i need some advice to make it through the night?

Question

my 20 month old was real sick when he was around 6 months old but seemed to out grow it a little bit. the last three nights he has been sleepless and last night he started coughing real bad, it sounded like a bark which i know is a sign of croup. this morning he seemed like he was having trouble breathing so i called the doctor and brought him in. the doctor said that it was just a bad cold and his lungs were clear but also wanted me to put him on albuteral.(he does have asthma) tonight he has a 101.1 fever the cough is still bad and he is just moping around. a couple times he has thrown up from choking on flem when coughing. i know he needs his sleep but i have a feeling we are in for a rough night. any advice to help a worried mom through the night. thanks.......
(only serious answers please this is my son we are talking about not a joke)

Answer 1

I know you can't mix meds so if you think the fever is worse then you give him something for that.Then use steam like everyone else said,unless you can use Vicks on a small child.I don't know if it's for kids but I think they may have one that is.Hope it's not to late to go to store where you are!If you decide to give him the cough medicine, you can bring down fever with ice pack in a big sock or small towel. Just enough cloth so he won't be shocked by cold but enough to cool him down.Put it under his shirt,which ever side he'll let you.Don't be alarmed when he throws up from coughing ,I do that too. It will help get the phlegm out!Remember,doctors are people too. Don't be intimidated by them or afraid to ask questions, even in the middle of the night! They may be book smart but often lack "hands-on" experience except in their office.Their own children are often raised by nannies &baby-sitters.Not that they are bad people but they are usually very busy and have lots of money{our money} for child care.They used to tell me when my daughter was born to feed her every 2-3 hours. My mom & everyone else I knew with babies said "You never wake a sleeping baby"They will tell you when they're hungry. It's true.Sometimes she slept so long she only ate like2-3 times a day ,then WIC said she was getting "too big" I couldn't just feed her once!!!!They said it was normal for a newborn to sleepso long-16-20 hrs. a day.Even when she was a couple months old.She didn't even demand to eat as soon as she got up sometimes.She was very happy baby. Anyways....the point is different people will all say different things.Doctors also wake people up to give them sleeping pills!!They just do what they learned from books ,but don't always spend hours with a sick child.Experiment a little but don't use a fever reducer and cough medicine together !!! I seriously would try the Vicks if you can find it for children. Good Luck!!!! Don't 4-get to kiss his little forehead!!

Answer 2

I know with asthma the docs recomend that you do not use steam. But with my daughter which has asthma. When she got really bad ( puking from coughing) I would bring her in the steamy bathroom for 10 min intervals. It breaks up the flem. Tylenol for the fever. Make sure you give the dose by weight not be age. Founf that out the hard way. And if you can find the energy in yourself ( which is really hard sometimes) stay up and cuddle ans comfort your little guy through the coughing fits. Rub his back and sing him a luluby. It will soothe his emotions at least. Keep track of his breathing. It could change drastically. If he is sucking in the ribs or weezing bring him to the emerg. He might need a heavy does of steriods to bring the inflamtion down. But other than that I wish you the best of luck tonight. I know what your going through, I have done it many times. And it almost seems thatthe kids with asthma always get hit bad in the winter.

Answer 3

If he has a fever, I would think that it's not just asthma, that sounds like his body is fighting off an illness, so it must be a pretty bad cold. I've had many sleepless nights with my three kids. Sometimes you just have to suck it up and say okay, I'm not going to get any sleep tonight, and I haven't slept all week, but I'm going to make sure this baby is comfortable as possible. Give him some children's motrin to bring the fever down and find a comfortable chair to hold him in. My kids always do better with a good humidifier in their room too. If you can get him to fall asleep and he's comfortable he may let you put him down and you can get some rest yourself... Just remind yourself that it won't last forever! Good Luck!

Answer 4

I'd be in the ER with him being so young.
My son is 11 and I haven't slept in 2 nights. (Same issue! Also, every time he gets a sinus infection, his asthma goes haywire. Which means his asthma won't calm down until we get the infection cleared....antibiotics, 14 or 21 day round. 10 days won't do it.)
The fever is an indication that your baby has something worse than just a cold.
Please take him to the ER.

If you can't, keep your cool air mister running (your thermostat set for 60) and watch the fever. If he's retracting, call the squad. Get him to another doctor in the A.M.

A tip for fever management: Many folks will tell you to hold him to comfort him. This is the worst thing to do if he's got a fever (& the hardest thing to resist doing when he feels crummy.) But holding him will actually make his fever worse.
No ice, just tepid water.Wipe his forehead, hands, and feet with a wet washcloth. Evaporation is a cooling process, remember?

Answer 5

Bring him to bed with you. I don't know whether you co slept when he was younger or not, but it's very comforting for a worried mother to be so close if something goes wrong, and very comforting for a sick child. Be sure to put a towel underneath him (specifically his head)

Before bed, you might want to sit in the bathroom with him with a hot shower running, which should loosen him phlegm, then put him over your knees and tap on his back (a lot like burping a younger child), to loosen it some more and get him to cough it up.

I don't know whether this will make you feel better or not, but in general, a cold with a fever is a flu. The good news is it's a really common illness that goes away on its own after a few days. The bad news is it will be really miserable. Make sure your giving him tylenol for the fever and probable body aches (that would be making him mopey), but do take him back to the doc if his fever gets worse (like 102)

Answer 6

Its going to be a rough night and I feel for you. Turn on the shower so it is steaming and sit in the bathroom. That will help keep his airways open. My youngest son had this problem till he was about 6. He always got that barking cough following a head cold. He would take antibiotics and albuterol (with his breathing apparatus). Make sure to give him some baby aspirin for the fever and juice so he doesn't get dehydrated. Good luck and I hope he feels better soon!

Answer 7

I have no idea what the weather is like where you are, but if it's cold at night, you can try taking him outside for a few minutes to breathe the cold air. You can also turn a hot shower on and take him into the steamy bathroom. If Tylenol will bring his fever down, that might be all he needs to settle the cough. I've also used Vick's Vaporub on the chest/throat area to help open up airways.

Answer 8

Take him into the bathroom, close the door, turn the shower on as hot as possible to really steam up the room, then snuggle in there with the little guy for 10-15 minutes.

We just went through the same thing with our 3 year old with the coughing until throwing up--suckers helped to calm down the cough.

If you think he might throw up in bed you can double or triple sheet the bed with extra mattress pad in between each layer, then if he throws up you can just peel off the top layer and still have a "made" bed.

Answer 9

My doctor always tells me a cool mist humidifier is a good idea when a child is sick, also it might help his breathing if he sleeps at an angle, with a few pillows helping elevate his back head and chest. I don't know where your from but our local hospital has a cradle care line you can contact 24/7 I am in Massachusetts, if you have a cell and its a free call it might be worth it if your still having trouble or just need someone to let you know it will be OK at 2 am. Sturdy Memorial Hospital 1-508-222-5200 ask for the cradle care line.

Answer 10

Being a mom gets easier when they are older. He should have something for the cough at least. That could keep him from sleeping, and the thing he needs most is sleep. Make sure the fever doesn't go much higher. If it does, he could be getting a bronchial infection. Is he taking baby Tylenol? Good luck.