No one likes being sick, but being sick and being a baby at the same time can be a pretty unique challenge. Baby may never have felt anything like the common cold before, and even relatively minor illnesses can feel like the end of the world when they happen to a child you love. Illnesses can turn Baby‘s world upside down, and their sleep schedule is no exception.
Sleep during an illness
Sleep is one of the best medicines a sick baby can have, no matter what illness has them feeling out of it. It’s common for babies to sleep a lot more than usual during an illness to give their bodies a chance to heal, but it’s also pretty common for symptoms of an illness to get in the way of sleep.
Babies can only breathe through their noses, so having a stuffy nose can be very uncomfortable for them, and can get in the way of necessary activities like eating and sleeping. If your baby is having trouble breathing or drinking because of nasal congestion, you can help them by clearing out their nose. Saline drops or spray in their nostril can help to break up the blockage, and a rubber suction bulb can help suck it away. Clearing out their nose before they sleep or feeds can give them the best chance of getting the meal and rest they need. Your little one is a little young for medicated saline drops, so simple salt water is the way to go.
You can also place a cool-mist humidifier or vaporizer in your baby’s bedroom at night to help keep their nose from getting too stuffy. Hot water humidifiers can be dangerous and can cause burns.
Helping your child sleep during an illness is one of the best things you can do for their health, and that may take precedence over sleep training or the good sleeping habits you may have been trying to instill. That’s okay – sleep habits generally take a little time to form, so doing something different from what you want to be ‘normal’ for your child won’t necessarily get in the way of their healthy sleep habits in the future.
The basic rule of thumb is that it’s important to help Baby get as much sleep as possible as they heal, but of course, there are a few exceptions. The first and most important is hydration – if Baby is sleeping through their usual mealtimes, they could start to get dehydrated, especially if they have a fever. Until they are around 6 months old, they shouldn’t drink anything but breast milk or formula, and even after that, for the rest of the first year, they should still get most of their hydration from breast milk or formula, though they can start to have a little water. Hydration is crucially important during an illness, though, even if that means occasionally waking them up to offer it.
The other exceptions to the “as much sleep as possible during an illness” rule run along the same lines: if your child’s doctor has prescribed a medication, it’s important to follow the medication schedule, even if that means waking them up.
Most importantly, if your child is ever unresponsive or hard to rouse, it’s important to seek medical attention right away.
Sleep after an illness
Regression to an earlier stage of their sleep behavior after an illness is pretty common, either because they were allowed to bend the rules while they were sick, or just because they are looking for a little extra comfort as they recover. It’s up to you how long to let that go on, but the longer your child is allowed to, say, sleep next to you, or call out for a bottle in the middle of the night, the more they are going to come to expect and depend on it.
Sources
- “Diseases and conditions: Pediatric Sleep Disorders.” ClevelandClinic.org. The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, May 30 2013. Web.
