A little help for your sick baby

Let’s face it, winter can be tough with a new baby. With colds and flus going around, you want to protect your precious little one as much as possible. Although babies are born with some natural immunity to illness, their immune systems take some time to fully mature, and at some point it’s likely that your baby will get a cold. When this happens it can feel stressful for both parents and baby. 

As they are natural nose breathers, when a baby’s nose gets blocked they can find it difficult to breathe well and it can interfere with their sleep patterns and make feeding difficult. You can ease nasal congestion through the use of a saline nasal spray such as Otrivin Baby and Kids. Other symptoms that may present in babies when they have a cold include: fussiness, fever, sneezing, coughing (especially at night), and reduced appetite. 

When it comes to baby’s health, prevention is always better than cure, so focussing on optimum nutrition, plenty of sleep, and keeping baby warm and snug is key. Natural options are always the best first line of defense when baby does get a cold. 

Here are some of our top natural solutions for managing colds in newborns:

• Breastfeed (or give formula if breastfeeding isn’t an option) often to keep baby nourished and hydrated
• Suction out nasal mucus with a suction bulb
• Moisturize the air with a humidifier. Ask your doctor if they recommend a warm or cool mist type
• Put a few drops of essential oils such as frankincense or eucalyptus in a diffuser in your home or in baby’s room
• Use a saline nasal spray – we recommend Otrivin Baby and Kids which is a non-medicated, isotonic saline nasal spray that gives a metered dose and is safe to use in infants two weeks and over. This nasal spray also contains castor oil which is known to have moisturising and emolient properties to moisturise irritated nasal passages
• Wear your baby in a pack or wrap so that they’re in a more upright position and have the comfort of being close to you.