Baby not feeding due to blocked nose

Baby’s First Cold? It’s Nothing that a Boob and a Cuddle Can’t Fix!

Winter is coming! And, along with winter comes dreaded coughs, colds and winter bugs. It can be a tricky time navigating breastfeeding through your baby’s first cold, but, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!

Read on to uncover helpful tips on how to ease your baby’s illness and maintain your supply...

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When your little one experiences their first cold, it can be tough on you both! It can be difficult and frustrating for them to let you know that they aren’t feeling well and, for you, it can be stressful to try and figure it out!

How it All Starts

Changes in behaviour are often the first sign that your baby may not be feeling well, such as crying more frequently than usual, crankiness, wanting to feed more often, wanting to feed less often and being more difficult to console. If you are worried that your baby is becoming unwell, it is important to have them checked by your General Practitioner to make sure that it is nothing serious.

Sometimes a sick baby will start to refuse the breast because their throat is sore or because the congestion associated with a cold can make it hard for your baby to breathe clearly through their nose. Despite this temporary challenge, your breast milk is especially important for your little one during this time.

Your Breastmilk is Powerful!

When your baby is sick, your body springs into action and tailors the composition of your breast milk to provide the vitamins, antibodies, and other essential nutrients that your baby needs most to fight through their illness. Amazingly, the composition of your breastmilk changes when your baby is ill. How clever is that!

If you’re exposed to a bacterial or viral infection, your body makes antibodies to combat it; these are then transferred to your baby through your milk. The levels of immunity-boosting cells, called leukocytes, in your milk also rise rapidly whenever your baby is unwell.

Due to the inflammation of a sore little throat, associated with a cold, your baby may start to refuse to breastfeed or may want to breastfeed for shorter periods. If this happens, offer your baby the breast often and let them guide you on how long they feed for. You may need to feed them very frequently until the inflammation reduces and your baby can sustain a more usual feed.

Due to nasal congestion, your baby may need to stop and take a few breaths before returning to sucking at your breast. Go with their pace and allow them to break regularly. Keep an eye on their nappy output to make sure they are not showing any signs of dehydration.

Cuddles Are Magical

Often, babies will want to feed constantly while they have a cold. Their bodies know that they need the valuable milk that you are producing for an antibody hit to help them recover. Your breastmilk can help to soothe a sore and irritated throat, and frequent cuddles and contact can help with aches and pains.

Hold and cuddle your baby as often as you need to help them through this tough time. You may even like to have some skin-to-skin time to help your baby. When holding your baby like this, you and your baby are releasing the feel-good hormone, oxytocin, and this will help you and your baby to feel better. There is nothing that can’t be fixed with a boob and a cuddle!

When breastfeeding, keep your little one as upright as possible. Congestion is often relieved when upright and it may help to reduce all those nasty secretions.

Try using saline drops and a rubber suction bulb to remove congestion from your baby’s nose before breastfeeding. You will likely have to do this several times through the day and night to continuously clear out backed-up mucus to create a comfortable feeding experience for your little one.

What if My Baby Doesn’t Want to Drink?

When a sick baby is reluctant to breastfeed, you can try giving them your breast milk with a syringe, dropper, or cup, to encourage them to drink and to keep up their oral intake.

You may also consider freezing some of your expressed breast milk until it is slushy and then feeding it to your little one with a spoon or cup – the cold, slushy mixture may provide some relief for a sore throat while providing the important antibodies and nutrients he or she needs from your breast milk. However, if your baby’s cold worsens or becomes severe, be sure to visit a healthcare provider right away for professional care.

How Can I Maintain My Supply if My Baby is Feeding Less?

If your little one is breastfeeding less – or not at all – while they are under the weather, it’s important to maintain your supply until your baby can breastfeed. To do this, you will need to express your breast regularly until your baby is feeding well again.

