What's it like when your under-1-year-old gets a cold?

[Anonymous]

So, my LO has had a cold for the past week and a half. He's never had a fever but is just fever cranky and has a lot of nasal drainage (mostly in his throat, not out his nose). My DH has a similar cold, so I suspect that's what it is.

Nonetheless, my DS (10 months) has been inconsolable every night and for naps. He refuses to go to sleep because the drainage is bothering him and will cry for hours unless we take him out of his room and play with him for a little while to distract him. He wakes up about every hour throughout the night crying and has been up for two-hour stretches crying at night. The only way he sleeps decently is if we hold him -- ALL NIGHT.

Is this how your LO is when he/she gets sick? I swear this seems extreme to me! I don't think there's anything seriously wrong (DS is sensitive to a lot of things and a bad sleeper anyway), but I'm just curious how this behavior stacks up to other kids who are sick (i.e. is it worse or par for the course?).

[Anonymous]

OP here. I didn't mean to say "fever cranky" -- he hasn't had a fever. I meant "very cranky."

[Anonymous]

Ear infection?

[Anonymous]

This sounds like an ear infection to me -- I'd call the ped.

[Anonymous]

That seems extreme for a cold and worthy of a ped visit, especially since the cold has lasted this long. You might be looking at a bacterial infection on top of the cold (happens to our son a lot) or an ear infection.

[Anonymous]

I got my 9 month old checked out no less than 3 times for an ear infection during a terrible cold. She was inconsolable and staying awake for hours for most sleep and did the 2 hour crying stretches partially from overtiredness and partially because she couldn't fall asleep. The major problem was less the drainage and more that should couldn't suck on her pacifier and breathe at the same time so she'd start sucking on her pacifier to go to sleep, gasp to breathe, and freak out. She did the same while nursing. She is also sensitive to a lot of things and a bad sleeper.

I called the pediatrician and they of course rushed me in to check on her ears because of the bad sleep. Her ears were fine. She freaked on the plane ride we took her on so I took her in again. Ears were fine. At her well-baby visit they checked again. Ears were fine.

So it might just be a bad cold. But hey, get it checked.

[Anonymous]

When our 9 month hold had a stuffy nose, we noticed that she could only sleep if she was in her car seat or in her swing or if I held her propped up a little. So we tilted the crib about 10-15 degrees (about the size of a phone book) and that helped her sleeping a lot. We also took her to the ped to rule out ear infections, etc.

[Anonymous]

My 11mo has had a cold for 3 weeks - really probably 2 colds back-to-back. He cried throughout the night for two nights when he got the second one (symptoms got worse) and it took us consoling him to get him to sleep. We had his ears checked and they were fine. Have you used saline rinse? It seemed to help DS, though he hated having it squirted in his nose. I also agree with the PP who suggested elevating the crib. Also, if his mucus is thicker and/or green, then definitely get ears checked. Thicker mucus can lead to infection since it has a harder time draining.

[Anonymous]

Seems extreme. Our 9MO DD is in daycare and has had maybe 4-5 colds in the last 5 months. Only the first really bothered her. She had trouble eating with the congestion and was coughing at night. Even then, her night sleep wasn't really affected much. She would cough in her sleep, but not cry for us any more than normal. Other colds haven't really changed her night sleep or disposition. We could be lucky in that it's just her disposition.

[Anonymous]

When our baby was really congested with a cold (ped said not an ear infection), he couldn't sleep unless we were holding him to keep him fairly upright. We took shifts doing this. When he's only moderatly congested, a folded towel under the head of his crib and the humidifier are enough to help him. Also try saline spray and using a snot sucker. Hope he feels better soon!

[Anonymous]

Have you tried giving baby a little Tylenol or Ibuprofen for general achiness/headaches? It seemed to help my little guy get through the worst of his cold.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried giving baby a little Tylenol or Ibuprofen for general achiness/headaches? It seemed to help my little guy get through the worst of his cold.

1+.

[Anonymous]

This is the OP. Thanks everyone for your insights!

He was at a specialist for an unrelated thing on Tuesday, and we asked the doctor to look in his ears and at his nose because he'd been acting sick. He said there wasn't any sign of infection, so I don't think there would be now (although I will check again on Monday if this continues).

We have given him ibuprofen in the past but got to the point where we were giving it every day, and it didn't seem like he was doing any better, so we stopped. If he had a fever, I would definitely give it, but it doesn't seem to make him any more comfortable because it doesn't make his nose any clearer.

This is probably his first "real" cold, so it might just be that he's not sure what's happening and is upset. It's just odd that his nose doesn't seem that overtly stuffy, but then he'll start drooling and snorting especially around bedtime. I guess he can forget about it when he's distracted with play. With all the drooling, we wondered if it was teething, but he's definitely congested, and he just got his fourth upper tooth and is showing no immediate signs of other ones.

Ugh -- I hope this ends soon! We're all exhausted from his poor sleep on a good night, and this is torture!