Sickness & Sleep Don’t Mix…Or Do They?
Growing up in sunny Southern California, I had no idea how challenging it would be raise kids anywhere else with actual seasons. But damn! Raising kids in the Midwest has proven to be one of the craziest uphill battles I’ve experienced as a mom so far.
We really only get about 3-4 months of “nice-ish” weather, which is typically a few weeks of scorching temps with humid, thick air and approximately 12 minutes of sweater-weather before the first snowfall.
Needless to say, this isn’t about weather fluctuations in the Midwest, but rather about how our kids’ immune systems refuse to cut us mamas a break.
Yes, even in the midst of summer fun.
Inevitably, that summer cold (or Croup or Hand, Foot, and Mouth or some other god awful grossness) creeps into your house to wreck the whole vibe for at least a week, while it runs its circuit through every living being.
Your kid’s nose is stuffed up and running simultaneously (how though?!), they’re coughing constantly, food is a “maybe” (probably more like a “no”), and they’re clingier than normal, making sure that you’ll definitely catch whatever it is that they’ve got and then some.
Worst of all, sleep is literally nonexistent. Naps go out the window and overnight sleep is an exhausting game of musical beds for days on end. It’s no wonder everyone gets sick when one of our kids brings something home – we’re all running on empty and our bodies have nothing left to give.
So, if you’re in the thick of fighting off the plague right now and need some proven ideas to help your kiddo (and you) get more sleep tonight, here are my tried-and-true top 5:
Avoid hot baths. If your little one has a fever, plopping them in a hot bath is only going to elevate their body temperature, which is the opposite of what you want. It’s true that babies and toddlers can sustain higher temperatures that we can as adults, but we don’t want to encourage an existing fever to persist by plopping them in hot water, especially before bed. Instead, opt for a warm washcloth wipe down or a cool-ish bath to calm their nervous system and set them up for better sleep.
Run a cool mist humidifier day and night. There are a bunch of humidifier options for kids’ rooms, but the best of the best are the standard adult options. Reason being, they’re generally more powerful and able to pump out more moist air to fully saturate the room, which is what you want when your kiddo is struggling with a stuffy nose, cough, etc. Run that puppy all day long, not just at night, to keep their sleep space primed for naps and overnight without any ramp up time. It’s also important to double check the type of humidifier. Because kids are prone to testing limits in every situation, you’ll need a cool mist humidifier instead of a warm option to ensure safety if/when they attempt to dismantle it with their hands and face – don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Use a snot sucker and saline all day long. This is a big one that many parents I work with are hesitant to do – either because it grosses them out or they’re afraid they’re hurting their child in some way. Listen, I understand that intense crying, especially for younger babies and new parents, can be super triggering and uncomfortable. But this one will really make a huge difference in how your child feels while they’re recovering. To ensure you’re not actually hurting them, use saline before every sucking session. It’ll prime the nostrils and nasal passages appropriately to have all that grossness sucked out efficiently without having to do so an unnecessary amount of times. My rule of thumb is to spray some saline every time you change a diaper to keep things moving and snot suck once in the morning, midday (ideally before a nap), and at night (ideally before bed). Your kiddo will be mad in the moment, but silently thank you in the long run.
Raise their head (18+ months only). Using gravity to your advantage, especially with stuffy noses or coughs, will make a world of difference for your child while he or she is sleeping. Just like adults, draining mucus (lovely, I know) travels with the tides of gravity, so the more you can keep it flowing instead of pooling in the back of their throats, the better off you’ll be. If your child uses a pillow already, prop it up a little more with a second pillow or a folded towel/blanket underneath. For younger kiddos, prop the head of the mattress with a blanket or two between the mattress and the bed frame or stack some books under the legs on the head side of the crib/bed. Keep in mind this is not advised for infants younger than 18 months due to suffocation risks, so let’s keep those babies safe, please.
Rub some Baby Vicks in all the right places. This is one I’ve used since forever and can’t say enough good things about it. There are tons of varieties (organic, vegan, all-natural, whatever), but using a child-approved menthol rub can help keep your little one’s airways comfortable all night long. The most effective places to rub this magic menthol is the chest, under the nose, and on the bottoms of feet. This stuff will make a big difference in your kiddo’s cough and ability to breathe, which is always a win in my book.
These are all the things that I use for my kiddos when sick – together, separately, at home, for travel, you-name-it – because they truly make all the difference between a decent and a crappy night of sleep.
All of this being said, there’s a key piece of the puzzle missing here that ultimately makes the biggest difference when it comes to how well your child is able to sleep when sick.
Maybe your child is usually a decent sleeper, great some nights and not awesome others. Or maybe they’ve never been a great sleeper and you’ve just conceded to surviving on catnaps every night until your kid is off to college.
Whatever your sleep scenario, I’m here to tell you that your kiddo’s sleep issues while sick are almost always fixable. You read that right – your child can absolutely sleep through the night even when they’re sick.
Let me explain…
When children, even babies, develop the skills to self-soothe and put themselves to sleep all on their own, it creates an autonomy and independence that promises to make sleep easy and attainable no matter the circumstances.
Yes, we all need a little help every once in a while when we’re not feeling good. But the general principle still stands – children with necessary and appropriate self-soothing skills to fall asleep and fall back to sleep independently will sleep better, even when sick.
All this is to say, the support beams are my tried-and-true top 5 tips for better sleep while sick, but the foundational structure in all of this are the independent sleep skills that every child needs and deserves to set them up for a lifetime of healthy sleep.
Cheers to better sleep!
PS. Still struggling to fix your child’s sleep issues? Let’s chat about it! Click the link below to book a FREE 15-min discovery call and let’s figure out how we can work together to get your family sleep better ASAP!
