Sleep Tips for During a Cold/ Teething

A pillow works really well under the matress. That is what I had to do for my daughter when her allergies are bothering her.

Try rolling up a towel to prop up his mattress. I do this for my 3 year old daughter. It seems to help her breath better when she is stuffed up.

I would put some Baby Vics on his chest and maybe that would help. It is located by the baby stuff or by the adult Vics.

hey M.. i have been having the same prolems with my 11 month old twins and to cure the stuffy nose at night, i spray saline drops into their noses and suck out everything i can get with an aspirator and then i plug a pediacare waterless vaporizer in a plug in next to thier room, not in their room because it is really really strong, and they sleep awesome all night long. if that doesn'twork i would suggest putting him in a swing or bouncy chair for part of the night by you because their noses get less stuffy when they are upright. about the teething, just give him a cold teether before bed or some orajel(they don't like it much right away) or even just a dose of tylenol. there isn't much more you can do anyway. hope all goes well and everyone starts getting a good night sleep!!!
T.

Hello M.:
I used have trouble with my little man and his colds all the time, where I accually started to sleep with him in my bed with pillows behind my back and him in the crook of my arm, the reason that worked so well I found out during teethin and or cold there systems get all messed up, and so him sleeping in an upword slant helped him breath so what I did to save me from a sore back and lack of sleep put a very thin pillow folded in half and put under his matress so to give his matress a little of a slant Not much just enough to help, and boy did that work, Good Luck. Sam

I know that this is not typical but let your child sleep in a car seat or bouncy chair. Sitting them up helps wih the cough and draining. Or it seemed to help my kids.

If there is any way that you could prop one side of his crib up just a little bit that might help. Make sure you dont put it up too much because he will roll around but just a little might help. At least it helped my son. Good luck! M. S

Hi M.,

Here are a few things that worked for me...
1) Use a humidifier instead of a vaporizer.
2) If he is congested, run the shower with the bathroom door closed and let him breathe in the steam for about 5 minutes.
3) If he has a really dry cough, bundle him up and walk around outside for a couple of minutes or open the freezer door and stand in front of it for a couple of minutes. I know it sounds strange but the moist air really helps.

Good luck, it gets easier!
S.

I feel your pain on this one. I just went through teething, a cold and double ear infection with my 8 month old. I sometimes would have her fall asleep in the bouncy chair and then move her to her bed. I also had some success with putting a couple coffee table books under the head of her crib matress to elevate her head. The best combo really was Baby Tylenol + Baby Orajel + Binky.

Have you tried cleaning out his nose with the suction bulb after the saline drops? My son hated it but it would work and sometimes I would have to repeat it a second time during the night. For the teething, can you give him infant motrin? Your docotor's office will tell you the dosage to give him.

Hang in there - he will sleep for you again soon!

-Jo

M.-
So sorry about the lack of sleep! I've put a small pillow or blanket under the head of the mattress in my girls' crib. I'd heard that was supposed to make it easier for them to breathe. I've also used the baby vapor rub, it's not as strong as the adult stuff and it seems to last a long time. Also, I have heard that regular vapor rub could cause siezures in small kids, but I don't remember where or when I heard that sorry. For the teething, I STRONGLY recommend Hylands Teething Tabs, they're a homeopathic remedy and they work soooo great. (I credit them with the sleep I was able to get this week. My DD actually cut two teeth the other night.) She woke twice-crying and I didn't know she was teething. After I thought about it-I figured I would try the tabs and see if it helped- Back to sleep she went. Good luck- and if nothing helps, just remember this too shall pass-you'll get some sleep again in a week or two. LOL

Try sleeping your child in a bouncy chair or infant carrier to keep him more upright so he can breath easier. Also for teething I gave my daughter teething tablets made by Hyland.

http://www.hylands.com/products/teething.php

It's a homepathic remedy that you can buy in the baby isle at Walgreens. They only cost a few dollars and worked wonderfully!

Things I did for DD was vicks and I had her sleep in her car seat - I just buckle the legs and put it in her crib. Being upright was a really big help for her breathing and she slept much better. At 10 months she still often sleeps like this and sleeps for much longer periods of time. Also Motrain worked much better for my daughter than Tylenol did.

We use a Vicks Vaporizer with the added vicks liquid added on top.
We used a wedge under his mattress for the first 14 months so his matress was alwasy slightly tilted and he slept at an angle every night.
A car seat or an angled mattress are both safe ways for the kids to sleep more upright.
And we just got up more during those times to help him get more comfortable.
Good luck.

I always used tylenol infant drops....and a humidifier. We invested into a larger humidifier about 6 years ago and it has paid itself off over and over again. It was under $30 then. It still works beautifully, and is used whenever my kids have a cough or congestion. Good luck....poor little guy, I hope he feels better soon.

K.

