3 Effortless Steps to Ensure a Peaceful Night for Your Sick Baby (and Yourself!)
Buggers and kids go hand in hand. From about October to spring, parents experience a long haul of snotty and sickly children. Has Mr. Mucus decided to pay your home a visit, then don’t be too alarmed – mucus is mainly discomfort. However, you will do well to stop him in his tracks. If you don’t, you could be stuck with actual inflammations: ear infections, lung infections, you name it. Here are some things that we find that work in our family.
Saltwater solution
Sadly there’s no fool-proof way to keep germs at bay but in our family we find it beneficial to irrigate our kids’ nasal cavities to prevent buggers from becoming infected, stuck phlegm that makes its way to the lungs. We use a saltwater solution a few times a day but you could even use breast milk (if you’re breastfeeding… otherwise this might be a bit of a stretch!). Make sure not to do this right before a nap because then it will start trickling in their throat and irritate, with a cough as a result.
Is your baby already suffering from a cough, then first remember that the act of coughing is actually functional. I found it reassuring to find out from our pediatrician that it’s your baby’s body working hard to get rid of mucus. So you don’t want to suppress a cough too much. If you’re certain, after a visit with your G.P., that you’re dealing with a run through the mill – but horrid – cold, there are some things you can do to make your baby as comfortable as possible.
Up, up and away
Raising your baby’s bed a little on one side, goes a long way. You can buy fancy parts specifically made for this but my husband and I prefer to put our old college books to good use. My literature course anthologies, for example, spent this past winter under Amelia’s bed.
Steamin’
A cheap and super effective alternative to a humidifier, is putting a soaking wet towel on the heater. Does the trick every time! Give your little one a nice warm bath before bedtime, the steamy bathroom will soothe its lungs. B. and I will time our showers and take our congested little one in the bathroom with us: B. will do this in the morning, I'll take one during the day and then a bath before their bedtime. We also like to put on some baby chest rub for all night relief. Precisely because sleep is so important, we also choose to give our kids some cough syrup for the night (although we try to use any type of medication sparingly).
To be clear, I am NOT a doctor. If I were, I wouldn’t have time to write this post, it’s March people… I’d be swamped in tending to all those sick toddlers. I am not a medical expert. These tricks won’t heal your baby. These are simply things we find help our little ones recover.
I would love to find out your go to remedies for a cold!
