How to Bathe Your Baby

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By 1wahm
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Bathe Your Baby

The first few times you bathe your baby can be very daunting. For starters, she is likely to scream the whole time. Add to that the fact that you are attempting to wash what appears to be the most breakable thing you have ever laid your eyes on and it makes for an interesting event.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Baby washcloth
Baby towel
Bath sponge (to lay your baby on)
Baby tub
Mild soap

Step 1

The first few baths normally take place beside the kitchen sink. These will be sponge baths, because you cannot wet the umbilical area until the stump has fallen off. You will need baby soap, a soft cloth, a soft towel, and something to place your baby on (like a big sponge). We always placed a space heater nearby to help keep the baby warm. This helped make them not so hacked off at us. After the cord has fallen off you can start using a baby tub with a couple inches of warm water in it.
Step 2

During the first several months there is no need to bathe your little on every day. Every other day is just fine, unless there has been major poopage or sweating. Some doctors even suggest every few days, since you are already cleaning the diaper area and wiping their faces throughout the day. Any soap you choose will be fine as long as it is designed for babies. If you find out that your baby has sensitive skin, you can go from there.
Step 3

One common mistake that parents make is letting their baby have “stink neck”. This is sooooooooo gross! Babies usually have fat necks. These neck folds collect lots of drool and milk. Clean and dry in the neck folds a few times a day. Also, do not forget behind their little ears (milk rolls back there), underarms, leg creases, and any other fat rolls they may have. It is easy for these areas to get irritated and grow yeast. Not to mention you don’t want to be the parents with stink neck baby!
Step 4

The temp of a baby’s bath water should be between 90 and 100F. If you like to bathe with your baby, this will totally stink for you. 95 degree bath water is not at all relaxing when you are used to a hot bath. Neither is holding on for dear life to a wet baby because you are afraid of dropping her in the water. The good news is it gets much easier and babies love to bathe with their parents. Until you have mastered the baby/parent bath, you will want the other parent waiting on the outside to grab the little one when it is time to get out of the tub. You might also try laying a thin towel over your front to create some friction between you and the baby. This will make you feel less like you are going to drop her.
Step 5

Keep Q-tips away from your baby’s ears! If I have talked to one parent who accidently ruptured their child’s eardrum, I have talked to a thousand. My husband is the worst. He sneaks in the bathroom and cleans my daughter’s ears all the time. As a rule, if you can’t get it with a washcloth, leave it. If you still can’t resist, at least use safety Q-tips.
Step 6

I know you guys are smart, but even smart parents do crazy things, so I must say this: NEVER EVER EVER leave the baby in the bath and walk away. Not for one second. Not to answer the phone or to grab a towel. Not to pick your nose or anything else you can think of. Babies drown and it doesn’t take long for it to happen. Also, never leave water in the bath tub. The day you do, will be the day your toddler learns to climb in the tub. Never start the bath and then walk away unless you are carrying the baby with you. You might have that teensy newborn in the baby tub with only 2 inches of water, but if you walk away, that will be the moment they learn to roll over.
Step 7

You will often read that you should clean your baby’s eyes with cotton balls, using a different one on each eye. This is true if your baby has any eye drainage. However, for normal bathing, you can save yourself the time and use your baby wash cloth. Just wash baby’s face first, so you aren’t cleaning their face with poopy cloth. I promise you I have never once cleaned my children’s eyes with a cotton ball and neither one of them have had an eye infection or any other eye trouble.

Comments

kskaggs said

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on 2/18/2009 Very well written article 5*

1wahm said

on 1/28/2009 LOL! I'm pretty sure "stink neck" is not a medical term. My husband and I made it up. We had a friend with twins that both had rotten little necks. :)