Baby absolutely hates getting snot cleared

[August24Mama]

So I'm a FTM and my 10 month old has come down with her first sickness ever, just a cold. She's really struggling at night, but during the day she's in good spirits, just understandably more tired than usual. I've never dealt with her being sick before, and I'm finding it hard giving her the saline spray in the nose and sucking the snots out with the frida sucker thing. I literally have to pin her head down and it makes me feel so so awful, it's over in a few seconds and I give her lots of cuddles after, but I feel like I'm torturing her. It does help a lot in clearing her nose but it still makes me feel awful.

Is there any tips to help baby cope with it better? Or is it just something she's gonna hate no matter what? She's breastfed but I'm not sick myself, would my body still make antibodies to help her even if I'm not sick? I've been sick 4/5 times since she's been born and she's never caught them illnesses off of me.

Why do you have to clear it? I never did that with my children.

I know it sounds gross but I used to just do it quickly with a tissue, cloth or even my fingers. Got it done in a couple of seconds.

She keeps trying to breathe through her nose and gets so frustrated before finally switching to mouth breathing, poor girl seems so confused. It was making her unlatch while nursing to breathe aswell, so unblocking it helps her eat better too. It's awful seeing her sick but at least it's only a cold rather than god forbid something worse

How did you do it with tissue/cloth/fingers? That sounds a lot less invasive than the sucker thing! I've been wiping her nose a lot but I don't want the skin around her nose to get irritated, mine always does when I wipe my nose a lot haha

Just like you would if you were picking your own nose.

I have literally never used a nasal spray on a baby nor a sucker? Just give it a wee squeeze and a wipe for her.

Don't do it if it upsets her then!
(I never did)

I never did this. Have you tried Olbas oil on a tissue near her face but out of reach? Does it matter if she breathes through her mouth?

My finger doesn't fit in her nose 😭

She keeps trying to breathe through her nose and gets frustrated and cries because she can't. It's also interfering with nursing her nose being so blocked :(

I have baby vicks and I've been putting that on her chest. It seems to be helping a bit so hopefully it's enough to clear it on it's own. I hate unblocking her nose manually, as does she.

Do you have to do it then? I never did this with my 3 dc

I never did it, just wiped, and DDs nickname as a baby was snot-goblin because she had lots of colds.

Worst case she needed burping a bit more from mouth breathing while feeding.

I'd just do it to be honest. A few seconds of hating it vs them struggling to breathe- I choose the snot extraction!

Get a calpol plug in from any supermarket. Life saver for my children. Im a breastfeeding specialist and you will be amazed at how your breast milk adapts to babies needs. Those lovely antibodies will come out in force and help baby. Feed feed feed. Hope baby feels better soon 💕

I second the calpol plug in it is absolutely life changing!

Vapour rub on chest or olbas oil on a cloth placed nearby but out of reach.

It's sort of a case of 'for the greater good' in that they don't know it but it makes it much better for them. If the saline spray works there is no better way of getting it up the nose than pinning them down. Definitely second the Calpol plug-in.
But don't worry it just prepares you for things like pinning them down in the 1 year jabs & then the stage of them completely refusing to take Calpol & trying to get it down them 😅

Get a big bottle of saline solution and use a nasal syringe. You basically shoot saline solution up one nostril and it comes out the other. Much more effective and gentle than any other method.

i Had the nose sucker that you suck with your mouth she hated it, I got one of these electric ones and it’s no where near as hard, she often giggles https://www.amazon.co.uk/DEUKNICE-Electric-Aspirator-Rechargeable-Silicone/dp/B0FCFFRPQQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?crid=1Z94OG1CAOS9T&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.dYaSLLRhlHIE7quaHDm2yiZnaauRK_htXvtDoNlrjGkyEd1RWHQNbamUev6LwQLLQV9IkYDMeyvPfZo_IABCsqUnEvhJAAzT0u2IUrt94Uz-nnQkLNzjNKTG_5ZgY0xBRVjSjXVO7Ls3456YoyHmedVSL4tej6QEHIDGUAakg05tpL423K8kZ-KzEdzSRnq38l--Ul1SLulCjkIJtpXveQ.XsoTlLXEZRhYy4JAJ7PDZPmh43WFIeLArqsVZMHAGN0&dib_tag=se&keywords=baby+nasal+aspirator&qid=1751999782&sprefix=baby+nasal%2Caps%2C92&sr=8-4

Like this:

https://youtube.com/shorts/D_UImbj4qmI?si=BDVEWB4emmm3iFOo

Both of mine hated the suckers. Nothing helped in afraid, just pin and get it done quickly!

I wouldn't stick my finger up their nose. Less invasive and more effective than that is to apply pressure from the outside, from the side of the bridge of the nose down to squeeze the snot out of the nostril. Repeat on the other side.

I never used a snot sucker. In extremis I sucked it out myself.

For breastfeeding if you haven't already try laid-back pose or with your baby sitting up on your lap facing you - easier for them with a blocked nose than lying down.

Unfortunately I think she will just always hate it! Luckily once she’s a bit older you won’t really have to do it any more.

My son had neonatal rhinitis and for something fairly benign sounding it was honestly hellish - we were having to do the saline spray and snot sucking multiple times a days for MONTHS or he’d start getting chest retractions. He always hated it, never got used to it, screamed the house down, it felt like I was torturing him and I was besides myself! But once they get a bit bigger it just stops being an issue, thank god.

Use the vapour plug ins in her room at night, and olbus oil on her grow/ bag/ mattress to help clear the air ways. Personally never used the saline etc, just let them clear their own, obviously just wiped nose when needed. Midwife and health visitor told me to squirt breast milk up the nose to help, never actually needed to try it but may be worth trying, breast milk heals everything faster, if they scratch themselves, put breast milk on it etc.

Sorry if it's already been mentioned, but there's a chest rub called Snufflebabe that I've found good - more effective than the plug ins. I also just squeeze the nose with a tissue to help clear it.