Breast milk is maintained on a supply and demand basis, and regular expression tells your body to continue production. If your baby is not feeding well, you will need to express as many times during the day and night that your baby would usually feed.

By regularly expressing milk from your breasts, you are telling your body that you still need to make this milk; otherwise, your body will think that it is no longer needed and your supply will start to reduce. This is particularly important if there are any changes to how your baby breastfeeds while sick, such as breastfeeding for shorter periods or less frequently through the day and night.

Consistent, expression during this time can help you continue providing breast milk – and its antibodies, vitamins, and other nutrients tailored specifically to your baby’s needs – for as long as you choose.

Maintaining good hand hygiene is important to minimise the risk of spreading the illness. Wash your hands with soap before and after feeding your baby, preparing and eating food, going to the toilet or changing nappies. Catch coughs and sneezes in a tissue, or the crook of your elbow (not your hands) if you don’t have one with you and always wash or sanitise your hands after coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose.

Have you or your baby been sick with a cold recently? Let us know what things helped you and your little one get through the chillier months! Let’s have a chat and support each other here or on the Medela Australia Facebook page!

Baby’s First Cold and What You Can Do to Help

A sore throat or stuffed nose may make your baby want to nurse less. But breast milk is especially important for your little one during this time!

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What You Should Do During Baby's First Cold and Why It Helps

When your little one experiences their first cold, it can be tough on you both! Since your baby can’t yet talk, it can be difficult and frustrating for him or her to express that they aren’t feeling well and effectively communicate what’s bothering them. Changes in behavior are often the first sign that your baby may not be feeling well, such as crying more frequently than usual, low energy, listlessness, crankiness, and being more difficult to console. Common physical signs of an oncoming illness include a rash, skin appearing pale or extra flushed, vomiting, diarrhea, difficulty breathing through the nose or swallowing, and refusal to nurse or take a bottle.

Oftentimes, a sick baby won’t nurse because their throat is sore or because the congestion associated with a cold can make it hard for your baby to breathe clearly through his or her nose. Despite this temporary challenge, your breast milk is especially important for your little one during this time. Your body can often sense when your baby is unwell and then tailors the composition of your breast milk to provide the vitamins, antibodies, and other essential nutrients that he or she needs most to fight through their illness. Though it can be exhausting, keep breastfeeding through baby’s first cold, Mama! Know that your little one may breastfeed for shorter periods of time due to congestion or throat pain, but you are providing them exactly what they need. Keep in mind that nursing is usually easier for a sick baby than drinking from a bottle, though there are things you can do to ensure you both stay comfortable during feedings and throughout your baby’s first cold:

When breastfeeding, keep your little one as upright as possible. Try propping him or her up with extra pillows for added support while nursing. Congestion is often relieved when upright, so also try propping your baby up when they sleep by placing a pillow beneath their mattress. This allows them to be more upright, while also staying safe and snug in their bed.
Use saline drops and/or a rubber suction bulb to remove congestion from your baby’s nose before breastfeeding. You will likely have to do this several times through the day and night to continuously clear out backed-up mucus while providing a more comfortable feeding experience for your little one.
Use a humidifier in your nursery to keep the air moist and ease your baby’s cold symptoms while they sleep.
Feed or simply sit with your little one in a steam-filled bathroom. To do so, run a hot shower and sit outside the tub and/or shower area to nurse your baby or even just relax together – the warm steam can help relieve congestion!

When a sick baby won’t nurse at all, you can instead try giving them breast milk with a syringe, dropper, or cup instead of by bottle or breast. You may also consider freezing some of your pumped breast milk until it’s slushy and then feeding it to your little one with a spoon or cup – the cold, slushy mixture may provide some relief for a sore throat while providing the important antibodies and nutrients he or she needs from your breast milk. However, if your baby’s cold worsens or becomes severe, be sure to visit a healthcare provider right away for professional care.

