To ask for tips on helping a coughing baby sleep

[JalapenoCheeseOnToast]

DD 10 months has a cold (awaiting covid results as she also had a fever the other day). Every day and night her sleeping gets worse, her nose has unblocked a bit but now she has a cough. I have just put her for a nap at 9:45am (which she would usually sleep until 11/11:30) and she woke after 20 minutes and isn't going back. I'm on day 5 of very little sleep (and it getting less every night) and I'm basically near tears now, especially as I now have the tell tale signs of her cold as well.

Does anyone have any tips for soothing a 10 month old's cough? Google keeps telling me honey but she can't have that!

Please someone help! I don't remember DS being like this under 1 year (so he could have warm milk and honey etc) and I'm at my wits end anticipating another night (and now day) of no sleep.

It’s horrible when they get a nasty cold. Poor little things can’t tell you how they feel or what they need. Frustrating for everyone.

Steam helped soothe DS when he had a cough. We bought a plug in vapour thing but the best was sitting in the bathroom with the shower running and the fan off.

Putting books under the cot mattress at the head end helped too. Raising their head slightly can really help with the cough and stuffy nose.

Calpol plugin thing
Lifting the bed up at one end
Keeping it cool but not cold

You could try a cough syrup for babies as they contain glycerol to coat the throat. Saline spray for the blocked nose

I've got the calpol plug in thing and I wasnt sure about raising the cot as she sleeps all over it so could end up tilted the wrong way! Or have you found that they naturally sleep with their head higher? I'm happy to try anything, I am very desperate!
I'll have a look to see if I can find a baby suitable cough syrup, that might help as well, thank you :)

Unfortunately it looks like we are about to have a bout of very hot weather as well! I'm in a big pickle!

I found that if he was really not well he’d stay in one position much more than his normal baby yoga sleep routine. Always liked to sleep face down arse up usually .

It's horrible when babies get colds as they struggle to sleep. I agree with @NotExactlyHappyToHelp said. Perhaps in the day you could let your DD sleep on you so your DD can get some rest, needs must and all.

I have found some benylin cough medicine for infants so going to try and get that to help as well.

Oh yes, I had DD on me all night the other night, I'll do anything to get her to have a good sleep (although ideally I'd love a bit of sleep too!)

Thank you all for the sympathies and advice!

Dc4 suffered numerous bouts of croup till he was 18 months. I found the glycerol syrup helped, raising the head end of the bed and a humidifier worked very well. What worked the best though was me sleeping in an armchair upright with him asleep on my chest, brilliant for him not so much for me!

Second raising the head, I roll or fold a towel and put it under the mattress in the cot

Vic on soles of feet

Vicks isn't for children under age 2

Humidifier - honestly it was life changing for us. We had prem twins who had bronchiolotis every year and every cough they had went on for weeks but when I got one of these it helped them so much and their coughs were so much easier at night. We had a vicks one

Lifting end of cot up as suggested, also used to boil an electric kettle in the bedroom and steam it up in there!

I second tilting the cot.
My suggestion is dangerous so you have to be very careful.
I put them in the bath and bring the kettle up remove the lid to let the steam fill the bathroom a few times without turning off.

Thanks everyone, I have just administered some benylin infant syrup and I'll raise the cot by popping a towel under one end of the mattress. Hopefully she naps and I can dig out my humidifier that I had when I was pregnant! Fingers crossed!

And worst case tonight I'll have her in with me. DH said he didn't want her getting used to being in our bed but needs must!

Ahhh I feel your pain, my 2 yr old is asthmatic and coughed absolutely loads from the age of about 6 months until about 18 months, whenever it was that we finally persuaded the GP to try her on a preventer inhaler (results of which were nothing short of miraculous). We reduced her dose over the last few weeks tho given how well she'd been over summer - mistake, she caught a cold off me and is now coughing so much again and really disturbing her sleep.

We started using a pillow for her around your DC's age on the advice of the asthma nurse and GP but can't say that I noticed any improvement really. We also had ventolin for her around that age which did seem to help a bit but that was short lived and she was needing loads of it very frequently when she was unwell. Cough medicine seems to help sometimes as well, I can't remember what age you can use that from.

Just a word of warning, menthol type things could potentially make things worse, it's a pretty common allergen. My DD is ok with a bit of snufflebabe on her sleeping bag/PJ top it she's bunged up but she reacts adversely to anything else/stronger. E.g. Calpol plug-ins and menthol drops/crystals in warm water in the room both make it worse.

I second Vick's on soles of feet and then socks. My mum told me about this with DS1 (who is now 9!) and it works!

I also used same method when I had pneumonia a few years back.

And you can buy baby Vick's for the poster who said it wasn't for under 2s. That being said I used full strength on feet and baby Vick's in the chest.

Vaporub on the feet, socks over the top.

I used to raise the head of the cot & have a steaming bowl of boiled water with a spoonful of vicks just behind the cot on the floor so the steam & vapours sort of wafted.
Apart from that - same as others - raise end of cot, plug ins, potentially olbas oil dotted on sleeping bag? Bath before bed.
Good luck!

My baby currently has a cold and is doing exactly the same! Will sleep on me for hours, but gets about 10 minutes in the cot! I’ve found that a mixture of tixylix cough syrup, plus snuffle babe vapour rub on the chest, snuffle babe nasal drops, plus teething granules (as also teething at the mo!), plus sitting in the bathroom for a couple of minutes with the shower running seem to be a magic combination! 🙈 If your little one will drink from a beaker, try getting more fluids down them as well! Fingers crossed for you! X

If you want to try steam in her room, boil a kettle with the lid off so it generates a decent amount of steam - it does help.

You've had some good advice here (except don't put vicks on her she's too young, you can get infant vapo rub instead). Get her to drink plenty of water /milk and just wait it out.
I notice you mentioned your DH, I think it's only fair if you do 1 night each until it's cleared (or half the night each if that works better) so you can both sleep

Snuggle babe or Baby Vicks on chest, back and feet with socks on. Olbas Oil for infants on a muslin under the sheet.

Both of my babies got through a tub of snuggle babe every few weeks.

Phenergan. She will be asleep in minutes. Failing that sit in the dark in her room with a kettle boiling. It will ease the pain in her throat.