Help my 5 week old has the cold!

[1sttimemom]

My 5 week old baby seems to have a cold. She is coughing, sneezing, watery eyes, cranky, breathing heavy, runny nose...However she doesn't have a temp. I'm concerned because she isn't eating well..she pulls away from breast often as she has breathing problems due to stuffed up nose. She also wants to sleep A LOT-will go 4+ hrs if I let her. She's just not herself and I'm not getting any sleep as I'm afraid she will choke during the night due to her stuffed nose.

I havn't called the doctor office as it is now closed and will remain closed until Tuesday (another 4 days). What should I do? I try to keep her nose clear with tissues. I try to make her drink breast milk and let her sleep often. She also has reflux very bad. She is still giving many wet diapers and I don't think there is anything on her lungs. Should I take her into a walkin clinic? How long does a cold normally last for newborns? I'm so upset that she got a cold...I'm breast feeding and we don't go out very often, plus it's summer--How did she get a cold already? I feel like I'm not doing my job protecting her. And it's so hard to see her struggle...I'm so worried that she's not getting enough to eat as she has a hard time feeding now due to the stuffed nose.

She has thrown up a few times but it's not forced. However she coughs and sometimes starts to choke.

PLEASE HELP...WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

 

[MummytoOscar]

Hey there!

Oscar had a cold when he was just a few weeks old but no temp with it. There were a few things that we did to help.

We raised Oscar's moses basket at the 'head' end so that he was not laying flat on his back all the time this helped clear his nose and was actually quite effective! Also just a drop of Olbas oil on a tissue under the mattress, tho 5 weeks may be a lil young for Olbas oil.

If the nose is stuffy the hv told us that you can very lightly massage the top of the nose and that will release some of the goo as sticking things like tissue ect up the nose just pushes it further back, you can put a drop of saline in the nose before you massage too, but was told not to do this regularly.

Hope this helps!

 

[marley2580]

Feed her in the bathroom while the shower's running, the steam should help.

Taken from www.kellymom.com
If baby has a cold and is congested, it can make breastfeeding difficult. However, it is almost always easier for a sick baby to nurse than to take a bottle. If your baby has a stuffy nose and is having a hard time breathing and nursing at the same time, try the following:

Keep baby as upright as possible while nursing. At night, try propping up on lots of pillows and nursing/sleeping semi-upright. Also try the Australian position (mom is "down under") - in this position, mom is lying on her back and baby is on top (facing down), tummy to tummy with mom.
The best thing you can do to help baby's illness end quickly is to nurse often - that way she gets lots of the antibodies that your body is making to help her fight off the illness. Frequent nursing also helps to ensure that baby is getting plenty of milk (congested babies often nurse for shorter times since it's hard to breathe and nurse at the same time).
Use saline drops (or breastmilk) & a rubber suction bulb to clear baby's nose before nursing (if baby won't tolerate the bulb syringe, then the saline drops/breastmilk alone should still help).
Put baby on your knees, face up and tilt your knees a little downhill (so baby's head is angled away from you, toward the floor).
Put 2-3 drops of saline in each nostril and let it sit for a minute or so.
To suction the mucus out, squeeze the bulb part of the syringe first, gently stick the rubber tip into one nostril, then slowly release the bulb.
If baby is really congested, you may have to do this several times a day. Do it BEFORE baby nurses; if you do it afterwards your baby may spit up everything she's eaten because syringing can stimulate the gag reflex.
To prepare saline drops at home, dissolve one teaspoon of salt in two cups of warm water.
Run a vaporizer or humidifier, preferably in a small closed room.
Boil a pot of water (some moms use small crock pots/potpourri pots), remove from the stove and add a few drops of essential oil (for example, eucalyptus, sage or balsam), and let the scent permeate the air. This may help relieve some head congestion.
Do NOT apply products containing peppermint oil, camphor or menthol on the face (especially in the nose) or chest of a baby or young child. There have been cases where the direct application of menthol or camphor products (for example, Vicks VapoRub&#8482 to baby's skin resulted in severe breathing difficulties or liver problems (see note from Tom Hale, Camphor Hepatoxicity, Camphor Monograph and Menthol Toxicology).
Nurse in a steamy bathroom. To pump up the steam, run a really hot shower and set a chair outside the shower for nursing.
If nothing else is helping, you might talk to baby's doctor about trying a decongestant. However, there is no evidence that over-the-counter cold meds actually benefit children younger than five years old. There are several well controlled studies where there has been no difference shown between children given medication and those who have not (though children given cold medication sometimes sleep a bit better because antihistamines are sedatives).
Sometimes moms are advised to limit or discontinue breastfeeding because milk increases mucus production. This is not good advice for two reasons:

You are not a cow and your milk is not a dairy product. So even if dairy is a problem, your milk would not be.
In addition, there is no scientific evidence that cow's milk results in the production of more mucus unless you are allergic to dairy products. See this page for more info.

 

[KarenLV]

Saltwater spray for clogged noses can be bought at pharmacy.Once the nose is open,she will eat.

 

[ColtonsMom]

You can get some nonmedicated saline drops. Two drops in each nostril, wait about a minute, and suck it out. Do this before each feeding, is what I was told by Colton's pediatrician.
Colton was sick for over half of the first two months of his life. It was because my OH's mom refused to smoke outside. He ended up getting bronchitis and so we moved out-he hasn't been sick since.
But when he was sick thats all we could do is use the saline drops and suck it out as he was so young. You really just have to try and make them as comfortable as possible and wait it out.
Just watch for the fever-if he starts to get a fever over 101F then I would take him to the clinic.

 

[KarenLV]

You can get some nonmedicated saline drops. Two drops in each nostril, wait about a minute, and suck it out. Do this before each feeding, is what I was told by Colton's pediatrician.
Colton was sick for over half of the first two months of his life. It was because my OH's mom refused to smoke outside. He ended up getting bronchitis and so we moved out-he hasn't been sick since.
But when he was sick thats all we could do is use the saline drops and suck it out as he was so young. You really just have to try and make them as comfortable as possible and wait it out.
Just watch for the fever-if he starts to get a fever over 101F then I would take him to the clinic.

Huh? What kind of woman is your MIL?! She loves the ciggies more than her grandchild? Good that you moved!

 

[marley2580]

You don't need the saline - a couple of drops of breastmilk do the same job.

 

[cnewport]

they pretend to care and buy you lots of gifts but me and baby could really have done without the last thing she gave us! my son was 3 weeks old and she invited us over for dinner didnt tell us she had a really nasty cold untill we got there! we agreed that she wouldnt hold him because she was sick but just before we left she coughed into her hand and using the same hand tickle his cheek! i was not impressed...3 weeks later were both still ill.
poor little lad hes coughing and spluttering and wants to feed every hour because he is thirsty and unhappy the doctor said to just let him have the breast whenever he asks but its exhausting
does steam really help? will try that today!