Tips on getting a sniffly baby to sleep

[Janusrock]

DD is 5 months old. Usually feeds to sleep, then wakes up and feeds again a couple of times during the night but goes straight back to sleep.

She has a bit of a cold- doesn't seem too bad. She is ok in herself and just has a runny nose. However the last couple of nights she will not sleep! She will fall asleep but as soon as I transfer her to the Moses basket she wakes up and wants to feed again. I've tried the usual- rocking the Moses basket, white noise, music, dummy but nothing works. Any tips gratefully received. I miss sleep.

My baby struggled to sleep lying flat when he was sniffly because he couldn’t breathe. Propping up the head end of the cot on a few folded towels helped because the fluid could drain away and he could breathe more easily. A steamy shower helped to clear his nose too, and I also used saline nasal drops and a snot sucker to clear his nose so he could breathe.

The above advice is good and I’d add snuffle baby and an open window (so long as it’s not allergy related). Fresh air is much easier to breathe than a stuffy room.

You may want to consider cosleeping if she won’t settle and you’re tired. It may be that she just feels poorly and wants you near.

After a bout of colds we've found the following works pretty well...

Spray of saline spray before bed to help clear any congestion, the snuffle baby stuff rubbed into soles of feet. And if you have the budget, a Vicks vaporiser. At your babies age you won't be able to use the little scented sachet that comes with it, but I pop a few drops of a baby vapour in instead.

Keep an eye of their temperature too, they can get warm pretty quick, so have a stock of capol and neurofen to hand.