Hellobee

It was bound to happen and I’ve been fearing it…the dreaded cold. We made it all the way to 8-1/2 months before Petit Macaron, and I’m very glad I had the extra time to get more comfortable with the parenting thing before our first cold hit. I can’t imagine having a sick newborn – yikes! What I didn’t expect was for him to be dealing with constipation at the same time he was sick. It was a double whammy.

I’m not sure where the cold came from – maybe his dad who got sick the same day, a friend, or from our adventures out and about. Who knows?! Isn’t it funny how we always try to figure that out where our colds come from? And isn’t is frustrating how if one member of the family gets sick, it generally spreads to the whole family? So Mr. Macaron was sick, and I also caught a mild cold. Even my poor mom who was visiting caught it. The whole family was down. Ugh!

On Sunday he was sneezing and a bit more fussy, and Monday the cold hit us hard. He woke up with a running nose, and it slowly got worse as the day moved on. Of course, this was the week my mom was flying in from San Diego to spend the week with us. On the drive home after picking up my mom from the airport, the cold hit hardest when Petit Macaron was crying bloody murder and my stress spiked.

I decided to call the pediatrician, but felt a bit sheepish since I had already called earlier in the day about his constipation. The constipation actually started before the cold. I noticed on Friday that he was straining trying to “go” but nothing was happening. I felt so sorry for him because he’d look at me all teary and eyes rimmed red while trying to push. His tummy was also pretty hard, which is another sign of constipation. I tried several things, but nothing seemed to do the job. So I called on Monday for the pediatrician’s advice since it had been about 3 days and he’d been trying to “go” all three days. I realize babies can go a few days without a movement, but he was struggling which I felt needed to be addressed.

We have now conquered the constipation and the cold has run its course. But, the cold season is upon us so I thought I’d share some of the tips I received on how to help my Petit Macaron.

For The Cold:

• Call your Pediatrician’s Nurse Line – Usually there is a nurse line that you can leave a message with your concerns. A nurse will call you back and help you.
• Tylenol – You need to be sure to get the right dosage, so ask your doctor. It’s based on weight and age and be sure to buy the infant version like this one.
• Humidifier – I made a special mission to Target to buy this for his cold. I love to use The Sweet Home website to find the recommended household item, but unfortunately, the recommended humidifier wasn’t at Target. I needed it immediately, so I picked up the Crane Drop Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier. I had remembered it from Baby List when I was putting together our baby registry. So far it’s been working out well for us.
• Prop up Mattress – Put a pillow under the mattress to prop the bed up. This makes it easier to breathe through a stuffy nose. This also works for grown-ups, too!
• Nose Frida – While I’m slightly grossed out by this, I would totally do it if it helps my baby. I did actually try using our Nose Frida, but Petit Macaron was too clogged up for anything to come out. I have heard this works wonders, though.
• Thermometer – I was so glad to have this on hand. I had previously purchased the Braun Ear Thermometer based on a friend’s recommendation. It worked great and it was helpful to keep tabs on the cold. Petit Macaron did get a fever and this was easy to use and provided a quick read on his temperature.
• Patience and Love – This is not the time to let them cry it out, but for cuddles and love. And lots and lots of patience.

For the Constipation:

• Bicycle Legs – Most moms have heard about this one. You help your baby move his legs like they are running. The movement helps get things in motion in their little bellies and can help work things out.
• Massage the Belly – You can rub your baby’s belly to help move the trapped gas and help stimulate the bowels. You are supposed to rub the baby’s belly in a clockwise motion. Parents.com has some good instructions on how to do it.
• Bath & Belly – Give your baby a nice, warm bath and then afterward put him on his belly. The bath relaxes and calms your baby, and then the pressure from the floor can expel gas and stimulate the bowels.
• Prunes – Oh prunes. I really tried to give these to Petit Macaron in both juice and puree form as I hear they are a sure way to help. He ate some of the pureed prunes, but the juice was tough. He likes the sippy cup, but doesn’t really take in very much liquid with it, yet. And he never really took to the bottle. On top of that, he wasn’t a fan of the stuff. I almost resorted to the spoon, but decided to try some other methods first.
• Activia Yogurt – This worked really well for Petit Macaron. We also found out that he loves Activia. We got the Greek with Blueberries Activia. He just gobbled it up and by the next day things were moving again.
• Pears – This also worked really well for us. The nurse mentioned this works just as well as prunes. Petit Macaron likes these, and we were able to get him to take some down.
• Miralax – You can pick this up from the grocery or drug store and it comes in powder form. There really isn’t a special infant or kids version that I’m aware of. I ended up mixing this into some of the puree to get him to take it.
• Popsicles – Given the constipation and the cold, I started to worry about dehydration. Dehydration is also an issue with constipation, so fluids are important! The nurse suggested popsicles and better yet, to make prune popsicles.
• Pedialyte – Besides water, Pedialyte is another item to help with dehydration. And in turn, this can help your baby “go” number two. You can also make this into popsicles! The nurse warned that babies don’t always enjoy Pedialyte. I ended up mixing a bit with water in Petit Macaron’s sippy cup. He got a little of it down, but not a ton. I need to get him to take more in with that sippy cup!!

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Good luck with the cold season! If you have any good tips to help your little one get through a cold, please share! I think we’d all love to hear because it’s the worst to see your baby unhappy.

Note: I’m not a doctor, and have absolutely no medical background. Always be sure to consult a physician for your needs – I did!