Tips for Bathing Your New Baby
One of the most wonderful things about newborn babies is.
Hey there! You’re listening to the Mighty Mommy with some Quick and Dirty Tips for Practical Parenting. Today’s Topic: A Slippery Subject
Tips for Bathing Your New Baby
One of the most wonderful things about newborn babies is the way they smell. They always seem to have that fresh new-baby scent. While it would be nice to think they will always stay that fresh and clean, that just isn’t the case. Eventually, you will need to give your baby a bath. When I was a new mom, giving my daughter a bath for the first time was one of my biggest fears. She was so tiny. I kept thinking about how slippery and wiggly she would be once she was covered in soapy water. I was very thankful for all of the advice I received on how to accomplish this very scary task. It turned out that it was not so scary after all. I’m going to share with you some tips to help you feel more comfortable when giving your baby a bath.
Whether your baby is a newborn or toddler, the first rule of bath-time is to never leave your baby’s side. A child can drown in less than one inch of water. During bath-time, you should plan on ignoring the telephone and the doorbell. If you absolutely must answer a caller, please wrap your baby in a towel and take him with you.
When preparing for the bath you should gather your bathing supplies and have them within arms’ reach of the chosen bathing location. If your baby is a newborn, you will need a soft sponge or washcloth, some small towels, and baby wash. I think extra towels are very helpful. You can use the extras as kneepads if you are on the floor or as a place for the baby to lie down before and after the bath. It’s also a good idea to have a thermometer handy if you aren’t sure about the water temperature. You’ll want to keep the water temperature between about 90 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit. It may seem cool to you, but it will be comfortable for your baby.
If possible, it’s a good idea to warm up the room as well. You can warm up the bathroom by running a hot shower for a few minutes with the door closed. Turn off the shower and close the door behind you, and some of the warmth will remain in the air making the room less chilly.
When you are giving a baby a sponge bath, you will not be submerging him in water. If the baby’s umbilical cord is still attached, you’ll want to take special care to keep this area very dry. Since most of his body will be out of the water, you will want to keep him covered as much as possible because babies can get cold very quickly. Start by washing your baby’s face gently with a soft washcloth and some plain water. You can use cotton balls to gently wipe the area around the eyes. Once his face, ears, and neck are clean, pat those areas dry.
Next, you can wash his hair. You’ll want to do your best to keep his head warm. Once you have washed and rinsed his hair, gently rub his head dry before moving on to the rest of the body. You can help your baby stay warm while you are washing him by keeping the parts you aren’t currently washing covered. Once you’ve washed one area, pat it dry, cover it back up and move on to the next. The diaper area should be the last area you wash.
Newborns and babies who are not yet crawling won’t be getting very dirty,so you may only need to bathe them a couple of times a week. If you live somewhere that becomes hot or humid, your baby may need to be bathed more often. Once your baby is mobile, he’s much more likely to need a bath on a daily basis. If he’s old enough to sit up in the tub, you won’t need to cover him during the bath because the water will keep him warm. You will still need to stay within reach at all times and make sure that the water level is never more than waist high.
My final tip for today is to enjoy your baby’s bath-time. During the bath, be sure to talk or sing to your baby. It’s a great time for bonding. It also helps the baby to be more comfortable with the bathing ritual. He’s going to have a lot of baths in his future, so it’s best if bath-time is fun. If you name the body parts as you are washing them, it won’t take long before he’ll be saying them right back to you.
That’s it for now. Hope you enjoyed listening. Try to make time for a nice relaxing bath for yourself this week!
The Mighty Mommy’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Practical Parenting is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips network at www.quickanddirtytips.com. This week Grammar Girl is talking about “less” versus “fewer” so be sure to check out the Grammar Girl Podcast!
This is your friend, the Mighty Mommy wishing you happy and fun parenting!
Music – “Golly Gee” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons “Attribution 2.0” creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/