Wintertime Sleep: Baby can't sleep with a stuffy nose and cough

February 10, 2020 Lauren Olson

Baby colds are the worst.

Your baby's stuffy head, runny nose, or cough can keep him awake and keep YOU from getting the sleep you need as well. So how do you help a baby sleep with a cold??

Hi! I’m Lauren, founder of Sleep + the City pediatric sleep agency, helping babes ages 0-4 years around the world through my modernized sleep methods and quick sleep solutions that don’t involve tons of tears. Today we are diving into all about baby colds, and how to recover once baby is feeling better! My daughter was only two months old when she caught her first cold. She was doing GREAT at night for 8 weeks, sleeping in 4-6 hours stretches and waking twice a night to be fed and fell back asleep with little soothing- we were well on our way to sleeping through the night! However, this was short lived: after she caught her cold, her tiny immune system couldn't fight it off. When she fiiiiiiiinally kicked the cold at 4 months old, she was still.....waking.....every......TWO HOURS. Her congestion had not only made me a sleep-deprived zombie, but made her dependent on me to physically put her back to sleep when she woke at night (remember prior she was pretty content after a feed and fell back asleep).

How do you help your baby sleep when they are sick, have a cough, stuffy nose, or all the above?

The Science Stuff:

Any viral infection, including the common code, can result in nasal congestion and coughing. For the first few months of an infant's life, they are nose breathers only: meaning they only know how to use their noses to breathe in & out. Any amount of nasal congestion in a newborn can result in significant trouble breathing; meaning your baby can spend the whole night trying to get comfortable, which often results in crying, screaming, tossing & turning nonstop. Like me, if you find yourself in this position, you'll unfortunately have to ride out the storm, meaning you'll have to wait until the cold finally goes away on it's own until sleep even has the potential to return back to normal.

Try these tips:

Use a humidifier or cool-mist vaporizer. Adding moisture to a baby’s room will help clear their tiny nasal passages, which will help nighttime coughing fits and stuffy noses. Be sure to keep the device 2-5 feet away from baby’s head, and clean regularly to avoid mold growth. My absolute favorite humidifier can be found here , ships quickly and free, and has a color-changing nightlight (I use this all winter long even when my kids aren’t sick and they love it!).

Elevate your babe: Lying down flat for sleep can increase a baby’s chance of a stuffy nose or cough, which isn’t great when bedtime is approaching and they need all the sleep they can get to restore their bodies. Try lifting one end of your baby’s mattress by stacking a few books underneath, or under the legs of the crib. If baby can’t fall asleep at naptime with a stuffy nose or without coughing, try holding baby upright for the first 10-15 minutes before setting them down.

Steam it Up: For coughing attacks, steam up your bathroom and sit with your baby in the damp mist.

OTC Cough Syrup: If your kid is older than 12 months, talk with your doctor about over-the-counter options. I like using one with a touch of melatonin for 2+ year old toddlers to help them fall back asleep quickly if they have a cough that keeps them up constantly; here’s the one I use. Try offering a bit before bedtime with some coffee creamer for babes that can’t stand the taste. Cough syrup can almost always help a baby that is coughing all night due to a runny nose.

Night Wakings with a cold:

If your baby is sick and wakes up during the night, go to them right away if they seem to be fussing or have increasingly louder cries. Increase your soothing time at naps, bedtime and those night wakings, but try not to increase feeds at night that previously didn’t exist (plus the milk can cause increased congestion!) If you are currently sleep training, put the process on “pause” until your child’s cough or stuffy nose has been gone for at least 3 days, and then jump right back in. At the night wakings, try staying by their crib/bed or stay in the room if you must hold them, but try not to bring them into your bed (changing their sleep environment will further disrupt sleep believe it or not!). Some parents will opt to temporarily “move in” to their child’s room for further ease of dealing with the increased wakings when a child is sick.

My baby’s cold is gone…now what?:

Prepare yourself for some sleep regressions due to the illness, especially if you’re having to hold baby upright to fall asleep to reduce coughing or a stuffy nose. Poor napping, missed naps, inconsistent sleep environments, and increased parent intervention at night wakings (due to increased methods of settling a sick child) will cause regressions with even the best sleepers. Some children may even take “monster naps”, ones that last 2-4 hours during the day to catch up on lost sleep from the prior night. If your child is under 12 months, and/or is having their first year in daycare/school, expect these colds to last 2-3+ weeks, or more. Children who are exposed to these common colds for at least a full year prior can usually beat a cold within 3-7 days the following years. After the cold goes away, your child could still be experiencing night wakings, or waking out of habit, or crying out for Mom/Dad just like they did all those nights because that's what they've become accustom to. The best way to return to your normal routines is to gradually begin introducing your child back to your old routines, such as briefly rocking them at night and THEN placing them down in the crib, vs. now rocking them completely to sleep. If your baby is 4+ months, expect some fussing with these changes, as you would experience any time your baby has sleep changes. I can't tell you how to never catch a cold again, but any regressions due to illness are completely reversible, especially if you had healthy sleep habits to begin with. If your child was already waking several times per night prior to their illness, or has become an even restless sleeper after beating this cold, he or she may need some gentle sleep help to begin sleeping through the night again.

Or has your baby never slept through the night? Or refuse to take a long nap?

I can help, and it starts with ONE THING.

I believe that making a move toward big changes for your baby’s sleep AND health starts with something as small as a decision; a decision to make time to learn what you don’t already know about parenting, a decision to use what you already DO know and leverage that knowledge; a decision to finally take that leap into baby sleep shaping the RIGHT way (not that old CIO or pop-in’s way). My babes were sleeping 11-12 HOURS straight at night by 5 months—and I’m gonna let all my secrets spill! I’m gearing up to give you the tools that will help you get there, to give ya’ a little boost into the life as a parent that you want to live, while assisting your baby to sleep with science-backed methods, and being the best Mama & spouse you’ve always dreamed of being.