Babies, unlike adults, breathe in and out of their noses. Even when their mouths are open you will hear them breathing through their noses. When there is mucus in the nose, babies will continue to breathe in and out through the mucus, which creates noisy breathing.

If an infant's nose becomes clogged with mucus, you may clean it or aspirate it gently with nasal aspirator. Also, babies may sneeze and snort, which sounds like an older child with a cold. Many parents interpret sneezing as being a cold, though it usually is not. Sneezing is the equivalent to an adult blowing their nose.

Spitting is very common in the first few days of life. Infants may spit out some of the mucus secretions they have swallowed from ingesting amniotic fluid. This spitting goes away after the first few days. Persistent spitting would be something to bring to our attention.