Coughing and (not) sleeping

(10 Posts)

6mo DS is the most hideously awful sleeper at the best of times but he has had a cough that has lasted about four weeks now which is at its worst at night (had it checked - nothing sinister, just a persistent tail-end of the World's Longest Cold). He'll just be (finally) getting off to sleep and he'll cough prolifically. Or he'll have been asleep for a whole hour and a half (seriously, that's progress here) and the coughing will start again, waking him up.

Is there ANYTHING that helps with coughing in a baby this young?? I'd really like to try cutting down on his night feeds but I feel harsh withholding a drink from him when he's coughing so much.

Impatientwino Tue 27-Nov-12 05:53:10

Huge sympathies - if you have worlds worst sleeper I have close second.

You can get baby cough syrup I think? Maybe give him a little to line his throat after a feed or when he is disturbed.

When mine was in hospital they put literally a few drops of water in his mouth to start saliva production which I guess would be a more natural way to have the same effect?

Mine thinks coughing is amusing - he has discovered he can make himself cough so likes to practice between 3 and 4am generally angry

thinkfast Tue 27-Nov-12 06:01:50

Mine had a dreadful cough at that age and I ended up putting him to sleep semi upright in pushchair and I slept on sofa next to him. Being a bit more upright and holding hands in the night helped a bit

mewkins Tue 27-Nov-12 07:29:37

Dd suffers with a touch of childhood asthma- the main symptom of which is a persistent dry cough whenever she is ill (the virus irritates her airways). Apparently quite common while their bodies are maturing. Dd is getting better and we have a routine os using inhalers. The blue inhaler works quite well to relieve the cough and I know a few non asthma sufferers who have been prescribed it to treat this kind of cough. Otherwise yes, raising the head slightly and getting baby to sleep more on their side using rolled up towels help.
I hate winter lurgies...roll on summer!!

teacher123 Tue 27-Nov-12 13:09:08

Have you tried water in a sippy cup? I sometimes just sit DS upright and let him have a slurp and then lie him back down if he's coughing. I also have one of those calpol plug in thingys that's got decongestant in it, that seemed to help when he had a chest infection. It made the whole of the upstairs of our house smell like a Christmas tree! Also I put baby olbas oil on his sheet (not near his eyes obviously) and that seems to help.

He'll take water from a sippy cup when he's bang upright in a highchair - if I did it in the middle of the night, he'd probably end up wearing it and get even more wide awake in the process!

Someone has mentioned those plug-in things to me though. I might look further into them, thanks. Books under the top cot legs might also be in order.

Took him back to the GP today - he's got a chest infection sad Might see the back of this fecking cough after a week of antibiotics, though!

I've tasked DH with finding a plug-in thingy on the way home and we'll tilt his cot tonight. Thanks again for your help!

teacher123 Tue 27-Nov-12 17:16:12

DS got much better once he was on antibiotics and they worked very quickly. Hope they kick in quick, sounds like he's been feeling really poorly. Plug in thing also v good, think they sell them in tescos!

AndMiffyWentToSleep Tue 27-Nov-12 19:21:42

Quick semi-hijack here: baby olbas oil...does that mean you shouldn't use 'grown up' olbas oil for babies? Obviously not putting it anywhere they could touch it...
We have the same cough-wake issue here too...

fififrog Tue 27-Nov-12 22:01:06

I take your four weeks and raise you! DD had a permanent cold and cough from 8 months until 15 months - I kid you not! The longest no-snot spell was 3 days. We'd had a previous 6 week spell at about 4 months too, during which we tried all manner of wedging, oils, nasal saline etc etc. Nothing made the blindest bit of difference, other than once she had decided to sleep on her tummy which helped a little. However, she did eventually learn to sleep through the coughing! Coughs and colds are the pits!

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