Babies First Cold

The flu/the common cold recently entered our household. My partner works at a school so it was only a matter of time before we became ill. I have a pretty bad immune system as it is so I'm almost always ill but my partner doesn't usually get colds, when he does its bad.

With the covid-19 pandemic my anxiety has been through the roof thinking that we will get ill. Schools are a hotspot for colds so it is more than likely that covid will ravage through and infect loads of people. Since my partner started work I've been so worried that he will catch something and then one day, he came home with a cold.

He had a bit of a runny nose at first and then a sore throat and suddenly everything hit him. Sickness, fatigue, blocked nose, headache, he was stuck in bed for a few days (luckily he had a few days off work). He offered to sleep somewhere else but its just not practical with a baby because there's times when I need help.

Since we were sleeping in the same bed, even though we spent most of the days apart, I got ill. When I got ill, my partner had to go back to work, so there was no possible way that I could stay away from Millie. The day after I started to feel run down, she started showing signs of a cold. I'm just so thankful that it was just a cold.

My symptoms were pretty much the same as my partners except my headache came later on and I wasn't sick at all. Caring for a sick baby while your sick is hard work! I praise other mothers who do it and those with multiple children. My nan must have been superhuman since she had 7 kids!

The worst of Millies cold came during day 2 and 3. The first day was just a runny nose, nothing a snot suctioner thing can't help. The first night was awful. She woke up 3 or 4 times and didn't have a deep sleep at all. Since she was 8 weeks old she has slept constantly through the night from 8/9pm to 5/6am. The 2nd night was just as bad, she woke up a lot during the night and then decided to get up at 4am and not go back to sleep unless she was laying on me, sadly that meant I couldn't nap too.

Her runny nose got worse and more blocked and she started to get a bit of a temperature. She was sneezing and coughing a lot and was just so exhausted during the day. I gave her calpol once during the time she was ill and that was only because her temperature was getting high and she was so unsettled and crying in pain. Other than that I just gave her loads of hugs and as much milk as she wanted. She would sleep most of the day, she didn't want to play with her toys, didn't want to sit up (which she usually loves), she just wanted to sleep and have cuddles.

What finally helped her to sleep at night was giving her a warm bath. The steam from the bath must have loosened all the mucus in her nose because when I suctioned it, loads came out. That night she slept like normal which was a blessing! After that I made sure to give her a bath before bed every night she seemed congested. We usually give her a bath every night or every other night just as part of our routine and to try and relax her before bed but where she was so unwell and had a temperature we didn't think it would be a good idea to bathe her.

Its been about a week since we both got ill and we still aren't over it. My partner is pretty much back to normal but i still have a bit of a blocked nose and a sore throat. Millie is mostly over her cold, she sneezes and cough every now and then and is still a bit congested but she seems so much better. She's been playing with her toys more and is back to her normal crazy self.

I was dreading the first cold. I know that babies have low immune systems so its inevitable but I was so worried how she would react and so scared that it would be really bad. Right now with covid going around we've been even more worried about getting ill, I'm just glad it was only a cold. 

I'm hoping that this is how she is in general when she gets unwell because that way we know how to handle it and know what helps. 

Hopefully she doesn't get ill again for a while, it's awful seeing her so upset.

Let me know if there's anything you find that helps your child when they're ill, any advice will be greatly appreciated!