One of the very few items that Toronto mom Zoey put on her baby registry as she was planning for her second child? A humidifier. “I only learned this after having my first, but when babies are sick with a cold, there’s very little you can do for their symptoms,” she says. “A humidifier is something you can offer your babe for some relief from their congestion.” Even now that her kids are four and six, Zoey still leans on her humidifier as daycare and school bugs make their seemingly constant cycle through her home.
It’s worth noting that the Canadian Paediatric Society does not recommend humidifiers for a baby’s room, since both hot and cool mist humidifiers can breed mould and bacteria if they are not washed thoroughly every day, and hot mist humidifiers can be a burn hazard for small children. If you’d like one anyway, look for one with cool-mist settings to avoid burns and commit to cleaning it consistently. Consider Dyson’s asthma- and allergy-friendly model, which includes a UV light to kill off bacteria. (On that note: Never feel uncomfortable putting a big-ticket item on your registry! A group of your friends or family might like to go in on a larger gift.)
Read the full article on Today’s Parents.