A Very Tired Mommy

The only thing I would suggest is that you use a humidifier. That seems to help my kids when sick and sometimes seems to help shorten the time frame by a few days. Hang in there!

9 years ago I had a NICU boy (3 lbs 14 oz). He got RSV twice. I would bring him in the shower with me, let him sleep in the swing or the bouncy seat, use the johnson & johnsons bath soap that is for little ones with colds, there is also a cream, it is their soothing vapors line. works great, so does the vicks ont he feet. everytime he sleeps, you need to also. Running a humidifier 24-7 will help him and hubby. Lots of clear fluids, if you can get them down him, some tylenol or motrin will help. Have you tried laying down with him to nap? Put a pillow on his other side if it worries you. What about some warm chicken broth in his bottle? Can the teenangers watch him so that you can take a nap- maybe with some ear plugs? Hang in there, the daddies are sometimes worse than the kids.

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When either myself or my husband is sick, my husband sleeps in a different room. This was we don't share the cold. You need to take care of yourself. Nap when your babe naps, but do it in a room that your husband can't bug you. Heart conditions are nothing to mess with, you may have to let your husband take care of himself, even though it is nice to be waited on when your sick. I have done this for my own husband and he has learned that kids come first and if I'm going to stay well, I need sleep also. Good luck.

He could make him rest more or make him take awarm bath.

A.

I swear by infant ibruprofen, just make sure of the dose...
A blunt tip suction bulb to suck the snot, he'll cry alot but he'll breathe better for it. Don't expect a big appitite but hydration is a must....Hang in there, we are coming off a cold our selves....

The only thing I knew how to do when I was in that situation was to nap and sleep with my baby. They always sleep better and longer when they're snuggled up with me. It's only occasional, and I was never comfortable with that when my babies were tiny, but at 9 months old they were big enough that I felt okay with it.

Try a vaporizer in the room where he is, surprisingly it helps. I had a cold while pregnant and couldn't take anything, and found this very effective, also Ocean nasal spray (it is just saline and not habit forming ask your doc) I use it on my 3 month old when she is stuffy (she spits up out her nose and gets stuffed up) it helps moisten the dry or irritated nasal area just lay him on your lap and put one drop in each nostril. I know its a miserable time. I hope you get some sleep!! P.S. a nice warm bath with the J&J night time relaxing soap and a nice lite massage with some warm lotion ( I put it in a glass or sink of hot water for about 10-15 min and it will be nice and warm and realxing for your little one. Then lay down right next to him and see if you both don't fall asleep???

I can relate we are coming off of 32 days from pink eye, strep, ear infections, bronciolitis it all just hit us at one time..

OK ready... YOU must take care of YOU or there will be NO one to take care of everyone else.. here is what I have done..

The crying is horrible I know our baby is 8 months teeth, bronciolitis ear infection second round of antibiotics..
Begin your day with the notion it is going to be long, and you need to maximize every minute you can... here are some crazy things I have done but they have worked

my two older girls are in school 1 full other 1/2 days
Bath time. even cranky babies do well in the bath.. nice and warm, after they have been playing for a period of time.. and jump in with them it is relaxing for you too..
before you begin bath if your dr. has said they can have tylenol to comfort for the pain plan it for about 5 min before bath...
soak in bath for 15-20 min play giggle..
then feed baby well.. and go right to the bed or couch or me I find myself on the floor in front of the fireplace (gate of course) with a pillow.. lay down and ni - ni you will be surprised how that 20min -1 hour can change the entire day...
timing timing timing. also the humidifier works wonders I use Melaleuca oil to help clean the air etc.. a good lotion run down helps too touchy feely start at the shoulders and sooth all the way to his toes.. we always say from the shoulders all the way down to the tooters.. the motion the circulation is awesome..
also.. a walk I know the weather is not helping much.. but it is supposed to be nice put the baby in stroller and get some air Fresh air always exhausts the little ones.... or just sit on a your front porch. If the wind is blowing it is naturally soothing as long as it isn't blowing on baby.. of course.

when all else fails... remember the good old car seat... I have had to put baby it seat.. which he hates... rock back and forth put in the crib so I know there is not a thing that could happen and just go take a shower..
if you can shower and your shower is big enough to have little one in there with you in baby tub the steam is excellent fill their tup put it on the shower floor turn warm shower on.. and let it hit you in the back and the steam from the show can help to clear baby.

