Baby's First Cold - Advice Needed Please!

martini-time · March 2011

Our little dude seems to have caught his first cold. Poor guy. After putting anything and everything at the Children's Museum in his mouth, I can't say I'm surprised. I saw so many kids there with snotty noses and coughs. Ugh. Why don't mommies keep their sick kids at home instead of taking them out to play with toys they know other babies will be touching? Anyway.....

Just wondering if anyone has any tips for making him a little less miserable. I've given him Tylenol, sucked snot, and given lots of snuggles, but he is just whining incessantly. I feel terrible that I don't know what to do for him. Sad

Seattle_JiLLn · March 2011

That's about it... he's 8 months so you could do Motrin too. Humidifier when he's sleeping might help. Warm baths might be soothing too. It really sucks that they can't take any medicine!

LauraLynneC · March 2011

steamy showers for congestion and lots and lots of liquids! Sounds like you've got the right idea!! snuggles, Tylenol, keep track of his fever if he's got one...

IdahoGirl · March 2011

Keep a humidifier in his room - that helps us.

It does suck he caught his first cold I know as a working mom with kids in daycare, if I kept my kids home every time they had a runny nose, I would no longer have a job because I would have taken too many sick days and we would never, ever leave the house in the winter time.

iHeartHimMore · March 2011

Have you tried a humidifier while he's sleeping? Or even just 5-10 minutes before going down in a super steamy bathroom helps to clear out the sinuses. We've also tried elevating the crib mattress under the head and putting Vick's VapoRub on her chest before bed time. Unfortunately, it seems like colds just need to run their course. But doing these things can at least help them be a little more comfortable.

Hang in there, mama!

mishquiche · March 2011

No advice since fortunately we haven't hit this particular milestone yet, but I'm sorry he is feeling so miserable. Ditto PP about the Motrin, though. It seems like it's more effective for DS than Tylenol for teething, so maybe it would help more with a cold as well. I hope he is feeling better soon!

Seattle_JiLLn · March 2011

iHeartHimMore:
Have you tried a humidifier while he's sleeping? Or even just 5-10 minutes before going down in a super steamy bathroom helps to clear out the sinuses. We've also tried elevating the crib mattress under the head and putting Vick's VapoRub on her chest before bed time. Unfortunately, it seems like colds just need to run their course. But doing these things can at least help them be a little more comfortable.
Hang in there, mama!

I was told not to put Vicks on their chests for some reason. I heard to put it on their feet under socks.... I think maybe it's so they don't touch it and then get it in their eyes or something? ANyone else heard this?

JaimeCH · March 2011

Seattle_JiLLn:
iHeartHimMore:
Have you tried a humidifier while he's sleeping? Or even just 5-10 minutes before going down in a super steamy bathroom helps to clear out the sinuses. We've also tried elevating the crib mattress under the head and putting Vick's VapoRub on her chest before bed time. Unfortunately, it seems like colds just need to run their course. But doing these things can at least help them be a little more comfortable.
Hang in there, mama!

I was told not to put Vicks on their chests for some reason. I heard to put it on their feet under socks.... I think maybe it's so they don't touch it and then get it in their eyes or something? ANyone else heard this?

I've heard this too. I've also heard that you shouldn't put Vicks on infants at all.

martini-time · March 2011

IdahoGirl:

Keep a humidifier in his room - that helps us.

It does suck he caught his first cold I know as a working mom with kids in daycare, if I kept my kids home every time they had a runny nose, I would no longer have a job because I would have taken too many sick days and we would never, ever leave the house in the winter time.

It totally understand this, and I think daycare is a lot different than Children's Museum. One is a necessity, while the other is not.

IdahoGirl · March 2011

martini-time:
IdahoGirl:

Keep a humidifier in his room - that helps us.

It does suck he caught his first cold I know as a working mom with kids in daycare, if I kept my kids home every time they had a runny nose, I would no longer have a job because I would have taken too many sick days and we would never, ever leave the house in the winter time.

It totally understand this, and I think daycare is a lot different than Children's Museum. One is a necessity, while the other is not.

You're totally right, I didn't mean for that to sound snarky if it did. I'm feeling guilty because Will has a cold and is at daycare at the moment....and my daycare just called and he's miserable. Colds suck

martini-time · March 2011

IdahoGirl:
martini-time:
IdahoGirl:

Keep a humidifier in his room - that helps us.

It does suck he caught his first cold I know as a working mom with kids in daycare, if I kept my kids home every time they had a runny nose, I would no longer have a job because I would have taken too many sick days and we would never, ever leave the house in the winter time.

It totally understand this, and I think daycare is a lot different than Children's Museum. One is a necessity, while the other is not.

