We know the feeling. You’re stuffed up, you have to breathe out of your mouth, and you don’t sleep well. So how do we fix it on a baby when they can’t “blow” yet. To start keep your baby upright in the daytime when possible. It helps the nose drain. Gravity will keep the fluids down in the lower body. Its smart to always have baby elevated after a feeding for 10-20 minutes. This helps acid reflux, spit ups, etc. Place baby on an incline chair, a safe supervised propped pillow, or boppy.
Nitty Gritty
Now this isn’t the fun part. This is the part where we have to take a deep breathe and have our items prepared. What you will need:
You have plenty of options when it comes to saline, a nose sucker, and wet wipes, those are just our preferences. Have a bottle, or pacifier ready. Your baby does not enjoy this part, and it will be a few minutes of fussing. It’s ok, they will breathe and sleep much better once its done. Get our patient prepared, we want this to be quick. Lay them down on on a comfy spot, tilt head back slightly if possible, squirt the recommended amount of saline in each nostril. If they sneeze some out, no problem, gently wipe it away. Have the Booger Sucker ready and start sucking the nostril you put the saline in first. Wipe the the tip on a wet wipe, and move on to the next nostril. Once both noses are clear give baby snuggles, pacifier, and or bottle. Bouncing and comforting after clearing the nose is a way to show your baby its over, and they are ok.
Be sure to clean your equipment after each use.
Do you have something that works best for your family? Comment below.
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