Having a new baby in the house is one of the most exciting times that you can possibly have in your entire life.
And I’m speaking from a man’s point of view. Which doesn’t nearly compare to the elation that bringing home a new baby from the hospital has for a new mother.
It’s been a while since we had a new baby in our house. Our last one was a daughter who is now a teenager.
But I can still remember waking up in the middle of the night and having an urge to get up and check to make sure she was breathing. That sounds a little obsessive. True nonetheless.
I can also remember all the snot and mucus that comes with a new baby. And using one of those snot suckers or baby aspirators, I think they’re actually called, to clean her nose out.
One of the things we always had in the bedroom (yes she slept in the same room as me and my wife) was the humidifier.
The baby humidifier is a must if only for the white noise. I know it’s not meant for that, but it works awesome for putting a baby girl and her daddy to sleep.
But there’s much more to a baby humidifier than the calming sound it makes.
Humidifiers or actually one of the most important appliances you can own during the winter months when the humidity drops outside and the heater is going nonstop inside.
Low humidity causes dry air. And dry air can cause a whole lot of problems for people, especially children and babies.
Humidifier in baby room all night?
Using a humidifier in your baby’s room all night is completely acceptable as long as that is what is needed to achieve the 40% to 60% relative humidity to keep your baby from experiencing symptoms associated with low humidity and dry air.
Humidifier benefits for baby
1.Skincare
Babies specifically, can have very dry skin. And require a lot of baby lotion.
Dry skin is a symptom of dry air. You could say that dry skin equals dehydrated skin. And air that is deficient in humidity absorbs moisture from where it can, skin being a big one.
On the flip side, when the air has the proper relative humidity, which is 40 to 60% RH according to the National Library of Medicine, Your skin absorbs the moisture out of the air.
A baby humidifier adds moisture back into the air when the relative humidity has dropped below the 40% mark.
This is an important part of helping keep your babies skin moisturized.
Babies also have an underdeveloped immune system. Which leads to more problems with colds and congestion, along with crusty noses.
2. Viruses and Germs
Low humidity/dry air creates more than one problem for newborns and children.
Firstly, it allows particles that are viral to travel much easier and spread through your home much faster.
Why is that?
Moisture in the air has a wetting effect on airborne particulates that causes dust particles to become too heavy to float, thereby keeping them from being able to travel.
That includes germs and viruses.
3.Dry air inhibits Immunity
Thirdly, the cilia, which is the part of your airways that help expel viruses, do not work as well in dry environments.
A research article published in MedicalNews Today reads “the hair-like organelles outside of cells that line the body’s airways, called cilia, do not function as well in dry conditions — they cannot expel viral particles as well as they otherwise would.”
That is why a baby humidifier is an invaluable tool for helping keep your baby and or your children healthy during the winter months.
4.Moistens Dried Noses and throats
Fourthly, when your baby’s nose is dried out, it’s a very painful situation for them and it’s also very painful for you to have to scrape off the dried snot and mucus.
A humidifier, when the air is very dry will hydrate the inside of your baby’s nose and help alleviate that problem.
By the same token , a baby humidifier will also help hydrate a sore dry throat.
As well as help you deal with the problem.
How close should the humidifier be to the baby?
How close should the humidifier be to the baby?The experts say that a humidifier should be placed three to four feet away from your baby.
One of the main reasons is that babies can be very curious and want to get a hold of the humidifier when they see the mist spraying out.
Not to mention, a lot of humidifiers are made to look like cute toys.
Baby humidifier downside
But there is a downside.
Humidifiers have to be strictly maintained.
The same device that is delivering healthy moisture into your air when the relative humidity has dropped, can also be a device that is responsible for spreading germs and bacteria when it is not cleaned and maintained regularly.
Buying a Baby Humidifier?
1. Easy to Clean
When you’re shopping for a new humidifier for your baby’s room, I always recommend researching humidifiers that are easy to clean.
It’s because you’re going to be doing it a lot.
Finding one that you can put in the dishwasher will make it that much easier
2. Humidity Meter (hygrostat)
The second must-have feature on a humidifier is a meter that tells you just exactly what your humidity is.
It’s called a hygrometer. Without one of these humidity gauges included, you cannot know what your relative humidity is and whether or not you actually need a humidifier running.
Most hygrometers these days are a combination tool that combines a thermometer to tell the temperature and a hygrometer to read the humidity level.
These are the two most important features I would recommend searching for while shopping for a new humidifier but there are other features that are well worth looking into.
3. Easy to Fill
A humidifier that is easy to fill up with water.
A lot of humidifiers have to be turned upside down and the fill hole unscrewed from the bottom.
This means you have to fill the humidifier from the bottom too. This usually means making some sort of mess.
You can get a humidifier these days that fills from the top and fits under the faucet without having to flip it over.
That’s a pretty cool feature.
3.Auto shut off.
It seems like auto shut off would be a standard feature on any humidifier.
I mean when it runs out of water, it should just flip some sort of switch and turn off right?
But that is not generally the way it works.
They run out of water and the motor just keeps on running.
But the new Modern humidifiers usually come with auto shut-off. Not such a small deal.
4.Wi-Fi
With all of the appliances that you can get integrated with Alexa and download your own app, why not a humidifier?
Actually, a humidifier makes more sense as a Wi-Fi device than some of the other appliances you can think of.
I mean it is actually useful to have an app that will alert you when the water in the reservoir is approaching the empty level.
And being able to check your phone for the relative humidity in the house is also something that I find useful.
5. Aromatherapy and essential oils.
This is another feature that modern humidifiers have that I think is very useful.
After all, there are certain essential oils like eucalyptus and lavender that are very beneficial to you when you have a cold.
Having an aromatherapy tray on a humidifier is a good idea for that reason.
6. Optional hot or cold mist.
Almost exclusively, you will find warm mist humidifiers to be avoided when you look to experts on what type of humidifier to purchase for your baby’s room.
It’s because of the danger of getting burned by boiling water.
But there are times when you want to be able to use a Vicks-type product in a humidifier to help your baby and your children breathe.
A cool-mist humidifier does not work with those types of methylated salves.
So there are times when a warm mist humidifier is a better option for your children’s room.
The main takeaway is caution. Don’t put the humidifier where they can get to it easily.
You can buy a humidifier that has the option of running cold or hot.
And that’s the best option for purchasing one.
Wrap-up!
As exciting as it is having a new baby in the house,
Everyone knows that has been there the stress of having a crying baby that is experiencing the effects of dry air in the room.
A baby humidifier isn’t the answer to everything but it is definitely a big help when you were dealing with a miserable baby that is having issues with dry air.
