One Sick Mama

When I was without child I would always hear my friends with babies talking about how they were sick what seemed like all the time. I thought to myself, I am not going to get sick. I never get sick now (which was true, I rarely got sick) but now I've either been congested or with a cough for the last 2-3 weeks. Hence the coughing and talk about kegels in yesterdays post. Aki Bear has had congestion but he never seemed quite as bad as me. The other night I got up to check online to see if I could take a cough suppressant while nursing because I kept coughing and was afraid I was going to wake the sleeping burrito. Yep I can. I even asked his pediatrician if I could and she gave me the thumbs up. I can take cough drops too. In my search for cough-suppressant-while-nursing answers I came upon the website Breastfeeding Basics dot com. They had an entire article on being a sick breastfeeding mom and it was full of detailed answers on what or what not a breastfeeding mom could take for a cold. This is a snippet from that article on coughs:

• For coughs: Avoid products with an alcohol content of over 20%. Robitussin, Mucinex, Triaminic Expectorant, and Vicks Nyquil are not known to be harmful, but watch for infant drowsiness. Expectorants like Guaifenesin(the main ingredient in Mucinex, Robitussin, Benylin) don’t suppress coughs. They loosen up the mucus in the respiratory tract to make it easier to cough up. They haven’t been known to cause any adverse effects in nursing babies, but they also don’t seem to be very effective. Avoid multi-action formulas such as Tylenol Multi-Symptom Cough medication and Vicks Nyquil Liquid or Liquicaps.

Dextromethorphan is an antitussive/cough preparation that seems to work by elevating the cough threshold in the brain. It’s the main ingredient in Benylin and Robitussin DM. It’s considered to be the safest of the antitussives and the one least likely to transfer into milk. As with other cold meds, watch your baby for drowsiness.

So I went out and purchased a cough suppressant and some cough drops.

What I found interesting in the article was the first bit when she talks about contracting a virus. She writes:

Since most illnesses are caused by viruses that are most contagious before you even realize you are sick, your baby has already been exposed before you even develop symptoms (such as fever, diarrhea, vomiting, rash, runny nose, cough, etc). Continuing to breastfeed will help protect your baby from the infection, because your body produces antibodies to the specific bug that is causing the infection, and you pass them on to the baby in your milk. Often, a breastfed baby will be the only member of the family who doesn’t get sick. If he does get sick, he will usually have a much milder case than the older members of the family.

So I knew about the antibodies but I thought it was interesting that the baby probably has been exposed before the mom even acquires the first symptoms (makes sense though.) I also appreciate the honesty in saying that "If he does get sick, he will usually have a much milder case." Thanks for telling the truth Anne! I was told by many people including my birthing instructor and breastfeeding consultant that the breastfeeding baby WOULD NOT GET SICK.  Lie you a tell.

Anyhoo. I went to the nurse practitioner at work today and she told me to continue the neti pot, 2x a day, keep up with the vitamin c and Dayquil (cough suppressant). She told me not take guaifenesin which is an expectorant but instead to up my liquids. She said that upping liquids works just as well as taking a drug like guaifenesin, who knew! Bottoms up! (Water and juice of course...and tea!)

Sorry no pics! Tomorrow!