My Little One Has a Bad Stuffy Nose

Avoid any of the Vicks products for a child this young. It can irritate rather than soothe in a new baby. Keep on with the saline and suction. Run the shower on full hot and sit in the steamy bathroom with her(then saline and suction) a couple of times a day. Ensure that she is staying fully hydrated with breastmilk or formula.

I've also felt as though a warm mist vaporizer with plain water was the way to go and is more hygienic than any cool mist humidifier. I am assuming you are still running your furnace in Chicago this time of year...the dry air could be the culprit. I run our vaporizer pretty much 24/7 when the furnace is going.

There isn't anything you can give a baby this young. It is worth a call to your pediatrician to see what sort of things they want you to watch for in case you need to bring her in. Definitely monitor her temperature rectally and get her in right away if she develops a fever.

She may NOT have a cold at all. Babies get stuffy noses sometimes. Their respiratory system is still maturing.

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Chances are that it's just her being a newborn. Their little nasal passages are really wee, and they are still expressing mucous from being inutero, plus dealing with dust and other irritants. Most babies are noisy sleepers and breathers! Do you have a nasal aspiriator?

If you are really concerned or if she isn't eating well, then take her to the doctor or emerg, but it is completely normal to have a snarfy baby!

It's also completely normal to fear they'll stop breathing if you take your eyes off them. :) It will really benefit you both if you get some sleep though, even if you let her sleep in a swing/crib/pack n play etc. right next to you.

I'd discontinue the Vicks for now, the saline drops can be useful especially with an aspirator, and a cool mist humidifier can help if she really has a cold but just know that so, so many babies get snuffly. Especially if they were C-section babies. However, both mine were born vaginally, and both were plenty snarfy.

Editied to add - if you are breastfeeding, she likely will have gained some immunity to the cold through your breastmilk. It's really uncommon for a 3 week old to have a cold, so honestly, if it seems really bad and she can't eat and is struggling to breath (again, most babies are normally noisy sleepers), if she is wheezing, etc. I'd take her in immediately. :)

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prop her crib mattress up from underneath so she is kind of sleeping at an angle. Also get a cool mist vaporizer. It won't make the stuffy noise go away, but it will keep it moist so she doesn't get so congested she can't breath. If she gets a fever at all call the doctor immediately! Also if the stuffy nose doesn't go away in a few days you should call to make sure she doesn't have an ear infection or anything else.

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Saline drops help break up the mucus and suction it out as best you can without irritating her little nose. We have an electric one and the bulb one given to us from the hospital. Both work for my son, but we only used the electric one for the stubborn boogers when he got older. If she develops a cough put your ear to the back of her chest and listen to her lungs. You'll know when it doesn't sound normal, you'll hear a wheeze or a rattle. That's when you need to take her in to be checked out because she could possibly have an upper respiratory infection. But, for now just focus on helping her breath through her nose.
Hope she feels better soon and you can sleep again!

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Let her sleep elevated (i.e. in a bouncer seat or swing). Also, turn the shower on hot and sit in the bathroom with her. The steam will help clear up her nose. Best wishes!

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Try suctioning it out with a bulb aspirator, and if you are breastfeeding, express some milk and put a few drops in each nostril every couple of hours, the breastmilk has antibiotic and antimicrobial properties to help clear up anything that may be going on. If you are using formula your baby may be allergic to it and is having an allergic reaction, if so start pumping right away and get your milk back in.

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Have you tried sitting in the bathroom with her while the shower is running so that the steam can help clear her up? My pediatrician always recommended that when they were younger. Also, propping the mattress up slightly from underneath can help, as laying down completely can make congestion worse.

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Let the baby sleep in her bouncer. When the head is elevated gravity will help the nose drain (it helps adults as well).

I'd try having her sleep in her carrier, swing, or on a sleep positioner so that she isn't lying flat on her back. That way her nose will naturally drain a little easier.

Same thing happened when my youngest was born, I had a cold and he got it right after. Just do the saline.....ALOT. We did it at every diaper change. And don't do just a tiny bit, you want to truly irrigate it. And you can use the bulb syringe after that. Use a vaporizer/humidifier in the room she sleeps in, and sleeping upright will help too. There isn't much else you can do for one so young. Sleeping in a bouncer or swing, or in a more upright position in a sling will help her get some rest. Oh, and if you are nursing, nurse nurse nurse. You are giving her all those important antibodies to fight the cold!

Hi L.
I think that your baby is too young to be treating her with Vicks vaporizer. I've heard you shouldn't even put it in the humidifier.
Call the pediatrician to get some more advice - it's not worth risking getting non-medical advice or checking the internet for solutions with a 3 week old. Good luck!

Hi L. R. Call or take your daughter to see a doctor before this gets worse. You don't want to waste time trying to figure out what to do with a baby this young. Even if you have to take out to the emergency room.

Not sure what you can do about the stuffy nose, but I slept better when my little one was a baby with an Angel Care monitor. It is a pad that goes under the mattress and senses their breathing. An alarm goes off if their isn't any movement in 20 seconds. It was the only way I could sleep at night. Hope she gets better soon!

I would call her doctor. she's so little that they may want to see her.~C.~

Get the "Nose Frida" we've been using it for our 5 months old and it's great at getting the snot from their little noses - much better than the bulb.

At just 3 weeks old she should be taken to the Dr. You can also try the bubble aspirator.

I agree with the humidifier and bulb syringe. What helped my daughter more than saline was a few drops of breastmilk in each nostril. Sounds strange, but totally worked wonders!