6 Month Old Cold & Cough

Try getting the vicks rub and put it on her chest and back and then cover her up. Also you should be able to give her some rose hips tea. I usually water it down no sweeteners added.

Ask your doctor first, but: infant's Tylenol for the fever (you can alternate with Motrin, which will usually help with a cough too since it's an anti-inflammatory and most coughing is caused by inflamed throat tissues), ask the pharmacist for Neo-synephrine drops (to dry up her sinuses, but you can only use them for three days in a row before you cause rebound stuffiness, post-nasal drip is another big cause of coughing), steam and/or a humidifier as you've already been doing, vaporub on her chest (again after the doc okay's it).

And don't worry about her throwing up, as long as she's still nursing, she should stay hydrated enough, even if she is throwing up afterward. Just keep nursing as much as you can. Enough of it should make it into her system to keep her going until she's better.

Best of luck, I know it's tough when they're miserable and there isn't much you can do about it.

This happened to me when my daughter was 3 months. I had her in the Peds office 3 days in a row because she actually became dehydrated and lost weight. They recommended that I stop breastfeeding for at least 24 hours. Have you tried to drink milk when you had a fever and congestion is what they asked me...it makes you feel worse! That made perfect sense to me. They recommended Pedialyte 2 oz every couple of hours. It worked but check with you Peds doc in regard to how many ounces for a 6 month old. Don't forget to pump during that time the baby isn't nursing.

i would use a nebulizer for the coughing. my daughter was coughing and gagging in dec. she ended up having a bad ear infection but the nebulizing helped a lot w/the coughing.

You are doing the best for your baby by breastfeeding her. She will get well soon. You can use a ball suction device to clean out her nose if you want. Af

Saline solution to clear her nose. Use a bulb syringe to remove snot. Prop top legs of crib up on phone books to elevate head and ease breathing. (Or a wedge pillow under her mattress.) Run a cool mist humidifier in her room to relieve the dry, crusty nose. Warm baths in a steamy bathroom will help loosen congestion as well. Hope she's better soon!

Vicks actually says DON NOT USE on infants. Try getting saline nasal spray for kids and spraying her nose 3-4 times a day to help her loosen the mucus that's causing the problems. Also, vicks makes a plug-in with a pad that you could use in any room, more portable than the humidifier. As for the fever, something that I have done with all of my kids, is as long as the fever doesn't seem to bother them, DON"T do anything. Fever is the bodies way of fighting infection. If it gets too high, or she seems uncomfortable then Tylenol and Motrin alternating every 4 hours until it breaks. My daughter has been known to be running around happy as a clam at 102! My boys', as soon as they get hot they want to stop doing everything, like it's gonna get them out of homework, silly boys. If the fever stays around, no matter how high, for more than 5 days, go to the pediatrician

I would sit with her in a bathroom where you've put the shower on hot to produce steam. Try nursing her there, too. I also found that sometimes it was better to nurse her in smaller sessions but more frequently when she was that congested. Sometimes instead of sneezing out the mucous, kids will bring it up as vomit. That may be part of it if she's really bad. If she makes a barking cough, it's croup. Watch for trouble breathing (look up stridor). If she can't breathe well, take her to the doctor or ER ASAP. Likely it's just a bad cold. Poor kiddo. Oh, sometimes being outside in the cold air helps, too, especially if it's croup. Try going out for 10 minutes and see what that does. We've also put pillows UNDER the mattress as others suggested. It helps.

I would call the pediatrician. This can quickly turn into RSV which can get serious very quickly. Especially if her chest is going in when she breathes and she sounds like a barking seal.

I would call your doctor just in case. We thought my 5 month old just had a cold that wouldn't go away, but then it turned out he had a virus and an ear infection.

Unfortunately, there isn't a lot you can do but let it run its course. Humidifier with Vapor stuff, Chest rub (on the chest and feet), saline spray in the nose. You can give her tylenol and motrin (alternating every 4 hours) to make her comfortable and keep the fever under control.

As for the throwing up, as L. as she's having at least 5 wet diapers in a day she's staying hydrated. You could try extra nursing sessions if you want.

And be prepared, this is just the beginning! The first winter is the WORST because they don't have immunitiy built up to the viruses. My son is a May baby and last winter he was sick from October through April with cold after cold after cold. This year, he's only had 1. *knock on wood*

My pediatrician recommended putting a phone book between the crib mattress and springs at the baby's head so she is not laying flat all night and it will help with the drainage. If she has a stuffy nose, I always have used Little Noses saline spray and the suction ball thingy to help them breathe better. Good luck!