Feeding to sleep while 8 month old has a cold

[Muriel84]

Hi, does anyone have any advice on feeding to sleep while my baby has a cold? I’m so tired I can barely type. 8 month old, terrible sleeper but we get by with Co-sleeping, side car cot etc. Has had a cold for 5 nights now and he is just. Not. Sleeping. We have calpol plug in, have tried steam etc. He’s currently asleep in the pram having been mainly awake since 3am. He’s getting hysterical trying to feed to sleep cos he can’t breathe and suckle and I just don’t know what to do. I’ve tried putting him on his tum and rubbing his back which occasionally works. Any other attempts to settle him distress him more.

On a good night when he’s well 2hour stretches are the most we get. At the moment when he does get to sleep he’s doing 30-60mins at a time and then needing settling again. I love feeding to sleep but don’t know how to handle this situation. Weirdly he didn’t want to feed to sleep until he was about 5 months so he was able to settle with other techniques when he was smaller.

Have you tried the saline drops? Pop them up the nose? I was given some bubble bath from asda it's a vapour one and apparently a life saver when lo has a cold 🤷🏼‍♀️ I couldn't tell you if it worked or not, as touching wood my LO hasnt had a cold yet x

Firstly, just accept sleep will be broken while baby is poorly. It's just short term, not forever.

Try feeding with baby as upright as possible. Sorry to be gross but this helps the snot drain away from his nose while feeding. Similarly try to raise the head end of his sleep surface, if this can be done safely.

If he's sleeping better in the pram (with the help of movement) you could consider bringing the pram next yo your bed and using for overnight sleep for a few nights.

Yep to trying to keep him a bit more upright. You can get a thing at the pharmacy to suck snot out of their nostrils, like a sort of syringe with a Squeezy rubber bulb to create a vacuum. They’re a bit shit but better than nothing.

Do you have other children to look after? If not then in the day tomorrow I’d try and get someone to take baby out for a pram/sling walk, well wrapped up and freshly fed and dosed with calpol, while you just lie down in silence doing absolutely nothing for half an hour (or however long baby can comfortably go away from a boob when feeling crummy). Don’t even pressure yourself to have a sleep. Just do nothing. It’s amazing how restorative it can be on hard days.

We use an oil burner with olbas when our kids are snotty which is a general help.

Specifically with feeding do you have a sling you can feed in? - that way they're upright and breathing will be much easier. They fall asleep and then you transfer.

And an icky one; use your fingers to squeeze the snot out of their noses while feeding (like a pinch) and wipe on a tissue/muslin.

But I also agree with pp's, bf when they're snotty can be grim and tiring

I would try the saline spray OP. Calpol do one and Boots do their own brand version. Much easier than the drops because you have to virtually turn baby upside down to get the drops on! The saline helps the mucus to dissolve so they can breath better and can be used as often as needed. So before every feed and before trying to get them to sleep any other way is what I used to do. My GP doesn’t like the suction things as babies passages are tiny and sensitive, but always recommended the saline spray/drops.

Have you tried a Nose Frida? It can give some temporary relief which might allow feeding.

Nosefrida Nasal Aspirator https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00171WXII/ref=cmswwrcppapiglttfabc6NVNHRHWWHZKWE82R1EN

I have also used a Vicks Cool Mist humidifier to help with sleep during colds.

As a pp said, keep reminding yourself this is only temporary (the cold and the sleep issues). My bad sleeper improved at 1yo and has been great since. However you do need a strategy! In our house DH went to bed earlier and then did any wake ups beyond 4am so I got a solid chunk of sleep at that point. I also had a post-work nap every day so I could stay up later. Once we stopped fighting it and started working with it, we both coped better.

Thanks so much for your advice everyone. This is his third week of viral illnesses so feeling fairly relentless at present. I now have stinking cold too. Tip about the pram is v helpful - have managed to get a few decent naps in the bedroom rocking it in reclined position. Have tried feeding more upright but he just tends to do these rubbish 30 min half doze/feeds when I do that. Just can’t believe how little he’s sleeping (and me!).

Family are being incredibly helpful. Have tried saline drops but he just got hysterical. Will see about the spray but seems to hate everything that goes near his nose.

Missing nights where he woke hourly and fed immediately back to sleep… 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Thanks again x x x

Put some Vicks on your collarbone, it will help clear his nose while he feeds.

Nose sucker is brilliant. DD screamed merry hell about it and it's gross but it really works.

We've just had this battle with DS. He likes showering with me, and it turns out it's actually really effective at clearing their nose because of all the steam. My DS is 2 so stands, at 8 months would yours be stable enough to sit at your feet if you tried a bedtime shower? Otherwise, saline nose spray helps a bit but it can take several sprays to loosen anything.

The nosefrieda snot sucker helps if it's a runny snotty cold but they hate it. It doesn't do anything much if it's just congested but not runny, you just don't get anything out unless you loosen repeatedly with saline spray. You can also get one you attach to your hoover. They hate it even more, but it's actually a lot more effective and because it's faster it can end up being less traumatic overall although I have to admit I don't like it either so it very rarely comes out.

Thanks for the tips! Vicks on collar bone is a good idea. Not heard of the suction you attach to hoover!! 😱 really don’t think he’d tolerate me suctioning unfortunately. Bedtime bath does seem to help clear things but it’s 4am seems to be the worse time. Hoping he gets over this one soon! Really feel for the poor guy must be horrible not understanding why you can’t breathe properly. X