My Baby Is Sick

Put her to bed in her infant carrier so she can be elevated. Don't even try propping up the end of her crib, she will just roll down to the low end! If she is in her carseat, she is basically contained with her head up, so she won't be coughing and snotting in her throat as much. Before bed, take her in the shower with you and get the air all nice and steamy until you are both pruny. That will loosen up the mucous so you can suck out as much as you can before putting her down. Use a humidifier to keep the moist air flowing in her room. Poor little monkey. This is the first of many, I'm afraid. I know just how you feel.

infant vicks baby rub on the soles of the feet and then cover with socks. I wouldn't do the cough syrup or the tea. You can try saline and a aspirator to clear her nose and elevate the crib a little. Also try a humidifier.

Get a cool mist humidifier. I don't give my kids anything unless they have a fever-then tylenol but only tylenol. Also try a nose sucker thing(I don't know the official name :D) and help her get some of that mucous out. Rest assured this too shall pass.

I'm a little baffled that your doctor gave your 5 mos. old dimetapp dm. Those were taken off the market for children under 6 years of age. Also, I remember being told that a baby shouldn't drink any herbs because of possible allergic reaction, however, I just read this article from iVillage regarding its use and they say differently: http://parenting.ivillage.com/newborn/nhealth/0,,3qkb,00.....

Perhaps, you already have, but if not, maybe some additional thorough research in that area would be a good idea.

Now, on to your actual question of what else you can do;) Humidifier and saline nasal spray are effective, safe and most often recommended I have found to help ease the discomfort of a sick baby. Since you can't use Vicks Baby on a baby so young, you may want to get some vicks and put it in one of those candle/room diffuser thingies to help her breathe. They also have the ones you can plug into the wall. Also a nice steamy bathroom and lukewarm bath with just a bit of lavender and tea tree essential oil in the water may help. Speaking of the diffuser, when my son was sick, I would often mix some lavender and tea tree oil with a little water and put it in the diffuser. Both oils have antiseptic properties, will make the room smell nice and will help your baby breathe a bit better.

As with all colds, it's just a waiting game and as difficult as it is to watch your baby struggle like that, know that you're doing everything you can and your comfort is helping.

p.s., I have read it over and over again (see Baby 411) that if your baby has a fever, that is good thing, it is their body working to fight off the infection so please don't give tylenol unless it's a really high fever (see Baby 411 to know what is considered a high fever your baby's age). Our son had a fever awhile back and we didn't give him tylenol, just kept checking his temperature. That same night, the fever broke and he was all better by morning.

Good luck!

Sometimes you just have to ride it out. They have little noses drops and if you have the nose squeegee, then that helps. Also I don't believe that you are to give her tea. Tea is hard enough on an adult's kidneys and she has barely formed hers. Just my opinion. Hope she is better soon! Just hold her and love her!

Hi M.,

Having a sick baby is the worst! We used to sit in a steamy shower with my daughter to help with the congestion. It was temporary, but it did help her feel better. Also, a humidifier in her room might help with the cough a little bit.

I'm sorry I don't have many other ideas, but I just wanted you to know that you are not alone in feeling like you do. I hope that she is feeling better very soon and back to her normal self.

Take care, and I wish you all the best.

L.

Chamomile is not good for every type of cold/child. Consider just room temp water. you can buy Bioplasma and put few pellets in water to give immune system some support.
Good Luck
V.

I used Dr. Feder's, Natural Baby & Childcare book when my baby would get a cold or cough. It's a great reference tool for all sorts of illnesses. I have used Briar Rose to help build up my baby's immune system per the instruction in Dr. Feder's book. My son is 16 1/2 months and I've used the book for the baby and my husband, our friends and myself at least 50 times since I bought it.

http://drfeder.com/index.php?page=shop&action=viewPro...

I hope your baby feels better. Best!

Get a humidifier and let her sleep in her carseat. My baby was sick for the first 6 weeks of his life.

