Is there ANYTHING I can give my 9 MO for cough?

So, Olivia had her 9-mo checkup at the pedi yesterday, and she had been congested for the past few days (pretty sure it's teething-induced), so i had him listen to her lungs and of course he couldn't hear anything, looked at me like I was nuts, but if he could only hear her at night when she's trying to sleep. She sleeps really good until about 12:30 am, then the constant phlegmy, gasping coughing starts and pretty much goes on for the rest of the night. I know all the decongestants and stuff have been declared unsafe for ones that little especially, but is there anything at all I could give her just a tiny dose of that would quiet that cough at night, and not make her bounce of the walls or knock her goofy? All the pedi suggested was a vaporizor, which IMO sometimes makes the coughing even worse.

Her daytime schedule has been sheer h*ll since she hasn't been sleeping much past 12:30 am. Any suggestions?

 

Cough medication are not safe for infants or toddlers. We've had some success with a cool-mist vapourizer (we have a warm mist one too, but the cool mist one seems better for a dry cough). Also, elevating the head a little with a pillow helps. I keep a sippy/bottle handy too for those bad coughing fits that actually wake them up - I go in and offer a drink.

It's hard to hear your kids coughing, I know.

 

QUOTE(CHJH @ Jun 17 2009, 01:07 PM) [snapback]1358089[/snapback]
Cough medication are not safe for infants or toddlers. We've had some success with a cool-mist vapourizer (we have a warm mist one too, but the cool mist one seems better for a dry cough). Also, elevating the head a little with a pillow helps. I keep a sippy/bottle handy too for those bad coughing fits that actually wake them up - I go in and offer a drink.

It's hard to hear your kids coughing, I know.


We have a cool mist humidifier too -- and we did elevate their crib mattresses with a pillow under the area where their head is...although by the time they wake up in the morning they've rolled around so much that their head isn't there anymore. GL.

 

:hug: Sorry she is up alot at night. That is no fun. Try the cool mist humidifier and you can also do a steamy bathroom for 20 minutes before bedtime and see if that helps. If it continues I would call the Ped again.

 

i also recommend the steamy bathroom. when our guys had colds during the winter i would close up the bathroom and run the shower until it got good and steamy. our pedi recommended that we actually get into the shower with them but i was always too scared of trying to hold a slippery wet baby! so we just sat on the potty lid and breathed steam for a few minutes.

 

QUOTE(dezmitch @ Jun 17 2009, 03:18 PM) [snapback]1358340[/snapback]
We have a cool mist humidifier too -- and we did elevate their crib mattresses with a pillow under the area where their head is...although by the time they wake up in the morning they've rolled around so much that their head isn't there anymore. GL.


You can put the pillow under the mattress so the whole thing is slight elevated.

 

benadryl. the active ingredient, dihphenhydramine helps with coughs and it is the ONLY thing safe for kids under 2.

 

Try rubbing on some baby Vicks Rub on the bottom of their feet. Something about putting it on there keeps them from coughing. It helped my ds get through a cold last year.

Along with the cool mist humidifier, try adding some Eucalyptus oil to the water. Just a few drops. It will help with congestion both nasal and chest.

I agree with the steamy bathroom before bed. It's what helped us get through our ds having croup. We do this if he has an especially bad cold and is congested. We will be doing the same this next winter with the twins when they get colds.

You can get Eucalyptus oil at a natural foods store or Whole Foods if you have one near you. Online stores will have it too.

 

We were told benadryl too! It DOES work and my mom even gave it to us as kids!!!