Welcome to reading about my top 5 easy home remedies for helping with your baby’s first cold. We all knew this was going to happen: your lockdown baby mixes in the outside world and they come back with a cold.
And this, let me tell you, is particularly traumatic for a 1-year-old. They think a runny nose is the end of the world (cue lots of head flinging and refusal to wipe their nose). A sneeze?
Well, that is reason enough to throw themselves on the floor in a tantrum.
What to Use?
My husband and I are not the easiest going sick people and are both quite dramatic on this front, so it comes as no real surprise that our daughter is the same when it came to her first cold, plus it must be super uncomfortable for her, poor thing!
As we have spent the first year of her life wearing masks, washing our hands and not socialising, its no surprise that this experience has taken a while to come.
As every good Mum does, rather than turning to the chemist, I turned to my Instagram for answers. I asked the universe how I get over this ordeal. And didn’t they do well? Within a few days, Charlotte was back to her usual self, as was I. Peace was restored.
So I thought it only fair to write a little post on the items I tried out. Some I didn’t use but mainly because some things I couldn’t get in my town. I didn’t order online but may do in the future.
So here are my tried and tested solutions of how to help your baby with their first cold.
The Remedies
- Calpol Plug In – we used this during nap and bedtimes and turned her little room into the smell of a luxury spa. Some people have said they didn’t find the smell as strong as me, so this must be room size-dependent. I certainly felt like I could breathe a lot easier with it on.
- Olbas Oil for Children – I popped a few drops of this on one of Charlotte’s comforters and it smelt lovely with that unique Olbas Oil smell, only slightly lighter.
- Vicks Baby Rub – a staple for any cold, Vicks is a household name. A few people said to rub it on her feet. I then put on a onesie to bed which worked really well.
- The Nose Frida – both traumatic and satisfying, this was a two-person job. I placed the little device in my mouth and gently sucked at Charlotte’s nostril (there is a filter to make sure that never, ever goes anywhere near your mouth). This seemed to make the biggest and most immediate difference to provide comfort.
- Nurofen for Children – we gave this a couple of times as she seemed in a lot of discomfort, maybe a headache or sore throat, but it seemed to take the edge off
In addition to this we gave lots of fruit, water, cuddles and lots of Mr Tumble.
This was my first experience of a cold with a baby. I know I don’t know the full spectrum of solutions, but these worked well so I had to share!
Do you have any tips to share?
Please let me know below. Also if you enjoyed reading about some of my Mum experiences, why don’t you check out my other blog posts about weaning and some easy toddler meals xx