She will be better soon. Don't worry.

u can get Gentle Vapors plug in..u plug it into the wall and it works as a vaporizer and helps baby breath better..vaporizers need to be cleaned once a week and humidifiers every day with white vinegar..Gentle Vapors just plugs into the wall...helps them sleep..if u don't have anything u can always sit in the bathroom and steam & hold your baby in your arms in there..the steam will help your baby breath better..good luck..it sucks when they're ill

xo

I would let her breastfeed whenever she wants. It is soothing and comforting and healthy. She gets her immune system going by mothers milk. I would not give the drugs to such a young baby especially if she has no fever. Use eucalyptus oil instead of petroleum products if you are into natural. Not on her but in the room or humidifier but she doesn't need that, her body will take care of itself. Let it.

Keep her head elevated when she sleeps. Keep her room cool and use a cool air humidifier when she sleeps. Keep her nose clear with saline spray then use the aspirator to suck out the excess mucus. Sometimes that's all you can do if she has a virus. You just have to let it run its course. Sometimes a cough can last a couple of weeks after the baby feels better. The first few colds are always worse on the parents!

Good luck!

I don't think Dimetapp is approved for babies that young, I would avoid that. Tylenol or Motrin can help, especially at night. The other suggestions (humidifier, steamy shower), are great. Also give her a lot of cuddles, when my son is sick all he wants is to be held and sleep, so that's what I give him. Wear her in a baby carrier (upright, like a mai tei or Ergo) around the house, or out, she will sleep and you can do things.

I took my 6 month old to the doc today also for a runny nose and cough he gave me albuteral im not sure if thats the right spelling but anyway he also told me not to hesitate on giving him some tylenol and keep as much moister in the air as possible..hope she feels better soon my little guy has been sick 5 out of his 6 months of life it sucks!!!

I am really surprised that your doctor gave you tylenol and dimetapp. They just recently did a recall on these. My baby just got his 4 month shots and my doctor specifically told me to buy generic brand if he runs a fever due to the recall.

I understand it is hard to see your baby sick, but I don't know about the chamomille tea... I'm not sure how safe it is. Formula is fine a little bit of water. remember that your baby's tummy is very sensitive.

I would suggest a humidifier. If you don't have one, you can start a hot shower and sit in there with her, with the doors shut - the steam will help and she will get play time with you :)

Good luck.

Put your shower on hot in the bathroom and sit in the bathroom (not the shower) with your baby. The steam will help with the cough. Also if you have a humidifier put that on at night a cool mist will help her breath better at night. Do you have the blue baby bugger sucker outer (sorry no other way the describe it) anyhow use it to get all the loose snot out....your baby won't like this but it does help a ton! Keep going with formula and water. She'll get well soon! Good luck :)

put baby vapo-rub on her feet then socks, it sounds weird, but works!

A great trick our pediatrician taught us to help get rid of nasal congestion is to take one teaspoon of salt and mix it with one cup of water. Take a small eye dropper and drop three drops of the solution in each nostril. Your baby will sputter and cough but will be fine. Make sure you elevate her mattress to keep her head elevated to allow the fluids to drain from her nose into her stomach. This worked like a charm with our guy who had a sinus infection!

Mustela makes a wonderful vapor balm that is safe for young babies. The product does not contain any camphor or menthol in its formulation. You might also ask your pediatrician if you can give her diluted Sleepytime Throat Tamer tea.

I'm not so sure chamomille tea is a good idea! At five months, they should just be drinking breastmilk of formula, that's it.

Cold medicines also don't work on babies and aren't recommended. In fact, they took most of them off the market.

Use infant tylenol, infant motrin, you can use saline in her nose to loosen up the mucus. But other than that, just comfort her and know you'll get through it. Honestly, though...it's always best not to over-medicate so watch how much of everything you give her. Sometimes even fevers are good to have...her body is working to fight off what she has.

Good luck.
-M

Glad I am not the only one who was a little concerned when I read Dimetapp DM. Especially the DM part, that is serious stuff. I would seriously consider looking into that further and placing a call in to the doctor to ask him why he gave you Dimetapp. I don't remember when, but sometime in the past two years the American Academy of Pediatrics advised that no cough medicines should be given to children under 6 years of age.

I don't know about the tea either, babies don't really need to drink anything besides formula or breastmilk until 6 months, then it is just water. I would ask the doctor about that too.

Everyone else gave you great ideas about home therapies. Hope your baby feels better soon! I know how awful it is to have a sick baby.

I like to use humidifier when my son has breathing problems (congestion). I also place special eucaliptus/menthol tablets into humidifier. I think it helps to feel better.

All the best.