my son cant breathe - Infant Care (up to 18 months old) Message Board

gemmalou · 05-10-2007, 05:25 AM

my son will be 5 weeks old tomorrow and he has caught a cold, he'snot too bad when he is awake just grumpy, but as soon as he falls asleep he finds it really difficult to breathe through his snotty nose and wakes again,,he hasnt grasped the concept of breathing through his mouth. so he has had very little sleep which is making him even more grumpy, is there anything i can use on him at 5 weeks old? i was thinking about getting some baby vicks chest rub, any ideas?

dustoffkid · 05-10-2007, 06:03 AM

Do you have a bulb syrige? You can pick one up at the pharmacy; they are invaluable tools for sucking the snot right out of the mouth and nose.

Tinkerbelle1 · 05-10-2007, 06:57 AM

When our son had a cold like that we let him sleep in his bouncy chair all night so that he was propped up. This helped him to breath and allowed him to sleep. I can't tell you how much that helped us. He couldn't sleep or breathe if we had him on his back. Once his cold was better or he was breathing better we put him back in his bassinet. We also used a warm mist humidifier.

mkgbrook · 05-10-2007, 07:31 AM

Dito to sleeping elevated. Also get the nasal asparator and suck out the snot. Once you have sucked out the snot use a saline nasal spray (Ayr and little noses make great childrens brands) to irrigate the sinuses at least four times a day.

Best of luck. It will go away.

Sincerely,
MG

sobannon · 05-10-2007, 10:48 AM

Babies are nose breathers by nature. I agree with saline drops and irrigating out his little nose with an aspirator. I was told by my ped not to use a warm mist humidifier, but to use a cool mist. This is also invaluable.

Good luck.