Baby with Cold.

threemuttleys

My poor little man has got his first cold (theres me being all clever taking him to loads of baby classes!)

He is very snotty, got a cough, and grumpy to go with it. Ive given him some calpol, and am letting him breast feed whenever he wants, is there anything else I can do for him?

Any help much appreciated

ailuro2

Sit with him in a steamy bathroom, make sure it's warm in there too, the steam can help moisten his airways and help soften the mucus ( bleugh!)

Make sure the hot water source is nowhere near your baby, running a shower on hot for a few minutes can steam up the room nicely without leaving a pool of burning hot water lying about.

koalamummy

Try and wedge his bed mattress and pram mattress up a bit too to help him breathe a bit easier when he is trying to sleep. Sorry I am not very good at explaining things but if you fold a towel up and maybe a few muslin squares you can then angle his mattresses so that he is slightly elevated at his end while his back is still completely flat which makes it easier for him to breathe. .

I was advised by hospital to do this constantly for my oldest boy who was very preterm and was ventilated for a good while which resulted in a lot of minor scarring and so excess mucous production which made it seem like he had a constant cold for the first two years of his life. It does really work and is safe to do.

NickyBat

When my boy was baby i used to tie a bib to his cot with a few drops of olbas oil on it to help him breath and i still use the oil now if he or indeed we have a cold but now i put it on a muslin cloth inside his pillow. Also Argos do a great room steamer i bought one a couple of months ago as he had Croup and it was fantastic, stopped the cough straight away.

jetta_wales

I'd agree with elevating one end of his mattress a little we were given that advice too. Also if you have a little bouncy chair or even just a carry car seat then he might nap better in that as he'll be a lot more upright and the mucous that's building up won't all collect in the back of his throat and sinuses.

threemuttleys

he has just gone for a nap (in his bouncy chair!).feel so sorry for him (added fun element is that I also have a cold..joys of motherhood!) he is hating having his nose wiped, but he is still eating well (actually better than usual!)

Thanks for the wedging advice, will do that tonight, and will give him a warm bath later. I have got some Karvol (not the junior version, is that ok?)

andy.m_2

This is a difficult one for sure, I remember being completely paranoid when my Son had his first cold!

In the end we tried:

Kiddies Olbas oil on a muslin square
A small bowl of water on the rad in his room
Sitting with him in the bathroom with the shower running
raising the one end of the mattress, we used a pillow under the mattress to do this

Good luck

NickyBat

awww, its horrible when they are not well, and it doesn't get any easier on you as they grow. My boy has always had asthma (although thankfully seems to be growing out of it now....fingers crossed) and i've lost count of the times i've sat up all night with him when he has had a cold and couldn't breath well.

threemuttleys

doesnt help that his Eczema is flaring too.

jetta_wales

Try the balm tissues for his nose if the whipping is making it sore (never try to clean glasses with them though, the look on my mums face when she realised she'd done this was a picture, creamy smears all over the lenses hahaha). And Avant Magic Cream is brilliant for sore noses and for all sorts of things actually.

pinkshoes

Another vote for sitting him in a steamy bathroom!

I wouldn't give calpol unless he's actually got a high temperature. It really won't help with a cold.