My three month old isn't well

[loops02]

Hi, my three month old baby won't settle when we put him down in his Moses basket, or even his swing (which he absolutely loves), but unfortunately he's feeling unwell and his temperature is staying high because of our own body heat, along with the fact it is a bit of a warm day today. Me and my partner have tried to keep the room as cool as we possibly can by having our fan on but we don't wanna keep our baby in front of the fan either because otherwise he will get too cold and I'm just getting worried about how to cool him down while keeping him settled, as his crying is making him hot as well.

Does anyone have any advice please? We have already accepted we will more than likely be up all night with him but worried about him getting too hot or staying really hot because of our body temperatures, but doesn't want either one of us to put him down in his swing or Moses basket and I'm just getting really worried.

Thank you

What’s his temperature? Have you given Calpol? Damp flannel also works well to reduce temperature (if he’s overheated rather than fever iyswim)

His temperature keeps fluctuating but it's not exceeding 38 degrees. We have given him calpol during the day and gave him 3month plus nurofen just over an hour ago but it's not really xoming down any lower than 37

37.0 is a normal temperature…

38.0 and above is considered fever.

I've looked on the NHS website and it says that I don't need to call 111 until it goes over 39 degrees however it's not getting any higher than 38 degrees so I'm just unsure as what to do tbh

Cold flannel on the forehand and back of the neck. Offer plenty of feeds to keep baby hydrated. 37 is normal, 38 isn’t that high. Hopefully should come down soon, fevers need to be sweat out.

As a pp says, 37 is normal and 38 is a very low grade fever.

It's okay to have a fan on in the room, just don't direct it at your baby and please do NOT sponge/flannel a feverish child.

Are there any signs of illness apart from a slightly raised fever? Any cold or cough? Pulling at ears? Changes to nappies? Are they taking milk normally? Weeing? Normal bowel movements?

I'd try and keep an eye overnight, plenty of fluids and tlc, Calpol if they're in pain or unsettled and hope it's teething or a virus. Any dehydration, unusual crying, mottled skin, breathing changes and so on, I'd want a second opinion, but a bit warm and clingy wouldn't worry me just yet if everything else is okay.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/fever-in-children/

do not undress your child or sponge them down to cool them – a high temperature is a natural and healthy response to infection

Thanks for sharing this PP I’ve learned something new!

Other than the fact his nappies aren't getting as wet as usual, he has not got any other symptoms of being unwell. He is still peeing lots (just not as much as usual)

He hasn't got any rashes or anything wrong with his skin as we have been keeping a close eye out for that.

Just worried that our body heat isn't helping him, as we are quite hot where it's still quite warm where we are, but he won't settle anywhere else other than on one of our chests.

We have put him in a short sleeve vest to try and help however I'm unsure what else I can do to help cool him down a little bit more even to get it to around 37.5

What normally happens on these threads is you get a mixture of people, including health professionals giving advice, and some then saying that the advice is wrong etc. so it can be difficult to work out what to do for the best. I agree with all posters so far, I've had 4 kids and a cool flannel and calpol often works, and if they then have a sleep / seem to settle and have been taking milk then you can re-group in the morning. But if not, then you might need to up the ante. I have had one of mine (4th) have a febrile convulsion aged around 16 months, we could not get his temperature down and we were just about to go into A & E when a mix of calpol and flannels worked and he fell asleep, right as rain in the morning. Be prepared for a long night (sorry) and if things do not improve, a trip in. Temps look OK, but if continued distress, then don't hesitate. Wishing you some good luck xx

If you have a muslin OP you can try laying it between you and baby when you’re skin to skin to stop him getting sweaty but not add to his body temperature.

A fever in and of itself, as quoted above from NHS guidelines, is not a bad thing. It's the body working hard to fight something and the fever sounds fairly mild.

Please don't start worrying about febrile seizures. If you do want to read about them, stick with the NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/febrile-seizures/ Note that you can't prevent them and you should not sponge/flannel a child with this aim (you could make one more likely this way in fact). They're unlikely to happen and whilst frightening, not usually serious.

I didn't think of that, as was worried it would increase his temperature but thank you, I will give it a try. X

Thank you everyone for your help and advice I've tried a couple things to help calm him down and cool him down as well and it seems to have helped 🤞🏻

Your advice has helped me and my partner not to worry too much, as though we are not naive, this is still a whole new experience for us.

Thank you 🫶🏻