifier, is to clean it frequently** Don't just add water - wash the resevoir, wipe out the basin, and pull out the filter and wash it. I suggest at LEAST every three days. Otherwise, you will be spreading bacteria and it can make your baby sicker. Most bacteria thrive in warm, moist environments, which is another reason why I chose a cool mist.

Another thing you can do in conjunction with the humdifier is buy eucalyptus essential oil (not just scented oils, it has to be real extract). You can put 2-3 drops in the humidifier resevoir. It's sort of like using vicks vaporub, but doesnt have to be on your baby's skin. The downside is you have to wash out the humidifier and filter more often.

Also, if your child has a lot of nasal congestion, you can gently massage his or her face. Very lightly rub your fingers or thumbs up and down the sides of his or her nose, and out to about halfway under the eyes. Gentle movementsback and forth can help loosen up mucus (which may make it easier to suck out with an aspirator). You can also rub just above his/her nose, in the center of the forehead. You can rub up and down from about halfway up on the forehead down to the middle of the nose, or in smaller circular motions above the nose, directly between the eyes. Always with a very gentle touch.

I hope your little one gets past his/her cold quickly (and hopefully it isn't exacerbated by allergies like my son's colds are!).

SAline Nose Drops, and fill your bathroom with steam and stand in there for about ten minutes. Also steam vaporizer at night helps too, as does sleeping ina semi reclined posistion, I alsway found the bouncy chair helpful in situatuions like these. Hope baby feels better soon.

You need to talk to the Dr. about this. Some will give medicine, and some will not this young. My daughter had a terrible cold 1 week before she turned exactly 3 months. My ped did prescribe her Donitussin, but it was a prescription only with careful dosage. I was told you can not treat a baby for a cold that young cuz if you supress the cold you can cause them to get pnemonia. The most important thing is to take her to the Dr before giving her anything. Good luck!

Hi L.,

You can put a pillow under one end of the mattress in the crib so that it tilts up a little so the baby can breathe a little better when sleeping. Also, use saline nose drops to help break up the phlegm before feeding so the baby can breathe while eating. You can also use a bulb syringe/nasal aspirator to suck the junk out of his/her nose. A humidifier may help too, it's always recommended by the doctor, but using a humidifier always made my son sicker so I stopped using one.

Good luck, I hope your little one is better soon!

L.

Hi L.,

Your baby is old enough to use the Vapor Rub bath from J. & J.. I used this on both on girls, it really helps to clear up conjestion. Also, they do have baby vicks vapor rub.

The pillow under the mattress helps big time too!

Good luck! ;-)H.