One Month Old Very Stuffy

my little girl had a stuffy nose when she was tiny too. A humidifier in her room at night works well in addition to the saline drops. It seems like babies have adult sized boogies w/baby nostrils...lol. I would try not to give her any medication if possible & let her body take care of it. Try putting a drop or two of the saline & letting her snort it, that would always loosen up my baby's snot. Also, are you breastfeeding? It could be a food allergy. Hang in there mommy!

i go with allergies too. my daughter had a stuffy nose and funny little cough that lasted for 5 weeks. it started when she was about 3 weeks old. i breastfeed her but started giving her formula now and then to take a break. (i have twins!) anyway, as soon as i started giving them occasional bottles of formula, sofia started with the sniffles. sometimes the phlem would be so thick she'd puke from gagging on it. one of my friends suggested it might be a reaction to the cow's milk in formula. i switched to soy and within a day the sniffles were gone. now the girls are 4 months old and i haven't heard a sniffle since. hope this helps you!

K.

Try getting a humidifier for her room, and also before she goes to be it sometimes helps to close up your bathroom and and turning the shower on hot so that it gets steamy and just let your baby sit in there for five or ten minutes before she goes to bed.

Sounds to me like allergies too. If it is happening in your home, you might consider a high quality air purifier. It is also really important that you use cleaners that are free of chemicals? My son and I are the same way. I was so impressed with Shaklee's green cleaners and air purifier that I became a distributor myself. If you want to check them out, you can see them here: http://www.shaklee.net/build Click on Home Care and Air Purification on the left. I am here if you have any questions. K.
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When we brought our son home from the hospital, we were told to expect some runny nose and a little coughing...that it's a normal "newborn thing". I don't remember it lasting a month, though. Worth asking your pediatrician about, but probably nothing to be alarmed about.

I agree with everyone. But I used the old turn on the hot shower trick to humidify your house. Try to vacummn everything (couch, floors, bed) just to see if this work. It just maybe to much dander for the lil one. You need to buy the air cleaner!
Ive heard of moms putting there child infront of windows in the sun. Somehow it stuns them sneezing and stuff alot?
If that dont work I believe you can get tested for certain allergies. Good Luck

My first thought was mold. We didn't think we had any in our house but one day I was cleaning the toilet and I noticed there was some up underneath the tank where you can't really see it unless you look. Also, it sounds like allergies. Pets, dust mites, flowers. Could be a spring thing. A lot of chemicals that we use to clean our houses are actually making us sick. Even laundry detergent can have an effect. When my son was born he was allergic to our laundry soap so I used Dreft. Try using different brands of stuff in your house and see if she changes any. If you would like information on pure household cleaning products and personal products, like shampoo and lotion, you can either sign up through me or if you don't want a commitment like that you can just order them through me. They are Melalueca products and they are eco friendly making the environment we live in safer and more pleasant to live in.

I know this may sound silly but do you still have any flowers in your house from when you had her. we recieve a bouquet of flowers from my husband's work and we all got stuffy and when I removed them we all cleared up it could be as simple as that.

Wow, C., I can feel how frustrated you are...I tend to think like your allergy friends. Do you have a dog or cat? That might be it....there's also a bunch of protein allergies that might be responsible. I know it must be hard, but try to think creatively as to what her daily routine is and what materials, etc. she comes in contact with. Reading up on known allergens is helpful. I've even heard that the fragrance in fabric softener can cause problems with breathing. Once you feel that you've found the allergen then it's the tough job of trying to eliminate it from her environment. Take notes and take care. Keep us updated............

we have a one week old little boy with the exact same problem, but no cough. Our Dr. gave us some eye drops that have a steroid in them ,we put them in his nose twice a day for five days and it's REALLY helping. He was so stopped up he couldn't even nurse. If after the five days, the stuffiness comes back, we'll be taking him to a specialist to have him evaluated.

They're really a bit young to have allergy problems right now, especially if they're being breast fed.

I know it might sound weird, but if you're nursing, try putting a drop or two of breastmilk in the nose, cleared my daughter's first stuffy nose right up! I read it somewhere, and it worked. Sounded strange to me, but it worked. Do you have an air filter or purifier? Especially in the bedroom, that might help her sleep. Good luck!

sounds like you need to get an air purifier or something to clean out the air. do you have pets? try that and see if it helps. otherwise, i'd say she's fine. but it could be allergies.

You need a humidifier.

My son was exactly the same way. Think about it - your tiny baby just spent nine months immersed in fluid; now she's surrounded by the dry air in your home. It's a shock to the system; some kids are just more sensitive than others.

A humidifier worked wonders for us. And we did use saline/bulb syringe occasionally. Should clear up in a few months as she gets acclimated...

Good luck!

It sounds like allergies, do you have pets as in cats? You may want to try an air purifier, they are kind of spendy but may be helpful. My allergist was the one who told me that people who have allergies will have a 90% chance of having children with allergies. Also vaccuming everyday with a HEPA filter. But going to your doctor and voicing your concerns over allergies, it is a simple blood test to rule out allergies. Hope this was helpful, its allthe things I have had to do with my allergies.

My son was the same way for a couple of months after birth. I always had to prop his head up when he slept so he could breathe better. Actually it bothered me more than him. He was delivered via C-Section. I don't know if you had a C-Section, but if you did a little of this had to do with that. The fluids aren't squeezed out during birth if delivered via C-Section therefore it takes time for them to cough up all that mucus from inside. The other thing is allergies. My son has them bad. Dust is a big one...watch out for stuffed animals they always have dust and especially don't put them in the crib. Detergents can be another biggie. I have to get scent free everything. Blankets and clothes basically have to be 100% cotton for my son. The best advise I can give is keep the environment clean. Also watch out on what you use to clean...too much perfume or dye can irritate. You seriously have to walk around the house looking at everything from dirty carpets,blinds,curtains,blankets,Pets and cigarette smoke is another biggie. If you smoke, even if outside smoking it's still on your hands and clothes and will harm the baby. Hope this helps. G.

