baby's first cold

[bessie26]

Hi,

My 3month old DD has her first cold & I wondered if anyone had any advice for me to make her feel better?

She's feeding well (like her mother, it takes alot to stop her wanting to eat , but isn't liking sleeping in her cot because of her snotty nose

When she's upright her nose is nice & clear, but when I lay her down she starts crying within 5 mins & gets all blocked up again.

I've elevated one end of her cot, but doesn't seem to have made her any happier - how much should it be raised?

Would it be ok for her to sleep in her bouncy chair for a couple of nights until she gets a bit better or is that a Bad Thing? (She spent most of last night sleeping on me)

Does Olbas Oil (or similar) do any good? I see they make one specially for children

I've been using those saline drops to clear her nose before feeds - should I try using them more?

I have one of those suction bulb things, but it appears to be next to useless as it failed to even extract a small booger which was almost falling out of her nose!

She had a slight raised temp yesterday (37.5) so I gave her some calpol. Is it worth giving her some of that even when she doesn't have a temp? (Don't like to give meds unless there's a good reason)

TIA

[HensMum]

Poor little thing!
DS's cot gets put up on 2 Argos catalogues. Not sure if they do any good or not! You can get wedge shaped things for babies to sleep on to raise their heads up. Can't remember where I saw them though.
Olbas Oil does the trick for us. We use the normal adult one, which I think is suitable for babies over 3 months but check the label.

[Decena]

Poor thing, I vividly remember my DD1s first cold, she sucked her thumb and got so upset when she couldn't suck it and breathe at the same time!
I used 2 big hardback books under the cot legs. I also used a plug in vapouriser, or you can dissolve a big tablespoon of Vicks in boiling water and put it (carefully) under the cot.
Can you sleep next to her for the next couple of nights? I think that is better than moving her out of her cot in case that disrupts her sleeping pattern. I think babies this small need mum when they are not feeling well and certainly best to give a cuddle when she starts to cry but try not to pick her up if she is just restless in her cot.
My chemist said not to use saline drops as they are not good for the nose.
Good luck and remember it will soon be over.

[bessie26]

eeek, my HV told me to use the saline drops of she got blocked up & it interfered with her feeding (she was snuffly early on anyway), so I've been using them almost every feed since she's had this cold...

We got one of those vaporiser things for the bedroom & have beening using Olbas Oil in the bathroom when she has a bath, and in the nursery where I change & feed her.

Unfortuately the cot is the other side of the room to our bed, so I can't easily sleep next to her. I've been putting her down to sleep in her cot every night, but then moving her inti the chair when she gets blocked up & starts crying... she managed just over an hour last night, so I'm hopeful she's getting better!