Cold and Flu Season: How to Keep Babies and Toddlers Healthy

Having a baby at any time of the year is stressful in and of itself, but having one, especially a newborn during the winter months, aka the dreaded cold and flu season is stressful on a completely different level. We can help you not only avoid the stress of having a sick baby, but can help to prepare you for when you do. Let us know in the comments if you have any experiences or tips of your own to share with everyone. We always love hearing from you. 

Strengthen Everyday Hygiene Habits

One way to help your child healthy during cold and flu season is to ensure that their environment is also clean and as germ free as possible. Here are some ways in which you can help keep the germs away this season.

• Parents and other caregivers should be encouraged to wash their hands before handling the baby, including feedings, and especially after changing their diaper. Also, make it a habit to clean and sanitize your hands as soon as you come home from anywhere. 
• Keep baby’s high-touch items clean and disinfected
  • Pacifiers
  • Bottles and sippy cups
  • Toys
  • High chair trays
  • Door handles
  • Tablets or electronic devices for older toddlers
• Avoid sharing cups, dishes, and utensils 

Prevention Is Best!

One great way to help ensure your little one is not sick this season is to limit their exposure to germs and other contagions. Here are some things you can do to help keep the germs away from you and your baby.

• Avoid crowded indoor spaces with your child

• • • Shopping malls
    • Churches 
    • Indoor play areas
    • Busy events
    • Try to choose outdoor and less crowded events if at all possible

• Encourage Sick Family Members to Keep Distance

• • • The odds are good that someone in your family or a direct caregiver will get sick this season. If they do, please keep them as far away from your baby as possible and isolate them until they are no longer communicable, which varies from disease to disease 

• Use a baby carrier instead of a shopping cart seat

• • Put your baby carrier in the cart or use a wearable baby harness instead of putting them in the shopping cart at the store to help reduce the potential exposure to diseases. 

If Disease Does Strike; Be Prepared

Of course, having a sick baby is about the most stressed out you can be as a parent, so don’t add to that stress by getting caught flat-footed when they do. Here are some things you should always have on hand just in case so that you don’t have to run to the pharmacy in the middle of the night during the winter to grab a bottle of medicine or a thermometer. 

• Saline nasal spray
• THE BEST NEWBORN nasal aspirator
• THE BEST TODDLER nasal aspirator If you have both newborn and toddler, buy the toddler one with this newborn nose piece. No joke this is the best aspirator product I have ever used.
• Homeopathics to help facilitate draining, which is critical to prevent congestion to traveling into the lungs ->  Infant (6mo+ can use younger with pediatrician approval) and Toddler
• A cool-mist humidifier
• Nebulizer + Saline vials
• A reliable infant thermometer OR toddler thermometer
  • One of the most important tools in your kit! Make sure you get one that is an instant-read electronic model for best results. When it comes to treating a fever, you don’t want to be second-guessing a cheap thermometer readout in the middle of the night with a sick child. 
• Child-safe electrolyte drinks for older toddlers
• Extra tissues and soft cloths
• Children’s dye free Tylenol and Motrin (when age appropriate)

Before You Go

We hope that this blog about keeping your baby healthy during cold and flu season was helpful to you. If your little one is still fussy after feeds, struggling to settle, or having trouble sleeping, we’re here to support you.

From sleep consulting to in-home 24/7 sleep training and overnight newborn care or in-home newborn care services, we offer personalized guidance to help your little one (and you!) get the rest you need.

Have questions? Let’s Chat — we’d love to help your family rest easier.

Katie B.

Expertise You Need:

• Certified Master Pediatric Sleep Consultant
• Certified Advanced Newborn Care Specialist (2016-2022)
• Board Certified Holistic Healthcare Practitioner
• 16 years professional childcare experience
• Certified Postpartum Doula (2015-2022)
• Travel & ROTA Nanny