My 3 month old son just got over a milder case of RSV right after a horrible head cold. I was ending up staying up with him throughout this time, especially since he was constantly choking on mucus. And he HATED the saline and nasal aspirator!!! I was totally exhausted too! Once we were past the worst of it, I would put him in his bouncer seat during the day with 2 warm-mist vaporizers around him and during the night, I would set up pillows on the couch around me so that I could lay on the couch and get some sleep but I could still hold him on my chest or between me and the back of the couch with a pillow under him in case I needed to lift him up when he coughed. It helped me catch little 30 minute cat naps throughout the night and into the morning. It also kept us away from daddy (who also had the cold and needed sleep or he'd get grumpy!!!). Once daddy was up for the day, he would hold the baby for a couple of hours and play x-box while I slept(even if it was after he came home from work). Usually the baby would just sleep in daddy's arms and I could get a solid block of sleep without worring about the baby. If you are really desperate and okay with the risk, I would even take my son into the dark bedroom, place him in the crook of my arm and hold him tight and place the blankets no higher than my waist and we would sleep that way. You don't sleep very deep, but at least you rest (or if you worry about SIDS with sleeping in the bed, you could always place his bouncer near the side of the bed). The other thing that worked for my little one was a warm shower before bed. He loves being in daddy's arms in the shower and then when I'd take him from daddy, daddy would turn up the heat for his shower and the baby and I would just sit in the bathroom taking in the steam while I dressed him. It seemed to help his breathing and to fall asleep easier. Hope these ideas help!

PS after reading other people's responses, I remembered that Vick's did help, but instead of putting it on the baby, I put it on my chest so he got it, but his sensitive skin didn't get irritated!!!

If he is stuffed up like my little guy was then try baby vicks. It worked wonders! During the day I would put it on the bottoms of his feet and cover them with socks. I would re-apply a couple times a day when it was all absorbed. Then at night I would put it on his feet and his back. Also his chest if he was wearing something that he couldn't get his hands on his chest (I didn't want him rubbing the baby vicks into his eyes). Other than that we kept a humidifer running at least at night and put a couple pillows under his crib mattress to keep him elivated so he wouldn't cough so much and keep waking himself up. He had this cold for 3 weeks and is just starting to get over it. This is the only cold he has ever had other than the one he had 2 days after coming home from the hospital. Good luck Mama. I hope your little one (and your big little one) get better soon!

I have a NICU baby too. Along with 3 others and a husband. You worry even more when your baby has been in NICU.... Do you have any family close? Or any friends that you could trade babysitting with? If you can't sleep with your son, ask a neighbor/ friend to watch him for an hour and then switch with them for an hour break. It's amazing what an hour break can do...And husbands... as much as you love them... definitly turn into bigger "babies" when sick. And it's a whole different stress, especially because you can't find anyone to 'babysit' them to get a break! :)

Oh, I feel so sad for you! We just went through that!! My baby was soo sick for about a week and a half with that awful cold and a fever. Then my husband got it and I got it. It was NOT fun. So I really feel for you. I was absolutely exhausted. I don't have a heart condition, but I'm 5 months pregnant and my baby is 11 months old.....it was rough. We are all better now though.
The only things that I did for my baby were saline drops, motrin (you can give your baby 3/4 tsp of Children's Motrin which works so much better than Tylenol), and I used a humidifier. I also slept on the couch with my baby propped up on my chest. I also propped up his matress in his crib at a 45 degree angle. I also heard that rubbing vicks vaporub on their feet helps. I tried it, maybe it helped. He didn't cough near as much as night, which was great. Good luck to you. It's SO hard when they are little and you can't do anything for them!

Have you tried any of the bath aditives that have pepermint or menthol in them.I think Vicks makes one. My favorite is made by Beauti Control its a detoxifying soak with peppermint. For my girls when they were sick it helped to open up their breathing and relax them enough to get a good nites sleep. Also the patches that Vicks makes with menthol are really nice. The whole family uses them! If you dont like the idea of it on the skin just stick it to the jammies.

Try giving a little tylenol or motrin since he is probably ache just like we all get when we are sick. A warm bath also helps.

Hi S.,
We have had great success with supplements when we are sick. For the boy, try Sambucol for Kids made by Nature's Way. It's an antiviral made from elderberry juice.

For your hubby, try Defense Plus made by Nutribiotic. It really is a great immune system booster.

You can find these products at the health food store or go online to www.vitacost.com. I hope your family feels better soon so that you can get your sleep at home.

My twin girls are also miracle babies and we have found that putting a humidifier in their room helps. We also put baby Vick's vapor rub on their chest when they sound congested. Baby Tylenol seems to work great when they get fevers. One of my girls has had heart surgery and she never needed more than Tylenol. It's a miracle drug. Good luck.

S.

a humidifier by the crib, elevate the mattress, make sure its not an ear infection, get saline drops for his nose and keep his nose suctioned out pretty well. Warm bath or even a hot shower running and you holding your little one with you on your lap while sitting in there (the steam will loosen up the extra stuffiness)and always nap while the baby is napping. Um...lol..the baby wasn't with you while you were napping in the park?