Motherhood Monday: Surviving Baby's First Cold

Did anyone catch the Emmy's last night.  I heart NPH, he might have that hosting disorder his HIMYM costars were discussing, but who cares he so much fun.  We all know why we really watch award shows, for all the red carpet glory.  Here are the gowns from last night's Emmy's that I'd like to borrow for my next red carpet event, ha.  I can dream of red carpet events while covered in spit up, right?  But I do love the silhouettes of these stunning gowns: Cobie Smulders,  Zooey Deschanel, & Taylor Schilling.  And how sweet were the 'In Memorandums' this year. 
The Emmys were a nice reprieve from the little Man's first cold.  We were in the middle of sleep training when the little Man came down with what started off as the sniffles, and quickly morphed into a congested and miserable baby.  Sleep training a 6 month old is a whole other blog post, but we're proof that it can be done.  Fast forward to last night when the little Man only cried for 30 minutes (the first night he cried for almost 2 hours) but his voice was so hoarse from the cold that he was silently crying.  Oh man, talk about, major guilt and me itching to rescue him, but I didn't and he slept soundly through the night.  Here are some helpful hints on surviving your child's first cold.

1. Invest in a humidifier, we had the one in his nursery running all day, and another one in the living room.  If that doesn't work you could always snuggle in the bathroom with your little one while running a hot shower.  
2. Saline is your friend, it works by loosening all that mucus.  Even though your child is congested it doesn't mean that getting that junk out of their tiny airways will be easy.
3. Suction.  Please don't use a bulb nasal aspirator, think of the blue thing you left the hospital with, they're a breading ground for mold.  Which is the last thing you want to use on a sick child.  I personally recommend the Nosefrida.  Your little one may not enjoy the suction but they will feel so much better after, the proof is in the smile and giggles.
4. Baby Vicks. The soothing eucalyptus, rosemary, and lavender help sooth baby.  And who doesn't enjoy having Vicks rubbed on their chest when they're sick.  
5. Elevation.  If it's possible, have your little one sleep with their head elevated.  This will help decrease the irritation caused by post nasal drip. 
6. Thermometer & Baby Tylenol.  If your little one has a viral cold, there's nothing you can do but wait it out.  But if your little one starts running a fever, Baby Tylenol will help with that. 
7. If you are still breastfeeding, keep it up.  It's soothing for your little one & if you caught what your little one has, the antibodies your body makes that you pass on in your breast milk can only help.
8. Patience is key.  Your little one will be fussy, and no amount of rocking or fun toys will make it better.  All you can do it cuddle, and spend plenty of time snuggling while you wait out.
9. You know what's normal and what isn't for your little one.  If anything is setting off red flags for you, call your pediatrician.  

And if you are sleep training, keep with it.  Your baby might cry for longer than the previous night, but keep with your bedtime routine, as tough as it might be.