11 Ways I Battled My Baby’s First Fever and Cold

Let’s talk baby sickness. No parent likes it and it hurts to see our little ones in pain. They’re crying, fussy, and congested – so it’s up to us to learn the signs and symptoms so we can further help them.

First of all, I’m the super cautious mom when it comes to baby sickness. That’s why I do my best to avoid it during baby’s first few months.

I limit cold wind exposure by using a car seat cover (which I’m referring to October/December weather here). I cut down store trips – that I used to do 4-5 times a week. I avoided hospitals or crowded places. I even took safety measures before going to my baby’s doctor appointments (because I know there’s a chance she’ll get sick after her shot).

Even when I did all of this, I still ended up battling my baby’s first sickness at 6 months old: a fever and cold. So how did I do it?

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When my daughter got her first fever at 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit, mama instinct kicked in and I immediately did 5 things:

1. Use a baby thermometer
2. Give her Infant’s Tylenol
3. Loosen her clothes and removed blankets
4. Boiled eggs
5. Give her a sponge bath

1. Baby Thermometer

The first and most important thing you need in your medicine cabinet is a baby thermometer.

When my daughter showed her first symptom through her warmth and rosy cheeks, I knew I needed to take her temperature.

This rectal thermometer is my favorite, and is most recommended for infants under three months old. Even after three months, I continued to use it until she was 2 years-old.

2. Infant’s Tylenol

Medicine is the next important thing you need. Whether it’s home remedies or over-the-counter (OTC) medications, your baby needs something to help fight off the fever internally.

In my case, I used Infant’s Tylenol. My little one was 6 months old and by using the Infant’s Tylenol chart, I gave her the appropriate dosage every 4-6 hours. I noticed that within 30 minutes, her fever began to cool down.

3. Loosen Clothes and Remove Blankets

Another thing I did was loosen her clothes and removed any blankets she had with her.

I took off my daughter’s pants, leaving her bodysuit and diaper on. I also turned on the ceiling fan to medium speed, to give the room some ventilation.

Doing this exposed my daughter to cool air so that her body temperature can cool down.

4. Boiled Eggs

In my culture, we have a tradition of using boiled eggs as a fever reducer. The idea is to roll around warm eggs (warm – not hot – to my daughter’s skin) around the body until the fever subsides.

The first thing I did was boil 4-5 eggs until it is fully cooked, leave it to cool a little bit so that it’s warm to the touch, and then peel off the egg shell.

Next, I would roll the cooked egg around my daughter’s body starting from the arms to the chest, back, and legs.

Once the white part of the egg begins to break down (a sign that it’s time to change to a new egg), I would break the egg open to see the yolk. It is at this time that I saw the yolk showed several dark bumps, which could mean that the illness is still there (I haven’t looked into the reasoning yet but I’m sure there’s a scientific explanation).

You can repeat this a few times a day until the spots are no longer there.

5. Give a Sponge Bath

Another thing I did to help my baby’s fever subside was to give her a sponge bath. With a sponge bath, I stripped my daughter down, leaving the diaper, and used a wet wash cloth to wipe her from the top down.

As for my baby’s cold, which lasted for more than a week, I did six things that made the cold go away:

1. Use a humidifer
2. Apply Baby Vick’s VapoRub
3. Give a warm and steamy bath
4. Use Boogie Wipes
5. Use the snot sucker
6. Spray saline solution

1. Humidifier

You’re probably wondering if you need a humidifier or not but let me tell you this, it’ll be worth every penny to get one.

I used my humidifier to help my daughter breathe better during the day and night. A humidifier can moisturize the air and lessen mucus buildup. I find it most effective during the night, because that’s when our body temperature drops.

I personally recommend Vick’s Filter-Free Cool Mist Humidifier. You don’t have to change any filters but you can use something called a VapoPad or Vick’s Pediatric VapoPads (the pediatric version that is safe to use for infants/babies). These pads can release soothing vapors.

2. Baby Vick’s VapoRub

One reason why the Baby Vick’s VapoRub was created was to relax and calm fussy babies using eucalyptus, lavender, and rosemary. This is the pediatric version of the Vick’s VapoRub, which can be used for babies 3 months and older.

I rubbed this all over my 6-month old’s chest and back and made sure it was applied a few times throughout the day.

I felt like it helped calm my daughter more and she was able to sleep better at night.

3. A warm and steamy bath

For a fever, I gave my daughter a sponge bath but for a cold, a warm and steamy bath was ideal because it could loosen up her mucus and relieve her cold.

I gave a long, steamy bath, every night that she was sick, and found that it played a factor in making her feel better.

4. Boogie Wipes

In case you don’t know what boogie wipes are, they’re basically wipes that contains water and salt to make it easier to wipe baby’s boogers.

This is not a necessity but I find it very helpful when you have those crusty, dried boogers around the nose that a normal tissue wouldn’t be able to help with.

I only purchased one, small pack, with 30 wipes, to help because I didn’t use it every day but it came in handy for the crusty moments.

5. Snot Sucker

If you haven’t read my other post about adding the amazing Snot Sucker to your registry during pregnancy, then I recommend you getting one now.

Dealing with snot is a long-term battle, it just doesn’t seem to go away! Even when I tried every method to help with mucus, snot seems to appear and I would have to take out the snot sucker and suction out the mucus that is hiding at the back of my baby’s nose.

It’s safe to say that by the time my daughter got better, the snot sucker and I have become best friends.

6. Saline Solution

Saline solution is great for loosening up mucus inside the nose. It also makes it easier to suck out mucus when using it with the snot sucker.

Every time I use the snot sucker, I would spray saline solution first, and then suction out the boogers.

My favorite brand is the Little Remedies Saline Spray.

It’s cheaper to buy this brand (compared to the NoseFrida brand – which is the same brand as the snot sucker) and it’s also easy to use. I love that the handle at the top makes it comfortable to spray the solution in an upward position.

What methods have you tried? What worked for you and what didn’t? Comment below and let us know.

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