Sick baby! Dr office closed till morning! Help!

SaphrineDragon

FTM here and I have no clue if I should be more worried or calm down and just wait it out.

The entire house has gotten sick, myself included, and sadly Baby Girl got it too. She has it the worst though. It started as a simple runny nose 24 hours ago and then progressed to green snot and congestion. I took her temperature and the odd thing is that she isn't running a fever...the opposite actually. She is below her regular temperature at the doctor's office. 

She has been sleeping most of the day and wakes up to cry (or rather attempts too) because she has gotten clogged up. She doesn't sleep long cause she gets clogged pretty quickly and can't seem to get comfortable.

Is a lower body temperature a fever?? or cause for concern? 

Help!!

MrsH8611

I work at an ER and we have ppl call all the time asking questions like this. I would call the ER and ask to speak to a nurse. They can't give diagnostic medical advice over the phone but they can help advise you on what you can do

mben1119

What was her temperature?  No, a lower temperature isn't a fever. A fever by definition, is an increased body temperature. Sounds like a cold to me-if DS isn't burning up or dehydrated, I treat it at home with the humidifier, snot sucker, saline drops, and tylenol if necessary.

rnfromtn

Our doctor said to call for a hypothermic temp too. Also, I would maybe wrap baby up in another layer.

Emerson2007

Unless baby has a fever, breathing is labored, or feeding has slowed down/ dehydrated, then I would treat with nose suction and saline. Maybe let the baby sleep sitting in a swing or bouncy? If you are worried that it is worse than just a cold or stuffiness and may be bacterial then call the pedi's after hour line to ask what you should do. Also, you can run a hot shower, close the door and let the baby breath in the steam from the shower. No sure how old you little one is, but you may want the ears looked at for an ear infection. The ER told us the other day it is pretty rare for newborns to have, but it is possible. My friend is a NICU nurse and her 6 week old got an ear infection.

MeaganG11

A lower body temp isn't a fever, but it can signal infection just like a fever can - but it depends on how much lower it is. When we were discharged from the NICU we were told a normal temp is 97.7 - 99.0 (F). Anything above or below this by a full degree is something you need to notify your doctor of. Your doctor should have somebody on call for him/her, or she/he may be available to page and call you back, even if their office is closed. My doctor's office has an answering service that they switch to when the office is closed that collects your info and notifies the doctor on call. Have you tried calling the doctor's office and seeing if there is either an answering service, or an answering machine that gives you instructions on how to reach the doc after hours? If not, is your doctor affiliated with a specific hospital in town? You may be able to page him/her (or the on call physician) through the hospital operator. If all else fails and you are still concerned, take her to the ER, or an urgent care clinic - better safe than sorry. (Also, a humidifier may help her congestion, if you have one.)

SaphrineDragon

Her temperature last night was 96.8 F and this morning it was the same. I had her super bundled last night and she is now wrapped up in her pajamas and two blankets. Her temp did go up to 97.1 F after being wrapped for an hour but otherwise she is cold.

She doesn't stay awake long and struggles to eat due to congestion and is fussy and stuffed up. The nurse told me to not be concerned until tomorrow night...but my baby is unhappy and not feeling well and I'm supposed to go back to work in a few hours and I'm not comfortable leaving my baby with the sitter in her current condition but its my first day back.

I don't know what to do! 

I have a humidifier that I'm setting up and got nasal solution and her bulb... but I don't know if thats enough.