Try an air filter. That really helped me dad when HE was having that problem. Also, check your house and make sure you don't have mold growing anywhere.

C.-

All three of my kids went through the same thing. It just took a little time for their sinuses to mature enough to handle things better. What I ended up doing was letting them sleep in their car seat for a few weeks until the stuffiness cleared up. I also used Baby Vaporub. The smell was soothing for them, and helped clear them up enough to rest. Try not to worry over it too much. Your baby girl will be fine. I know it's driving you nuts, but just give it a while. You're doing fine.

Best of luck to you!
-B.-

You can rent a suction machine. They are pretty cheap and if you get a prescription from your pediatrician your insurance usually covers the rental. I used it on my son when he had bronchialitis to keep him from getting RSV. It really didn't bother him much and he slept SO much better and so did I. They also sell these wedges, I think I got mine at Target, that you put under the crib sheets that props baby up without having to use a pillow. :)

1st of all I can't believe the doc gave her predisone so young, yikes.
My son was like that stuffy nose for the 1st 4 mos of his life, the nurses in the hospital gave him a drop of saline in each nostril several times a day, and that helped the dry buggers loosen up so they either when out the nose or got swallowed. My dd now has a stuffy nose (3mos) and I do the same thing. the bulb syring didn't work for me either.
They will grow out of it.
I haven't tryied it yet but i would like to get it, the crib support that allows a baby to sleep on its side, I think that would be helpful for my daughter.

To make sure it is not in her lungs just listen to her lungs by laying your ear to her back and listen to her breath. Sometimes they just sound bad in the nose.
I really don't think it is allergies too young yet. I'm not a doc, but that is just my 2 cents.
good luck

My son had a stuffy nose for most of infancy. I think it was just how his nasal passages were formed (he outgrew it). If this continues the best thing I learned was to get a nasal aspirator and some saline. You squirt the saline into the nose and suck out the mucus. This works very well.

Hi C.,
I have a 6 month old boy who has had a stuffy nose his since born. His always was worse at night, although now it is better but not gone. What I did is put a allergenic cover over my mattress and pillow(my boy sleeps with us). You might also want to try an air purifier. Hope this helps!
S.

my daughter had the same prob, she was actually stuffy before we even left the hospital and it lasted for almost 2 months. i never figured out what caused it. she's had a few colds since and always get really stuffy. i recently found out a remedy from daycare, its sounds really strange, but i tried it and it works. at bedtime, you put vicks on the bottom of her feet, a lot of vicks, and put socks over it. it helped my daughter a lot, cause she was so stuffy and coughing so much, she could barely sleep, and when i did that, she didn't cough at all that night and slept pretty much all the way through. if you've never used vicks on her, i would suggest putting just a small dab on her arm or leg first, earlier in the day, and see if she has any reaction. if not then she should be good to go. also, i don't think its allergies. babies are not born allergic to stuff. they develop allergies from repeated exposure to allergens. its rare for kids to develop allergies before the age of 3 or 4, except maybe for food allergies. but of course at this age, she's not eating regular food yet, so unless she has a milk allergy (if your formula feeding), i don't think thats the cause. i don't know for sure, but i think maybe my daughter had the prob cause she was a couple weeks early and mayber her sinuses hadn't completely developed yet. anyway, good luck, i know how hard this is!!!

When my daughter was born (she's 5 months old now) I experienced the same thing. I talked to the doctor about her being "stuffy nosed" or nasally. I have an older child with large adenoids and wondered if hers were enlarged too, making her breathing sound labored. She also snorts and is "squeaky" when she cries. The doctor said after examination that it had something to do with the flap at her windpipe being enlarged and that a baby will normally grow into it about 6-12 months old.
I had to keep her elevated when sleeping because otherwise she couldn't (and wouldn't) sleep, and still to this day she HATES being laid down flat. translated: HATES FLOOR TIME!!! we are finally getting to where she'll play on her tummy for short times, maybe 5 minutes. The good news, it has not delayed her ability to roll over or sit up, so I was relieved. She now does not sleep at an incline and will sleep really well at night, but not at nap times unless she's in her swing. I don't know why, but I'm not messing with what works for now! The prednisone thing sounds right because if it was inflammation that would make it go down, therefore solving the problem temporarily.
My advice for you, just find what works for you and your daughter and keep talking to your doctor if you don't think something is not right.

hi,

I have a 2 month old and he too gets quite stuffy when he sleeps at night. During the day he often sleeps in his swing so isn't flat on his back, and he doesn't get that stuffy. I think laying down flat causes some suffy noses.

My baby's Dr. said that infants nasal passages are as small as coctail straws so anything in there makes it sound quite awful. I'd say listen to your Dr., not other "non-doctor" folks telling you it is allergies or you will drive yourself crazy. I have to tell myself this advice too because I often look stuff up on the internet or talk to friends and I start to go crazy the more I read, fearing "something is wrong"..... when in fact my baby is perfectly healthy and just adjusting to being in the world instead of the nice womb that they were in for 10 months.

When I brought Emily Grace home from the hospital I was told that this was very common because they are still working "gunk" out of everything. Em was also delivered via c-section and it did eventually go away. Our doc said not to use a humidifier for more than a week something about drying them up too much.
She is a perfectly fine little girl and I wouldn't worry about it at all! Congratulations mama!!

A. & Emily Grace (6 1/2 months - Time flys!)