3 week old baby having a cold

[fairy]

Hi,

Looking for some advice here, though maybe (probably!) been covered elsewhere.

My 3 week old baby has a cold caught from 3 year old and dh, he is very snuffly and has a snotty nose, what can I do to offer him some relief. I have ordered a Vicks Pure Steam Vaporiser for my sons cough, not sure if it will be any use for baby.

So any ideas? I just want him to be more comfortable and to be able to sleep well.

There is a Johnson's mentholated baby bath that is nice and helps clear the snuffles and I think that you can use it with a young baby. Karvol is also good, but I suspect your baby is a little young. Propping up the head end of his cot/crib/moses basket with a towel or somthing similar was advised to me also. Good Luck!

You can also get what looks like a mini turkey baster to suck the mucus out of the nostrils (sorry to be graphic). Poor babe didn't like it too much but it was very quick & effective. I think it's called a nasal aspirator.

I'm pretty sure you can't use any medication before 3 months, not even the baby rub for chest. Raising the head end may help but you have to add this under the mattress, ie I used to put a telephone directory or towel under the mattress - so they can't get buried face down in anything. I also used a Boots vapouriser with tablets and it did make the room full of menthol vapours which I am sure does help. I still use mine now when my 18 month has a cold. I would say this is the best thing you could use at this age.
Hope all is better for Xmas.

My sister put Vick on her breast when she fed the baby, just above the spot where the baby's nose would go. I used baby vick called snufflebabe. It comes in a tiny pot and lasts for ever.

when my newborn baby had a cold my mum told me to heat some water put some eucalyptus oil in it, hold a cotton hankie over the steam and when the hankie is warm and smelling of that oil put it near the baby so that it can inhale the oil - it worked for my baby although you do need two adults to do this job!

You can certainly use the vaporiser in your baby's room. Add one or two drops of eucalyptus or thyme or lemon, or a combination of these. You can't use many rubs or sprays etc at this age...but if you are breastfeeding you can take echinaea yourself and it will be passed to baby thru your breastmilk! Check the dosage with your pharmacist. You can also put a drop of essential oil like eucalptus on a ball of cotton wool and tuck it under baby's sheet toward the head of the cot/bassinet. Poor little mite, hope you all feel better soon!