You're totally right, I didn't mean for that to sound snarky if it did. I'm feeling guilty because Will has a cold and is at daycare at the moment....and my daycare just called and he's miserable. Colds suck

No worries. I'm sorry your little guy is feeling bad too. Poor babies. Big hugs to you.

jcyahne · March 2011

JaimeCH:
Seattle_JiLLn:
iHeartHimMore:
Have you tried a humidifier while he's sleeping? Or even just 5-10 minutes before going down in a super steamy bathroom helps to clear out the sinuses. We've also tried elevating the crib mattress under the head and putting Vick's VapoRub on her chest before bed time. Unfortunately, it seems like colds just need to run their course. But doing these things can at least help them be a little more comfortable.
Hang in there, mama!

I was told not to put Vicks on their chests for some reason. I heard to put it on their feet under socks.... I think maybe it's so they don't touch it and then get it in their eyes or something? ANyone else heard this?
I've heard this too. I've also heard that you shouldn't put Vicks on infants at all.

There are mixed reports out there about using Vick's in kids under two. Here is an article from Parenting about it. https://www.parenting.com/blogs/show-and-tell/new-warning-about-vicks-vaporub. Personally I'll do it on the chest under PJs or on their back and I only use the BabyRub version.

Brynnie2010 · March 2011

Keri gave me the great advice of standing in the steam with DD when she was congested. We ran the shower as hot as it would go and then closed the bathroom door so it got all steamy and we just stood in there. I put her in just a onesie since it was so warm. Then when we took her out we put her in warm fuzzy pjs and used the booger getter to suck the snot.

Hope your little guy feels better!

Irishsapphire · March 2011

We use Lil Noses Saline Drops, Boogie Wipes, and Nosefrida. The Boogie Wipes are nice because it makes it easier to wipe off the snot. And Nosefrida works good to suck out the snot. I also have the Vicks Starry Night Cold Mist Humidifier.

McJen715 · March 2011

Baby colds blow!! I'm so sorry your little dude is feeling icky. I bought a Vicks vaporizer thingy at BRU when M got her first cold that I think worked. I too had heard that you can't use Vicks on infants, so we just used the vaporizer, a steamy bathroom, and lots of snuggles. I hope he feels better soon!

iHeartHimMore · March 2011

jcyahne:
JaimeCH:
Seattle_JiLLn:
iHeartHimMore:
Have you tried a humidifier while he's sleeping? Or even just 5-10 minutes before going down in a super steamy bathroom helps to clear out the sinuses. We've also tried elevating the crib mattress under the head and putting Vick's VapoRub on her chest before bed time. Unfortunately, it seems like colds just need to run their course. But doing these things can at least help them be a little more comfortable.
Hang in there, mama!

I was told not to put Vicks on their chests for some reason. I heard to put it on their feet under socks.... I think maybe it's so they don't touch it and then get it in their eyes or something? ANyone else heard this?
I've heard this too. I've also heard that you shouldn't put Vicks on infants at all.
There are mixed reports out there about using Vick's in kids under two. Here is an article from Parenting about it. https://www.parenting.com/blogs/show-and-tell/new-warning-about-vicks-vaporub. Personally I'll do it on the chest under PJs or on their back and I only use the BabyRub version.

Guess i should've been more clear - I only use the Vick's Baby Rub, not regular VapoRub. And I only ever put it on her under zip-up PJs so she can't touch it.

ohyeahdollface · March 2011

We just went through a really bad cold with the little guy I nanny for. Poor thing was so congested he did not even want his bottle, but you could tell he was just so hungry.

His parents were somewhat at a loss, so we googled and tried everything to make him feel better.

Biggest thing that worked that a few people suggested, was to get a humidifier, and to do the steamy bathroom. I would bring his rocking chair in the bathroom, block the bottom of the door, and sit in there with him till the water went cold. It was the only thing that would soothe him.

Good luck hun, hope he feels better soon!

**Maggiepoo** · March 2011

First, you little boy is so cute! Second, colds are awful they make you feel so helpless. I can't add anything different than the other ladies, but I can second the humidifier and steams, we use the nosefreda sucker right after standing in the steamy bathroom for a while and it works really well. Good luck!

kaskade · March 2011

Ugh, I'm sorry. I've had to do the steam shower thing, as sometimes it just seems to work a lot better than just the humidifier alone. K is now sworn enemies with all booger suckers [nosefrida and bulb] so we just wipe her now or tag team to hold her arms and clean her nose...dang kid is strong!

Saline drops do work, but we learned the hard way to keep her upright while we do them. We used to do them as she was laying down, until she aspirated them one night, which led to horrific coughing and then vomiting. Oi. Not making that mistake again.

Elevating the crib has helped us a lot too - we prop the legs up with boards and then put some rolled up towels under the mattress to elevate even more.

And, just to represent for some of those boogery kid moms...K has had an intermittent runny nose and cough for weeks due to RSV and bronchiolitis in January. The doc said that those symptoms will last forever even though the sickness is over, so sometimes I'm the one with a coughing baby out and about. I try to keep her segregated but when you never know if it is going to hit that day, it gets hard. Still sucks when someone gets your kiddo sick though.

IdahoGirl · March 2011

kaskade:

Ugh, I'm K is now sworn enemies with all booger suckers [nosefrida and bulb]

This just made me laugh out loud because we're totally in the same boat.

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