Snot nose disrupting sleep of baby

[CheshireDing]

PFB is 16 weeks old and I wondering if this is normal/I could do anything to improve it.

Since about 6 weeks she has had a snotty nose, GP said they can't do anything about it due to her age.

She has magazines under her basket at night, a water spa on in the bedroom with Olbas Oil in, a snot sucker out, a saline spray and baby snuffle rub.

I am sick of it, it stops her getting back to sleep when she wakes around 3/4am (because all the snot has collected as she lay down). Every morning she sits in her chair in the bathroom while I shower for the steam.

I feel like nobody cares, she is rubbing her nose so it's clearly irritating and she would sleep if it wasn't for the snot she sneezes out every morning.

I have wondered if she is allergic but the basket blankets have been washed and although she sometimes rubs her nose in the day she seems to be able to sleep because she has been upright.

I am so hacked off with rubbish sleep for tge second half of the night unless she sleeps on my chest.

Try changing your detergent? Or not using detergent at all - wash in plain water.

Does the snot sucker / saline spray not help in the middle of the night?

I find the karvol plug ins really helpful

My DD is exactly the same, unfortunately I don't have a solution as we're still searching for one! Just wanted to post to let you know you're not the only one suffering. I feel your pain as it's so frustrating as her sleep would be really good if it wasn't for the snot! We find the saline drops help in the middle of the night if she can't get back to sleep, but haven't found anything to actually solve the problem. Will be watching this with interest to see if anyone has any wise words...

Golden forgot to add to the list that we already have the bloody plug in too!! Honestly I feel like such a consumer of baby snot stuff.

TBH I felt like the spa thing helped initially but now I feel like all it's doing is leaving the en suite walls streaky.

Bushy the snot sucker is pointless (and makes me want to barf), the saline seems to "sort of" clear her nose but not enough for her to sneeze - which is when she releases a really big blob of snot and seems clearer. Her clothes are washed in those Baby Bio Fairy Tablets - do you think she could have become allergic over time to them?

It's draining isn't it Conkers? and I feel so bad for her because then I get knackered and she cries and it's not her fault :(

As she didn't used to rub her nose when she was initially snotty I am not clear whether it's just age that means she has got better at being aware of her itchy nose or because she has become allergic to something and that's why she has started rubbing it

Sooo draining and as you say, it must be horrible for them as they do actually want to sleep, but can't! We're the same as you in that we've got all the gear to try and help, not sure if anything is really working though.

How is your DD during the day, Cheshire? Mine doesn't suffer nearly as much with it and am not sure if that's because she's not laying down for such a long period or because she might be allergic to something in her cot! My GP dismissed allergies as she's too young apparently (should still have maternal immunity) but am not sure this is the case. We also use fairy for washing her stuff in, so might see if there's something else we can try and give that a go.

One other thing is that someone suggested seeing if she slept better on her side (can't remember why this would help though) and when it all got too much and we brought her in with us last night, she promptly rolled on to her side and slept really well! So might see if we can put her down like that tonight to see how she gets on. She can't roll at the mo though, so might have to prop her up with some rolled up towels or something in case she gets stuck.

Have you tried wedging the cot/basket so her head is slightly higher than her feet? This helps a lot when DS is snotty (almost constantly!)

Yes we do put magazines under her basket to elevate the head end Grumpla.

Interesting what your GP said about allergies then Conkers, although I too am not totally convinced as sometimes she looks like she has red eyelids.

She mostly seems much better in the daytime (she still sounds snotty but not as much and it doesn't seem to bother her in the day). That's why I presumed it was the snot collecting over a few hours in the night, hence why she can't sleep for the second half of the night - it has all built up in her nose whilst lying down. She does have a bit of a sleep in the day in her basket too. The only other thing I can think is that she is allergic to something in our bedroom.

We are completing our house sale and purchase on Tuesday though and getting a carpet cleaning chap in on Thursday so it will be interesting to see if after that she is still the same in the new house.

Can't imagine how I will feel if it goes on until she is old enough to blow her nose (whatever age that is) :(

Might try the washing in water only for now.

I need help to! My DS has been the same since birth and is currently 6 weeks. 3/4am onwards and he can't settle due to congestion. I have tried everything as well and have stopped saline and snot sucker as his nose lining was becoming irritated. The only way he settles is if I put him on his front and then I'm terrified about cot death so I lie there next to him listening to him breathe. Dr reckons he's allergic to the dog, but surely he can't have been allergic from day 1? The dog never comes upstairs and I sent her away for 10 days to my MIL and it made no difference. I've been to see a cranial osteopath and he rekons he might be able to help if the problem is mechanical. I've got my 2nd session on monday so I'll let you know if it helps.

Oooh yes please do keep us posted Scooby I have heard good things about Cranial Osteopathy for other things in the past.

DD in always happier when lying on my chest but I don't know if that's just because she isa bit of a cling on baby.

We have a dog and a cat but I would have thought they would be more likely to be allergic to a cat, rather than a dog. Plus that's not what Conkers GP said so I think none of them know. Mine just told me to buy the steamer.

Conkers and Scooby are you babies bf? Mine is and I thought they would still get protection from that.

Cheshire- it was because DS settled so well on my chest that I discoverers he liked being on his front. I've also tried cutting down on diary but that doesn't seem to make a difference. Yes I'm BFing. DS is feeding about 3 times a night which is a whole other issue! In other words, I'm not getting much sleep!

Dairy not diary!

Hi Scooby, sorry to hear you're suffering too! Cheshire, yes we're BFing too, as you say, I thought one of the benefits of that is no colds/coughs etc!

Interesting you say that about the cranial osteopath, Scooby - we're already seeing one for problems with DD neck, but will mention this to him next time we see him to see if he can offer some help. Typically enough, we're now not seeing him until mid-feb, after seeing him weekly for a couple of months! Will post if anything significant happens. He did manage to stop her hiccuping in the middle of a session once, so who knows!

I discovered last night that raising the end of the bed does help - for some reason the bed was flat when we put her down and when she woke for a feed at midnight she was already v congested, similar to how she normally is later on at night, so that's one thing worth doing!

Hi folks sorry you're suffering! Snot is a right PITA... I don't have a good solution for you - I use the rub, and put towels under her mattress but I don't think they do much. What I will say is that it does get better with time. DD (10mo - I don't mean to imply you will have to wait 6 months!) now naps through colds even if she sneezes; when she was little she'd often wake after 20mins. When she's really bad she still sleeps on me but now colds are the least of my worries! I don't know whether the improvement with age is partly because she now sleeps on her tummy or just because she's older. BTW if your LO is sleeping through til 3/4 at 16 weeks she is doing amazingly well!