Congestion in 5 week old baby- Anything I can do?

[Washersaurus]

DS2 has got a bit of a cold and sounds really snotty and chesty. He is generally OK (not dehydrated) but at night he really struggles to feed and get himself to sleep.

We have tried using a nasal aspirator but it doesn't seem to clear the congestion at all. Is there anything else we can do to make him more comfortable?

You have my sympathies - DD caught a cold at 3 wks and and she was miserable. You could try the following if you haven't already:

1. Saline drops - I was a bit iffy about using this as she was so young but the doc assured me it wouldn't do any harm. Do it just before a feed as it might help him cope with having to breathe through his nose while his mouth is occupied.

2. Doc also recommended using Karvol but I was really iffy about that. I diluted a couple of drops in a pint of water and soaked some flannels in it which I then put on the heater in our room. Not sure if it worked but it's worth a try.

3. If you've got a shower, let it run on really hot and sit in the bathroom with him so the steam can go to work. It's not very environmentally friendly but it does help their little noses start dripping. Hot kettle full of water in the bathroom sink has a similar effect.

I'm not sure if any of this is helpful and I'm pretty sure someone will come along with some more expert type of advice but hope he feels better soon xx

Thanks Cash, I was wondering about using Karvol - I think I actually did use it on a hanky tied to the moses basket when DS1 was a baby thinking about it, although I don't think he was this young.

I think it's okay as long as you're not dropping it liberally all over him! the reason I put it on a wet flannel on the heater was because it was winter so the central heating was on but our room was very dry so I was trying to create the impression of one of those fancy humidifiers at none of the cost

How are you finding the feeding? I found DD's cold completely mucked up breastfeeding as she wouldn't/couldn't latch on because she was mouth-breathing if you're bottle feeding and you don't already warm his bottles, you might want to do that - the warmness of the liquid might just make him feed a bit more comfortable...

Another vote for the saline drops they used to really help dd.

I have the saline drops on stand-by. I am bf and DS seems ok in the day, but he really struggles to get his latch right when feeding at night, when his congestion is worse - it is really sad