18mo waking every hour with blocked nose & cough - help! 😩

[Decaffe]

DH and I are having a terrible few nights with DS’s sleep - as per the title really!

Usually I co-sleep with DS in a floor bed as he will nurse occasionally through the night.

But the last two nights have been horrendous. Waking hourly, and then sometimes staying awake for an hour (crying). We are all shattered!

We have tried Calpol, the Calpol vapour plug in, safe chest sleeping. Nothing helped. DH just had to hold him from 3:30 this morning.

Please send some ideas?!

Sending love as have been in the same boat.

You're doing everything right. But the simple reality is there is very little we can do to help a child with a bad cold, apart from the things you have mentioned.

There's no magic bullet to help adults get over the cold/cough, and it can disrupt our sleep too, so the poor babies really don't stand a chance.

The only solution is time I'm afraid!

Try chopping an onion and putting by the bed on the floor

I feel your pain, whenever our youngest (12months) gets even the slightest sniffles its game over for any long stretches of sleep.

Saline drops/spray up the nose will help thin the mucus and get it moving. Not a magic bullet but can be used in conjunction with everything else. I've just been given a portable nebulizer that takes saline solution (£20 ish online) which is a gentler option. We're only just starting to give it a go with our son but hoping it'll work slightly better than having to pin him down to get the sprays or drops anywhere near his nose!

Are you able to prop them up a little so their not laying totally flat. When my DD was little we used to put something under her mattress so whatever she had wasn't laying on her chest. Also try Vicks vapour rub on the soles of their feet. I've done this with DD and ourselves in the past. Apparently we absorb it better than rubbing it on our chest.

Second the Vicks on their feet. But use socks too or everything smells like Vicks and its sticky!

Saline nasal spray, Vicks on chest, back & feet (with socks on) plenty of fluids when awake x

Piriton always helped my kids. I gave it on advice from the GP.

Obviously it does have an ingredient that can make them drowsy so that's to be considered....

I second putting half an onion by the bed! Cover babies feet in baby Vicks and put on a pair of socks

all good suggestions here. Just to say to be careful you don’t allow excessive naps to compensate, as it’ll likely create worse nights