sleep position for a congested baby ?

levans23

our lo has been congested and has had trouble sleeping on his back because of it. i've tried propping up one end of his cradle mattress w/ towels under the mattress, but he just slides down to the bottom and doesn't get much rest. he sleeps a little bit better in his car seat or in his swing, but i don't want for him to get in the habit of sleeping there, since he'll have to sleep on his back when he goes to daycare. any advice/tips? also, is it really safe to let a baby sleep in the car seat or swing? mind you, he only sleeps for 2-3 hours at a time anyway, so it's not like he's in either for more than a couple of hours at a stretch. tia!!

levans23

forgot to mention - i haven't talked to our pediatrician about this b/c he doesn't believe in the "back to sleep" SIDS prevention movement -he doesn't think sleeping on their backs is any safer than having them sleep on their tummies. this is a major point of contention w/ me and i'm considering changing to another dr. b/c of it, but in the mean time, there's no sense in bringing it up to him b/c he'll just tell me to put our guy on his tummy, which i refuse to do.

ilovemygirls

Well, I let my kids sleep/nap in swings.  Especially DD#1 because she was a nightmare sleeper.  I think when they are congested it's important to keep them upright, and if a swing/carseat is what makes that happen, great.  I also never had good luck w/propping up the mattress as I found they slid down it too.  At this age you're not going to develop a bad habit while doing what you need to do to get through a cold

tigergreen

i was going to say put him on his tummy, but if you're not up for trying that, i'd say get a side wedge or even roll up two blankets to put him between so maybe he'll be able to breathe out of one side.

tigergreen

i will agree that elevating his head would be best, especially to try to prevent an ear infection from developing.

Liss_37

you can purchase a crib or bassinnette wedge from babies r us, I had to do this for DS last week because of his cold and minor reflux.

He was also sliding down, so i found that if I positioned the wedge in the middle of the basinette and made it so that his feet touch the bottom, he has no where to slide. now he stays elevated. I just put a couple of folded blankets at the top of the basinette to hold the wedge in place

eta: you can also give your LO salt water nasal drops. you can purchase them at any pharmacy and they work wonders at clearing up congestion. Best of all they are all natural and you can use it as much as needed. my dr was the one who recomended them.

hope this helps!

Nikki_Jo

DS has reflux and we just moved his swing into our room for sleeping at night time.  I was worried about this until I talked to my SIL who is a RN and she said that she did this as well with her LO.  DS is only 2 feet from where I sleep and he has been sleeping much better in his swing.

levans23

thanks, ladies!