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5 weeks old and struggling with mucus in throat

11 replies

MillyBeans · 17/11/2021 04:22

Hi all,
I wonder if anyone might have experienced a similar thing and might have some advice for me. Our baby was born at 36+2 and is currently 5 weeks and 4 days old.
It's been a bumpy ride up until now but we've got most things under control. The one thing we can't resolve is the mucus he gets in his throat when we put him down to sleep. This has been happening for weeks and weeks now. We thought it would clear on its own but it seems to be getting worse. His nose isn't particularly congested most of the time but you can hear the mucus rattling in his throat (not his chest). He sleeps soundly for about 30 minutes each time he goes down and then starts to gulp and cough and cry from it. He's going through his 6 week growth spurt a little early and getting him to sleep has been hard to say the least.. but when we finally get him to sleep he's waking himself up with this mucus.
His cot is inclined but that doesn't seem to help. A dummy helps a little but not for very long. The only thing that seems to help is holding him and that's just not possible 24/7. I'm falling apart and more importantly, he's not getting enough sleep.
The health system have been less than useless. I called 111 a while back who sent an ambulance (apparently they have to with babies) and we were taken to A&E. The doctor spoke to me like I was a stupid child and basically told me that I was an idiot for making the call in not so many words.. but all the advice online says to seek help if it affects the baby's sleep. The pharmacy wouldn't help as they said he's too young to do anything for and our GP are constantly engaged on the phone and not open to people going in to reception.
I'm at a complete loss. Please help :(

OP posts:
ContadoraExplorer · 17/11/2021 04:45

I always found a bath would help with DD being congested or just sit with them in the bathroom with hotter water in the bath to create steam to loosen it. You can also get plug ins to help but we never used them so not sure if there is an age restriction for really young ones.

PullingAtTeeth · 17/11/2021 05:02

Is it definitely mucous or could it be reflux/silent reflux?
My boy had this and I could hear him gurgling like you say.
We got prescribed liquid omeprazole from the gp which I think helped somewhat but in all honestly I think time was the biggest cure. By about 10-12 weeks it seemed to tail off although I know it can last a lot longer but for a lot of babies 3 months seems to be the age it settles.
We ended up doing shifts of letting him sleep upright laid on our chest. Not ideal but everyone got a bit of sleep.
I’d keep trying to get hold of the gp and see what they say. Failing that the health visitor may be able to advise.
Good luck it’s brutal the first few weeks

endofagain · 17/11/2021 05:05

It does sound like reflux.

MillyBeans · 17/11/2021 05:11

Thank you so much for your response. We were told he had reflux at about 2 weeks old and were prescribed infant Gaviscon which made him horribly constipated and just created a different problem so we stopped giving him it. We've been controlling the vomiting side of the reflux pretty well by keeping him upright after feeds hut perhaps you're right and this is caused by the reflux. The GP suggested Carobel for his reflux and I've been recommended Infacol by a friend and I've got some of that on its way at the moment.. I wonder whether one of those might help ease this.
We're doing shifts at the moment. We were falling apart after 2 weeks both upstairs with him so decided something needed to change. My partner works and drives quite a way, so I'm really conscious I need to let him sleep enough for his own safety. He's very keen to do a longer shift and help more but I'd worry about him. He has a condition which makes him very fatigued anyway without all this!
Thank you so much again, I feel like we have some options to try with the reflux remedies now

OP posts:
MillyBeans · 17/11/2021 05:13

@ContadoraExplorer Thank you - the bathroom idea is a good one. I could have him in his bouncy chair whilst I have a bath (a good excuse!).

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IcedCoffeeAlways · 17/11/2021 05:22

@MillyBeans It sounds exactly like what my DS was like - it’s horrible hearing them struggling 😓
Is your son breastfed or formula fed? We were the same with the infant Gaviscon causing terrible constipation. I was breastfeeding at the time and we trialled a few different medications but it was only when I stopped BF at 4 months because of feeding issues that I trialled him on Aptamil Anti-Reflux and he did SO much better. Didn’t need any medication after that!

Infacol is to help them pass wind rather than for reflux i believe - but don’t quote me on that one!

MillyBeans · 17/11/2021 05:32

@IcedCoffeeAlways he's formula fed. We were on SMA and tried the Anti-Reflux one but it didn't do anything to help him unfortunately. We've now moved to Kendamil which appears to be highly endorsed by parents for reflux. It has definitely helped with the vomiting side, but not the sleep and "choking". Thank you so much for your response x

OP posts:
IcedCoffeeAlways · 17/11/2021 05:44

[quote MillyBeans]@IcedCoffeeAlways he's formula fed. We were on SMA and tried the Anti-Reflux one but it didn't do anything to help him unfortunately. We've now moved to Kendamil which appears to be highly endorsed by parents for reflux. It has definitely helped with the vomiting side, but not the sleep and "choking". Thank you so much for your response x[/quote]
Bless him 😓 it’s really not nice to hear them having a hard time! I hope you find something that works soon 🤞🏼
Just something to keep in mind for future - our son did great on the Aptamil Anti-Reflux for a few couple of months until we started weaning at 6 months when the reflux appeared again. The vomiting and everything came back - only this time it stained EVERYTHING because it was food 😳 I’d started weaning him on homemade purées for the first couple of weeks as I wasn’t too comfortable with the idea of baby led weaning and feeding him larger whole foods. I then switched to BLW to try it and there was a huge improvement in his reflux! I’m sure all babies are completely different with that kind of thing but just something to keep in mind when deciding how to go about weaning 😊

MillyBeans · 17/11/2021 05:57

@IcedCoffeeAlways I will definitely keep that in mind!

OP posts:
Sausagebatch · 11/04/2023 15:50

I know this is old but did you ever find anything to help? Having the exact same problem with my 8 week old! She's on Neocate for cmpa, gaviscon and omeprazole but the terrible mucus means she finds sleeping for any stretch impossible!

Mimi2022 · 27/11/2023 02:49

@Sausagebatch Did you find a solution?

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