Your Congested Baby
Sunday, February 21, 2010 at 8:00AM 
My son was 8 months old before he was sick for the first time... You can see his puffy eyes in the picture to the right. It was quite the experience and I determined that there are three main things you need when your child is congested:
1) Bulb Syringe
2) Bottles (and breast pump if nursing)
Until your child gets sick or congested you may not realize why these are important.
The bulb syringe allows you to suck the loose mucus from your baby’s nose so he/she can breathe better. This is a process that is not very comfortable however my son was able to get over the shock of it after just a few times. Now it seems as though he knows exactly why I am doing it and welcomes it.
Practical Point: be sure to have a spitup cloth or tissue nearby to shoot the boogery mess into.
Bottles are necessary even if you are nursing. The reason why? If your baby is congested and the bulb 
syringe cannot clear his/her nasal passages well enough or at all, your baby will be gasping for air very frequently while nursing. Not only will this take longer time but it will also be difficult to know just how much milk your baby has received.
Practical Point: My son started to be uncharacteristically fussy before naps about 3 bottle feedings in. I found that he had a bit of separation anxiety and missed the closeness of breastfeeding so I allowed him to nurse just before going to sleep and that did the trick!
Fast Flowing Bottle Nipples are a must as well. Your baby will already have a difficult time breathing, talking, swallowing etc. With a fast flowing bottle nipple he/she will receive the milk with less effort and allow for more breathing between sucks. I had not paid attention to which bottle nipple I had grabbed the first time and the slow release was so frustrating to my son. Since then I have always grabbed the fast flowing ones.
Practical Point: Review the type of bottle nipple around the base of it for the indication of Fast or Slow milk flow. Also, warming up the breastmilk of formula just a little warmer will allow it to flow faster in a slow flowing bottle nipple. Be sure to test it on your wrist first though!
Reader Comments (5)
Great information! I would have never thought of the high flow nipple. I honestly have never thought to look at that, but I notice that some put out so much milk that they choke my little man.
Keep up the great work on the blog. I love it!
Thanks Carrie! I enjoy sharing the tricks of the trade that worked well for me :-)
I have just gotten through my baby's first cold. He is 13 months. I figured the "boogey wipes" product was just another thing for someone to get my money!! Not so. These things are great. They are saline solution wipes that have something in them that help soften the dried up boogies from after a nap or in the morning. Helps with not having to wipe as much and are very soft. I also have Beauredeux's baby lip and face chap. Put a little on the upper lip and around the eyes to help protect from runny nose and eyes.
Until your kid can blow their nose a good bulb syringe is a must. I of course was away from home for the weekend and had missed packing mine. For the life of me couldn't find one in a store that worked well. Mine from the hospital is the best. Anyone have a review on one that is store bought and works?
I am looking forward to more tips from your blog!!
Great information! I will invest in boogey wipes next time he is sick!
I had purchased a bulb syringe in a kit and it was such a joke. None of the products were good enough quality in the kit except for the nail clippers.
I ended up getting my good bulb syringe from the hospital as well when I had to bring my son to the emergency room. The key is to purchase one that is greater than 1-2oz because otherwise you will not have sufficient suction to remove the string of snot that these kids keep in their noses.
Another tip to clear up that boogery mess would be to drop saline solution or breast milk (a few drops into each) into their nostrils and then suck out their nose with the bulb syringe. And one of the ways that I was able to get Emri to be OK with letting me suck out her nose was to let her hold the syringe and look at it and then do it while she was sitting up and not laying back.
Just a few things that worked for us! :)