Congestion

It happens. All babies have it. Little tubes get clogged up quickly. Then you can add snot to the list of things smeared all over your shoulder making you look even more like a mess than you did before in addition to carrying around a sick snotty looking baby. Just FYI- when the sinuses get clogged, mucus starts coming out the path of least resistance- this leads to goopy eyes, noses, coughs and can lead to ear infections.

Nasal Saline-

Spray spray spray. We sprayed the baby after every diaper change. Then we heard to pull the baby up by their feet and hold them upside down for a beat to let that saline run into their sinuses. We did it. It kind of helped.

Humidifier-

Cold humidifiers are better for nasal constriction- thus opening the passageways and letting the snot drain better.

Shower-

Others have sat in the bathroom with the shower running hot water to create hot steam and said that this helped the congestion. Didn't try it myself because it was the general consensus that it was a VERY short term solution. Might particularly help with working out coughs.

Vicks Vapor Rub-

I read several places that putting Vicks on the babies feet before bed and then putting socks over it helps bedtime congestion. I generally don’t believe in Vicks so I didn’t try it.

Water-

We gave some water out of a bottle to the baby when he would get coughing pretty good and that would ease the cough a bit.

Wedge in the crib-

You can buy 30 degree crib wedges to go under the bottom sheet relatively inexpensively at baby stores. I highly recommend this one. It did make a difference. If you think about the physiology of the situation it makes sense.

Lots of back pats and kisses-

Babies don’t know what to do with snot so it is very confusing and frustrating to them. They need reassurance.

Benadryl and Bromfed Cycle-

Our pediatrician recommended we do 6 hour cycles of Benadryl and Bromfed (prescription- of course you would never want to give either of these without consulting your pediatrician). We would give Bromfed in the morning, Benadryl 6 hours later, and then Bromfed before bed. We would do this for ONLY 3 days and it would usually clear the baby up so he had a fresh start on combating the snots.

After all else failed…

We actually went ahead and started our son on allergy medicine (at the recommendation of his pediatrician) when he was 7 months old. He just never got cleared up and stayed cleared up without being on Benadryl and/or Bromfed. The concern was that the snots would build up and push into the ears, lungs etc and cause infections. So we surrendered.