Nursing with stuffy nose

Well, it's finally happened: the boys got their first cold. Part of me is really proud/happy that they've been illness-free for 11 months (yay, breastfeeding!), and part of me wonders why this had to happen over the 4th of July holiday. We actually had to leave the cottage early after the projectile vomiting started, and none of us has slept in 5 days. :grr:

Nate has gotten it much worse than Jack, and the poor little tyke can't breathe through his nose. Consequently, he's finding it almost impossible to breastfeed. He'll take a few sucks, break the latch, gasp for breath, then relatch. After a few minutes, he's just worn out and done with the whole process. We've been giving him Pedialyte to rehydrate him since he's been vomiting so much, so I'm not as worried about hydration. But this is the baby who is not even on the growth chart, so I'm trying to get calories in the boy!

He's throwing up on solids, so formula or breastmilk is about all he can tolerate (and sometimes not even that). The nanny can bottle-feed him formula, but I'd like to nurse him for comfort and because he won't take a bottle from me!

So for all of you who have nursed sick kids: How do you do it when they can't breathe?!

 

Try sitting in a bathroom with the shower running on hot to get the benefits of a steam bath. That should help clear out the nasel passages some. Humidfiers help. Vicks on chest. Nurse with him in as much as an upright position as possible.
Let me tell you though what I had to do. Evan was a good breastfeeder until he got a cold. With the twins in preschool, they were bringing home A LOT of germs so Evan was sick quite a bit. He refused bottles. So, when he had a cold, he would also refuse to nurse. I had to syringe feed him my milk. It was slow, but it worked. It was just sooo important to get that precious liquid gold into him.
I hope they feels better soon!!! When my twins were sick with the flu at 6 months, the nurse I talked to said that if you can get breastmilk in them that is great, don't do the pedialyte. (that stuff doesn't taste good anyway) BM is much better for them if they can keep it down.

Good luck! :hug: I hope you are getting some relief too!!!

 

Running a humidifier in the room at night.
Vicks baby rub on their chest and soles of thier feet.
they also sell those vicks plug ins for the wall
Slightly elevating the crib mattress by putting something under the mattress so they sleep at an incline
Taking the baby in the bathroom anytime you (or anyone else) showers so they can soak up the steam
a nice warm bath for the baby and then the good old booger sucker to get all that junk out of their nose
Another thing (though you should check with your pedi) is using benadryl. Dr. Sears has dosage for young babies like yours and we've had great results with using it as an anthistimine to dry up goop.
Nurse in an upright position

Best of luck and I hope the cold goes away soon!

 

Oh yuck! So sorry!

The steamy shower worked great for us. Also saline drops. Be careful how much you use the bulb syringe as if you overuse it you can irritate the membranes and make matters worse. Also, i was under the impression you shouldn't use vicks on infants' chests but I might be wrong. You might want to check with your peri to be sure.

Good luck! My teeny guys are just now getting over the crud..it was NOT fun.

Eve

 

We used a humidifier in their room, a vicks plug in (only because we got a bunch in a gift basket at our shower) for a few hours when they first went to bed to get the room nice and smelly , and saline drops. Mine HATE the bulb syringe so I gave lots of nice warm baths in a steamy bathroom and used a wet wash cloth to wipe/squeeze out what I could. The saline worked wonders, too. I hope they get better soon!!

 

Elizabeth got her first cold when she was a month old and would barely nurse. We elevated her crib, gave her saline drops in her nose and used a cool mist humidifier. It also helped to nurse her in a more upright position. I hope they feel better soon!

 

Thanks for all the advice and well-wishes! The boys are feeling much better, but still very stuffy. Nate has problems nursing upright (he keeps putting his head down and burying his nose in my boob), so I'm just giving him lots of time and letting him latch and unlatch to take breathers as he needs to.

It sucks that you can't give them any decongestants since they hate the bulb syringe (or "snot sucker" as my DH calls it). The only thing they like about it is they can grab the business end and bop their brother on the head with the bulb. :lol:

I'll have to pick up some Vick's at the store on the way home from work and try that out.

Now if only I can convince Jack that having a cough is not the end of the world and doesn't require sleeping in our bed from 4am onward....