Congested baby at night

[LittlePink]

ive got an 11 week old ds and ive got a few issues with him:

Firstly he's very refluxy but totally unphased by it. It's more of a problem for me than it is for him. He doesn't cry or arch his back but regularly projectile vomits all over me, himself, the floor, furniture etc.

He chokes at night sometimes which is very scary. As soon as we grab him and pat his back he's fine. I tried to get an apt at the drs and they kept fobbing me off telling me to call back or go to a & e if I was worried. So I took him to hv to get him weighed so I had a recent weight for the Dr and he's putting on loads of weight on 91st percentile and is 15 lb 7 so he's a big boy for 11 wks. Anyway she didn't think it warranted a drs apt and said to keep him upright for 20 mins after a feed and tilt his mattress which is what I've done. It's just becoming unbearable for me because he sicks up most of his feeds resulting in many changes of clothes for both of us. But as I say ds isn't in the slightest bit bothered by it.

Next issue is his nasal congestion at night. I use the saline drops before feeds and the nasal aspirator but he can't breathe properly at night and sounds like he's really struggling.

I'm going to take him to the drs and demand someone see him but in the meantime is there anything I can do or does anyone have any experience or advice?

Thanks

I should have said I'm ebf. Thank you for the advice.

My little boy was like this and it was suggested that he might have a dairy intolerance. As I was EBF, I had to cut out ALL traces of dairy for a minimum of 3-4 weeks. It did improve, but not completely resolve his symptoms. Could be worth a try?

Good luck with the doc. In the meantime, remedies for congestion: a humidifier is great. Ours is from Vicks and can have a menthol insert. Also try rubbing baby vapour rub on chest or feet under nightclothes (ie where they can't get it on their hands and then run in eyes. If he takes a dummy you can get one which contains a few drops of vapour oil so it's literally under his nose. Finally prop up the cot with some books so he's not lying flat.

only suggestion for the choking is to raise the head end of his cot either books under the legs or one of those wedge pillows under the mattress to get him at a better angle.

for the congestion - my dd still has this a lot (I suspect she has asthma but they won't test yet) but the saline drops were rubbish and just made her sick. go into boots of you are in the UK and ask for eucalyptus oil. it comes in a bottle similar to cough medicine and is about £2, put a few drops in warm water on the window ledge and then put a few drops on a muslin and tie it to the cot bars. it will help him sleep and clear the congestion.

He is sick mostly every feed or up to 2 hours afterwards.

He wakes fairly frequently snuffling and crying because he can't breathe. Then I put the drops in his nose and all hell breaks loose and he screams the house down.

Great advice though. Thank you all. Will definitely get some oil or vapour as he's 12 wks on weds and I think they have to be 12 wks for things like that.

I could try the dairy free diet said as I sip my latte

eucalyptus oil you can use from day 1

I ebf and my little one is 19weeks since 6weeks we have been on meds for silent reflux it was a fight as he is also 91-98th centiles and it was argued he was putting on weight therefore not an issue he was snuffly, congested at night and gagging as had tongue tie so couldn't spit the milk out he was puking up. We were on gaviscon and then added in ranitidine and have slowly reduced gaviscon stopping it about 3-4weeks ago n still on ranitidine. I have also been dairy free since he was 8weeks old which helps.

I am lucky as a paediatric nurse and also a maternity night nanny when I worked in hospital reflux was one of my special interests so I could argue my case and just because a baby is gaining weight doesn't mean the reflux isn't an issue and reflux babies feed frequently to relive the acid burn and for comfort and therefore gain weight fine especially those with silent reflux so suffer with burning pain as it comes up n goes back down (silent reflux is reflux with minimal vomitting)

For congestion instead saline use expressed breast milk in a syringe about 1/4-1/5 ml up each nostril, snuffle babe rub on soles feet, crib tilted to 45 degrees using books under head end under the crib feet (never tilt the actual mattress), wet muslin with olbas drops over radiator. Also mum n me range do a snuffle bath stuff which is good.

Mine also has silent reflux and dairy allergy and being congested at night was one of his symptoms. I've been dairy (and soya) free for 6 months now and no end in sight. I miss pizza and macaroni cheese!

Can I ask what humidifiers you have? I'm bamboozled by all the different ones!

Vicks cool mist germ free humidifier. Because someone recommended it and we were too tired to do any research