I would do everything you are doing and try a bit of tylenol or motrin to keep the pain off so he and you can sleep. You could also put a pillow at the head of the crib under the matress to keep his head elevated for easier breathing.
Sleep tight!

We're going through this now, too! My 8 month old daughter has the cold and teething going on. We've had the head of her crib propped up with towels under the mattress since she was about 4 months old. Target brand Tylenol works like a dream for her teething pain and we've also discovered that she can breathe so much easier with the Little Colds decongestant. Check with your peditrician about the doses, though.

Hi M. - I hope these tips help you. In the past our pediatrician has recommended allowing our girls to sleep in the infant car seat. We actually set the car seat in their crib so that they were still used to being in that setting. One of our daughters was not comfortable in her carseat, so we adjusted the crib mattress to an angle - with her head at the higher end. It worked really well - because she never got as stuffy.

Good luck!

My mother always used it on me and I've had good results with it on my kids. Vicks Vapor rub. It's an aquired smell, but they have baby vapor rub that has a touch of rosemary in it.....I love that smell, it reminds me of when I was young and my mom would "baby" me when I got sick. I think it's relatively safe to use on a 5 mo. old (I used it on my daughter when she was 3 months old.) Also, I remember when my son had RSV at 2 months old the nurses told me to use blankets under the matress to "prop" one side up so the crib matress was tilted a little. This also helps prevent ear infections I think. Good luck-S.

I always put my kids in thier car seats when they were stuffed up, seemd to work charms and they had very few ear problems. As for the teething use the tablets made by Highland, they sell them at Wallgreens.

Hi M.-
I hated the cold plus teething part of my 3 as well. What my Pediatrician said was to have a Cool Mist Humidifier because the small droplets of water in the area will help the congestion because it opens the nasal passages. Also you could put his crib matress at an angle to where his head is up and his feet are down to the next notch of the crib. This will allow all the crude to go down his throat easier.
For the teething of course baby ambesol and tylenol or motrin for infants.
Hope this helps!
B.

2 things, I apologize if they have been mentioned before, I did not read your responses.

1. add some of the vicks for vaporizers to his humidifier, that will help immensely, and if you don't mind the smell of eucalyptus it won't harm the family.

2. sleep him at a slight incline, I know when I am sick, laying flat only worsens the congestion.

teething on top of the cold makes both more miserable, as you have found out. Keep giving him anbesol or orajel. When I was a baby my mother wet part of a wash cloth then froze it. I chewed on it until it was warm and she gave me a new one when I started fussing. It will make his shirt wet, but you can hinder that with a bib. Tylenol will also help him.

Good Luck

Well as a mother of ten...six still living at home (ages 17 down to 4)...I was overjoyed when I found this bacteria remover 4 years ago so my kids no longer get colds, flu, etc. Nor does my husband get his annual 2 month long bout of bronchitis. It takes a little time to detox the home; but then it sure saves time, energy, money on meds & emergency rooms, etc. It was our air purifier that I couldn't find in a dept. store...had to order it via a distributor down in Mississippi. But it sure works. In the meantime, good old vicks on the chest and or nose helps....I haven't boughten the over the counter meds like Sudafed, etc. for quite awhile. Hope this helps. Hang in there...they do grow up eventually and blessings multiply.

one thing that i and many of my friends do in the winter (cold season) is when our kids have really bad colds, the upright position is easier for them to breathe in, so we give them tylenol (especially for teething issues =) ) and while they are small enough, let them sleep in the infant carriers- or some other "safe" more upright position (could also try putting a pillow under the mattress, etc) i also found the "little remedies" cold meds to work well, but with all meds check with your dr. first =) hope you get some rest (as a last resort, we would sleep sitting up with the kids upright against our chest....)

One thing I started to do with my baby was right before I would give her the "before bedtime bottle" I would rub vicks all over my chest And cuddle with her for a bit before I put her down. Im not sure on the age but they do have baby vicks also. Then when I would put her to bed I would put our boppy pillow under the fitted sheet of her mattress so she could still be in her crib but be sleeping upright. I did the same for my sone when he was younger only i would put him in the carseat and put the carseat in the crib but my daughter does not like the carseat if its not moving. Since he likes his pacifier a friend of mine used to put a small amount of baby oragel on it before she gave it to him.
good luck and I hope your poor little one feels better soon, and I hope your sleep returns soon as well.

My 22 month olds went throught the same thing and still soothe with a paci. It's rough, but eventually it'll be better. I have the humidifier going full strength all night long. It really does help. Also, if possible, elevate one end of his mattress, put a blanket under it. If his head is elevated, it helps to drain and ease his breathing. Call his pedi. Ask about motrin/tylenol to help with the pain of teething. If it really gets bad, run a hot shower and sit in the bathroom with the door closed. The steam makes it easier to breath. \
I hope this helps. There's nothing easy about this age, especailly when they get sick.