Warner has a cold :-(

bh2720

He's been pretty much okay today, but he is definitely congested and has been sneezing and coughing a lot all day. He was a tiny bit fussier than usual, but overall in pretty good spirits. This morning he had no fever, but tonight before bed his temp was 100.2. I know that's not an alarmingly high temp, but it's definitely above normal. He got sleepy early than usual tonight, so I put him to bed about an hour early. I just went up to check on him and he was sound asleep, but I could hear the congestion in his nose...poor little guy.

So I'm calling the doctor in the morning...hopefully, he'll continue to sleep well tonight. 

Other than calling the doctor, is there anything I should be doing? We have a cool mist humidifier because a friend of mine told me we would need it, but haven't thus far. Would that help with his congestion? Should I check his temp overnight? Or if he continues to sleep, should I just leave him alone?

(yes, I'm a total nervous nellie...)

kbird

Baby colds suck.  I'm sure your pedi will say saline drops, suction and Tylenol for a little fever.  I think Baby Vicks rub on the chest at night helps loosen congestion.  The humidifier wouldn't hurt, but I think they're most effective in the winter time when you're running your heat and there's not a lot of moisture in the air.  I'm always torn about the checking at night thing...I think I would only do a temp check if he wakes up anyways.  He'll feel better soon!

suecadence

Grady has a cold too.  This is probably his third or so.  We do use the cool mist humidifier.  I think it helps with his breathing/congestion over night.  In the morning I give him the baby saline drops to help clear his passages. There really isn't too much you can do.  Give him lots of hugs, let him rest, and it will run its course.  I wouldn't wake him up to take his temp...let him sleep and just take it in the morning.

NowDNAtoo

If he's sleeping I wouldn't disturb him to take his temp.  DS went through one cold right after another from about the end of May through early August and I took him to the pedi several times (talk about a nervous nellie--and he didn't have a temp any of those times).  They just recommended taking him into the bathroom with a steamy shower running to try and help loosen things along with the Little Noses saline spray and drinking plenty of fluids/water.   DS did not like the spray at first, but finally got used to it (probably because it was helping to clear out his nose).  They also said he's going to sound worse than he is because their ears/nose/throat are all so tiny and close together (which is why your're really hearing it).

emack

I would echo all the other suggestions but add elevating him at night and for naps. We use a moses basket and put a blanket under the top of the mattress so she is elevated. This helps her tremendously. You could use something other than a moses basket - we just like this because she doesn't slide off of it. We're using it now with the congestion related to teething.

MosersGirl

I'm sorry Warner's not feeling well.   

Audrey's sick for the first time right now, too.  She had bad congestion and a cough last week, so I took her to the doctor.  Since she didn't have a fever, they said it would likely go away.  We flew (her first flight) to Chicago Thursday morning, and by Friday night she had a fever (100.7) and was worse.  We returned Sat night and I took her to the doctor Sun morning (thank goodness for Sun hours!)  They said she has no ear infection and her lungs are clear, so whatever it is just needs to run its course.  The doctor did say that her throat is red, and although it is rare for a baby to have strep, if her fever isn't gone by tomorrow I should bring her back in for a strep test.  Other than that, they just said to give her Tylenol for the fever and let her rest.  (Also, the doctor said anything under 101.5 is considered low-grade and isn't a big deal).  She has been sleeping like crazy for the last few days.  I hope it's almost gone.  I feel so badly for her.   

By the way, is Warner eating ok?  Audrey is nursing and taking bottles normally, but has hardly touched solids the last few days.  I think she may be teething again as well, or teething could be the cause of the entire illness.  It's so hard to tell with babies. 

Ana0927

I am sorry he is not feeling well.

 Amelia was feeling the same way a few weeks ago. No fever but alot of coughing (wet cough) fussy, stuffy, and when she babbled it sounded like she had a sore throat. I took her to the dr. and her lungs were clear no ear infection. The suggested plently of nose drops and suction for the stuffy nose and a humidifier. The Dr. said to let it run its course and it should clear up in about 7 days and it did.

