Humidifier in the baby’s room: do you need one?

The AAP’s guidance

When a baby has a stuffy nose, the AAP’s parent site suggests a humidifier or vaporizer that fills the sleep space with cool mist to help open the nasal passages. On colds in general, it advises using a humidifier if the air at home is dry, since moist air stops mucus from drying out.

Think of a humidifier as a comfort measure. It won’t treat an infection, and healthy sleep doesn’t depend on one.

Safe use

• Cool mist. Cool mist is what the AAP’s advice for babies describes.
• Placement. Near enough for the mist to reach the sleep space, yet beyond your baby’s reach, as the AAP recommends.
• Cord. Make sure the cord can’t be reached from the crib.
• New water every day. According to the AAP, change the water daily and follow the manufacturer’s directions to prevent mold and bacteria.
• No additives. Plain water only. Read essential oils and baby sleep.
• Don’t overdo it. If you notice damp walls, wet windows or a musty smell, the room is too humid. Lower the setting or switch it off. In humid climates or during summer, extra moisture can make a room feel stuffy and invite mold.

A humidifier makes congestion easier. It can’t repair sleep that was already broken before the cold, or habits that formed during it. Once your baby has recovered, that sleep is what Actually Sleeping fixes.

More ways to relieve a stuffy nose at night

Suggestions from the AAP:

• Saline drops to loosen the congestion. Choose plain saline without any added medicine.
• Gentle suction using a bulb syringe or nasal aspirator. Squeeze the bulb first, then place it in the nostril.
• A feed before sleep, after the nose has cleared a bit, so your baby isn’t feeding through congestion.

Whether to use cough and cold medicines is a separate conversation with your pediatrician; read cough and cold medicine at bedtime.

What to avoid

The AAP leaves no doubt that propping your baby up on pillows or towels, or tilting the mattress, isn’t safe, cold or no cold. Inclined sleepers are banned. Babies sleep flat on their backs, on a firm surface, with nothing else in the crib. Read inclined sleepers and loungers.

When to call your pediatrician

According to the AAP’s parent site, call your pediatrician if:

• Your baby is breathing much faster than usual
• Coughing turns their lips or face bluish
• Constant coughing stops them from sleeping, eating or playing

Call 911 if your baby is working hard for every breath, can hardly cry or make sounds, has a bluish face or lips, or appears to have something stuck in their throat.

When there’s more going on than a cold

Many parents buy a humidifier because their baby isn’t sleeping. Congestion genuinely does wake babies during a cold. Still, a humidifier can’t solve night waking that began before the cold, and it won’t help a baby who has come to need help getting back to sleep. If frequent waking was already happening before your baby got sick, the cold may simply have amplified a pattern that was there. Colds can also leave a sleep hangover: extra night feeds and new habits from nights spent comforting, which were exactly right while your baby was unwell.

When your baby is healthy again, that sleep is the part you can fix, and fixing it is what Actually Sleeping does. Dr. Sam writes a plan for your baby, you get bootcamp-style coaching before the first night, and the daily 1:1 check-ins put the plan on hold during illness and restart it once your baby has recovered. Your custom plan sets how night feeds are handled, based on your baby’s age. Listen to families in our 129 client video reviews. You can also read sleep after illness.

Baby healthy again, but nights still rough? Book a free consultation with Actually Sleeping.