Ask DS. Baby question

[fireplug]

No, it's not in her lungs. It's all sinus congestion. Allergies mostly.

[Seymore]

Our first born had sinus trouble and we did everything. They even operated on her thinking her sinus cavity was deformed. The car seat worked well. Finally, at about 2 years we went to LeBohner in Memphis and she go the complete round of allergy tests. All of that was negative but the old doctor told us to start using saline washes with a little bulb so we didn't put to much pressure on it. Wife was still working at night and when it came time to rinse her sinuses she would run through the house with me chasing her. When I finally got her corralled and started flushing all that crap out it was unreal what would come rolling out.

I'm not advocating you do this without talking with a doctor. I'm sure there's an age where this can be done safely and if it is done any earlier it could really cause problems so ask the doc first. Every time I would do it I felt terrible because she would scream bloody murder. It must have made a really negative impression because she's 23 today and still remembers running through the house at 2 to get away from me.

[JDgator]

Pediatricians tell us to use cool mister for sinus an warm for chest congestion. She has acid reflux that is causing the congestion, at least that's what
they are telling us. And I've never been able to keep socks on this child anyway so we will try it on her feet in some pajamas.

Been there, done that. My 9 month old has acid reflux, dairy allergies, RSV, etc. We used a baby swing to keep her elevated. I can tell you that it definitely gets better with time. At five or six months she started sleeping through the night and not needing the feedings. It is nice...

[COONDOG]

Do you have house pets? If so you may want to kick them outside to see if it helps.

[flyhi2]

To me this sounds like a baby struggling with reflux. One of our twins had severe reflux to the point I performed CPR on him during a feeding bc he gulped down too much and his airway constricted down as result of severe reflux. They were born at 32w6 and he came home from the hospital on Prevacid solutab, reglan to aid in faster transit in GI tract, and Zantac an acid reducer. In addition we addded 1tsp rice cereal per ounce of formula at first and this moved up to 1 tbsp per ounce(this makes the feeding thicker and thus doesn't reflux as much.

Other mechanical things we were mindful and ritualistic about. He was fed in a sitting position looking at me.
He was burped then not handled after feedings,
Was laid down in our Nap nanny...recommend the rock n play as listed above if nap nanny isn't available. This position prevents refluxing back and eroding away at tissues which causes poor functioning closures thus allowing more reflux. Also the pain itself causes gagging and coughing reflex. This mechanism is actually what is causing the sinus congestion.
Avoid over feeding, we fed set number ounces at set intervals... Initially 3 oz every 3 hours around the clock until he dropped middle of the night feeding himself. Only increasing 1/4-1/2 ounce each feeding when they aren't making to next feeding,

Another thought. I would never use juice.... It will make erosion worse which makes reflux worse.

We also used a positioned at bedtime that was about 20-30 degree elevation and a blanket roll under back of knees to prevent sliding down for safety. This positioned was purchased from one step ahead.

Basically your best hope at improving it is to think about the ways that the feeding reflux back up and make every effort to minimize them all.

Good luck. It is tough stuff.

FYI my husband kept asking me questions.... So I replied.

[fireplug]

We went through the same stuff with my boy. He's scheduled for his second set of tubes next month, so this isn't my first rodeo with the congestion.
Just seems depressing that in this modern age the best we can do is a nose bulb sucker. The baby is 11 weeks old, she Does have acid reflux and
is currently taking zantak (sp) for it, which isn't working and we are trying to change prescriptions as I type. I started adding cereal to her bottle at
6 weeks old. We don't have pets so that's not the issue. I've had severe sinus troubles my whole life so I guess they got it honest. Seems like the
only way she gets any relief is if we sleep sitting almost vertical. Which means no sleep for anyone else. All of the other options mentioned have been
tried with little success. It's just going to take time I suppose. I was just hoping that there was an actual cure. Last night I was considering the nose
wash becaue myself and my oldest daughter do those pretty regular ourselves, but I wasn't sure if the baby was old enough for that, so I will call the Dr
to see if that is an option.

Thanks for all the advise, best option I see at this point, is a lot of praying, time and a lot of caffine.

PS, Vick' on the bottom of their feet does not work. Not that I actually thought it would, but we did try.

[bucks n beaks]

Put vicks vapor rub on the bottom of her feet at night

This^^^^^^^^^^^ And a whole lotta TLC with baby girl.

[ACEINTHEHOLE]

place a couple rolled up towels under her mattress to elevate or let her sleep in a rocker swing. The vics on bottom of foot somehow works wonders with a cough, We still do this with our older kids. Also, find a pediatrician that will give medicine!!! We started off with one that never wanted to give any kind of medicine so we switched. Amazing how fast stuff will clear up with medicine.