Good luck!

tracy042206

Baby colds do suck.  Maggie was sick her first year from thanksgiving to Christmas to one and topped it off with an ear infection between Christmas and New Years.  The doc will probably rec the Tylenol for fever, saline drops (if you dare, I couldn't figure out how to do it effectively), elevating the head of the mattress (an issue with the ones that roll over already), and using the humidifier (keeps it from drying out and getting totally clogged.

I also would run the shower as hot as possible before bath time and keep the door closed for extra humidity. It seemed to help make the nose run a little more and clear it out.

bh2720

Thanks everyone-you guys are awesome. His temp is down below 100 this morning--99.4. The doctor said to give him a 1/2 teaspoon of children's Benadryl for the congestion and some baby motrin for the fever.

She also said to run the humidifier--which I am trying to do, but it doesn't seem to be working. It's the Crane cool mist humidifier that looks like a penguin--I put the water in, plugged it in and turned it on, then adjusted the knob, but no mist it coming out :-( Maybe we have a dud.

He was up off and off from about 3:30am until he woke up for good at around 6am. His appetite is fine (no surprise there), but he's definitely sleepy. He fell asleep in my arms, which almost never happens anymore, around 7:30, but didn't sleep long. But after I gave him his meds he passed out pretty fast.

Also, any tips for using the nose sucker thingy--he screams every time I've tried to use it, so I'm afraid I'm doing it wrong and hurting him. (or maybe he just doesn't like it...I have no idea)

April & Sue--I hope your LO's are feeling better soon!!!

suecadence

bh2720:

She also said to run the humidifier--which I am trying to do, but it doesn't seem to be working. It's the Crane cool mist humidifier that looks like a penguin--I put the water in, plugged it in and turned it on, then adjusted the knob, but no mist it coming out :-( Maybe we have a dud.

Also, any tips for using the nose sucker thingy--he screams every time I've tried to use it, so I'm afraid I'm doing it wrong and hurting him. (or maybe he just doesn't like it...I have no ide

We have the same penguin humidifier.  Does the green light come on when you turn it on?  The only thing I can think to try is to turn it over and make sure the knob is screwed on tight.  I hope you can figure out what is wrong!

Grady hates the nose sucker thingy too.  I've found that using the drops will sometime loosen things up enough that I don't really need the suction.  I can just wipe the ooze of his face!

Speaking of which, G sneezed this morning and out poured the largest amount of snot I have ever seen on a human being.  He looked like some character out of "Pan's Labyrinth"!

Ana0927

I needed my hubby around to distract Amelia in order to suction her. I used to be able to get away with giving her a toy to play with but I think she caught on. It really is a struggle and she will fight me with all she's got and usually she win : )

AnnaBananaBelle

If he's really congested, you could roll an blanket up and elevate one end of his mattress a little, so it make it easier to breath than laying flat.   The one time ALlison had a cold, she was still small enough to sleep in the car seat, and we did that b/c she could breath more easily.  You can use saline nasal spray too, that really helped Allison.  She HATED when we did it, but it helped clear her sinsues a bit (since kiddos can't take the wonderful cold meds we have).  Also, the dye free Tylenol has been great when she's had a fever.  The dr's office should be able to tell you what dose to use.  Around 15-20 lbs is 1.2 

 

Hope he feels better soon! 

victoria1212

DD had a cold two weeks ago and I felt so bad for her. Sorry Warner is sick :-(

We used the humidifier on rec from the doc. DD hates the nose suction thing too but it does work. It was always a struggle to actually get it in her nose. We used a sleep positioner in her crib so she was on an incline at night and that helped with the congestion. The nurse said we could put a towel under her crib sheet if we did not have the sleep positioner. If he is sleeping, I would leave him alone. We used tylenol every few hours and it seemed to make her feel better. Good luck!

Artslvr

DD #2 has her first cold/ear infection now too - I guess this is the season!  She hates the sucky thing, but it's so necessary, so she just fusses through it.  I do find that doing it while she's sitting up makes it easier, and uses gravity (I had been doing it while she was lying on her back, and then I was like - why the heck am I doing that?)

Keep track of it though - both my kids could have raging ear infections but show no signs (they say they'll tug on their ears if they have an ear infection, but neither of my girls does that).  The only way to know for sure with mine it to take them to the doctor for an exam.