Maintaining Your Breast Milk Supply During Baby's First Cold

If your little one is nursing less – or not at all – while they are under the weather, it’s important to continue pumping so you can maintain your milk supply. Because breast milk is created on a supply and demand basis, regular expression tells your body to continue production. This is particularly important if there are any changes to how your baby breastfeeds while sick, such as breastfeeding for shorter periods or less frequently through the day and night. Consistent, daily pumping during this time with a reliable double electric breast pump can help you continue providing breast milk – and its antibodies, vitamins, and other nutrients tailored specifically to your baby’s needs – for as long as you choose.

Why is my nose not breathing? Adenoids

Adenoids - is a lymphoid tissue that is located on the back of the throat. The main task of this tissue is to protect the body from the penetration of infections and microbes into it.

Sometimes the protective function is lost when the lymphatic tissue begins to grow and thereby creates a mechanical obstruction in the pharynx, which is manifested by respiratory failure, and enlarged adenoids serve as a source of constant reproduction of all kinds of microbes. Therefore, children can often and for a long time get sick with colds.

This phenomenon may occur due to one or more factors: frequent and untreated colds, allergies, heredity, infectious diseases (measles, scarlet fever, rubella, etc.), very dusty apartment, low humidity in the room, etc.

How can you tell if a child has enlarged adenoids?

Signs that the child may have enlarged adenoids:

persistent runny nose, difficult to treat;
difficulty in nasal breathing when the child is healthy and does not have a cold;
child breathes through open mouth, especially at night;
the child snores and sniffs during sleep.

Most often, parents go to the doctor with a complaint that the child is often sick. No sooner will one cold be cured than another begins.

There are three degrees of adenoid enlargement:

Adenoids of the 1st degree usually do not give the child much anxiety. It is very important not to postpone the visit to the ENT doctor.
Adenoids of the II degree manifest themselves in the fact that the child has difficulty in nasal breathing, the mouth is periodically open, and snoring may appear during sleep. With the second degree of adenoids, frequent colds are observed.
Grade III adenoids are characterized by the fact that the child is constantly forced to breathe through the mouth, nasal breathing is impossible. At this stage in the development of the adenoids, the doctor may decide on an operation to remove the adenoids.

The main method for diagnosing adenoid hypertrophy is endoscopic examination of the nasopharynx, because, unlike the palatine tonsils, they are not visible during normal examination.

Why are adenoids dangerous?

Hearing impairment - common in children with adenoid hypertrophy. And most children will not complain about anything. If the child began to talk loudly, often does not respond, asks again - you should not panic about this, but you should not delay the visit to the doctor either. Violations go away when the cause that caused them is eliminated.

Frequent colds are connected precisely with the fact that the child cannot breathe through the nose. The inhaled air, passing through the oral cavity, is not cleared of viruses, bacteria and other pathogenic factors and is not moistened. The outflow of mucus is also disturbed, and favorable conditions are created for the development of infectious diseases.

The decrease in academic performance occurs because when breathing through the nose becomes difficult, the body does not receive up to 20% of oxygen. Due to its lack, the brain suffers first of all.

Change in the facial skull ("adenoid face") may occur due to the fact that the child's mouth is constantly open. For the same reason, a speech disorder develops, which is expressed in the form of nasality, the child may not pronounce individual letters.

Only the most frequent and noticeable disorders that occur in the child's body with adenoids are listed. In fact, the list of pathological changes occurring in the body is much longer. But it is the above changes that most often force parents to consult a doctor.

Of course, adenoid hypertrophy is easier to prevent than to treat.

Prevention is relevant for any healthy child at risk (preschoolers from 3 years old):

Healthy lifestyle.
Strengthening general immunity (hardening, taking vitamins).
Timely cure for viral and bacterial infections.
Air humidification in the apartment.
Prophylactic rinsing of the nose with saline solution.
Allergen protection and treatment of allergies, if present.
Regular medical supervision.

Runny nose (rhinitis), stuffy nose in a child

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