How Do I Bathe My Newborn

Tips For Bathing Your Newborn

Don’t be nervousgiving your baby her first bath can be an enjoyable experience for both of you.

Karen RobockSeptember 25, 2015

First-time parents may wonder if baby needs a bath every day or every other day. How often you bathe your baby is up to you, but daily baths really arent necessary, says Karen Benzies, a parenting expert and professor in the faculty of nursing at the University of Calgary. You can keep their face, hands and bottoms clean in between baths by using a warm cloth every day. And you dont have to wait for her umbilical stump to fall off to introduce tub time. As long as you thoroughly pat it dry after she comes out of the water, this wont interfere with healing, says Benzies. Some new moms are more comfortable substituting a sponge bath for the first week or so, but when youre ready for babys first real bath, heres how to make it a successful experience:

1. Pick a good momentChoose a time when youre both relaxed to introduce her to the bath. Babies are really good at picking up on stress, says Benzies. This could be morning, afternoon or night, as long as youre both up to the task. Once you find a time that works for you, turning it into a routine can be comforting for baby and even ease her off to dreamland. Right before bedtime has always been perfect in my experience, says Lauren Ballem, mom to 10-month-old Orson and four-year-old Beatrice.

Read more:

Drying And Dressing Your Newborn After A Bath: Steps

Heres how to take your newborn out of the bath, ready for drying and dressing:

Bathing your baby takes practice, so try to relax and take your time. You might like to start by bathing your baby when someone else is around to help. If youre worried about losing your grip on your baby, you can make the bath less slippery by lining it with a clean cloth nappy or towel.

Safety Tips For Bath Time

Its important to keep safety in mind at bath time. Babies and young children should never be left unattended in a bath, not even for a minute . Here are some bath time tips:

• Get everything ready ahead of your babys bath, so you have everything you need to hand.
• Make sure you always use the hot and cold taps at the same time when you run the bath.
• Check the bath water temperature first before putting your baby in. The standard way to check is to put your elbow in the water because your hand can cope with high temperatures.
• Dont be distracted away by another child, a phone call or doorbell. What feels like a couple of seconds can turn into a minute or two. Leaving your little one even for a few moments could be enough time for them to seriously hurt themselves or drown.
• If you forget anything ask your partner or another family member to grab it for you. Or take your baby with you to get what you need.

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Start The Sponge Bath

Now you can undress your baby and lay them flat. Put some mild baby wash on a soft washclothbut don’t overdo it, since newborn skin is prone to irritation. “Look for products that don’t have added perfume or dyes, which can irritate sensitive skin,” says Parents advisor Ari Brown, M.D., founder and CEO of 411 Pediatrics in Austin, Texas.

Wash their neck and scalp, then work your way down the front of their body. Make sure to clean between the folds of skin. Rinse the soap off with a second damp cloth, drying and rewrapping your baby with a towel as you go. Don’t wash the umbilical stump, and try to keep it dry.

Flip Baby over onto their belly with their head turned to one side. Repeat the washing, rinsing and drying. Wash their bottom and genitals last. If your son hasn’t been circumcised, don’t try to push back the foreskin.

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Tips For Safely Bathing Your Newborn

Besides keeping your baby happy and getting them clean, safety should be a top concern when it comes to bathing your baby. Unfortunately, drowning is something all parents of newborns need to be aware of.

As the AAP notes, ost child drownings inside the home occur in bathtubs, and more than half of bathtub deaths involve children under 1 year of age. These are sobering statistics, but they are not meant to scare you instead, they are reminders to take safety very seriously when it comes to bathing your baby.

Here are some other safety recommendations to keep in mind:

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Are Bath Rings Safe For Babies

These hazards include: the bath seat tipping over, the child slipping or climbing out of the bath seat, and entrapment in the leg openings. In any of these incidences, there is a risk of injury or even possible death. Baby bath seats and rings pose a great danger of a child drowning if they climb out of the seat.

How To Give A Newborn A Bath

Once the umbilical cord stump has fallen off, you can start giving baby full baths. Bathing a newborn can be tricky at first, so if possible, enlist the help of a partner or family member. Its best if those early baths can be done with multiple caregivers around so you have extra hands if you need them, Smith says. After youve rounded up your baby bath supplies and decided where youll be bathing your little one, follow these steps.

Step 1: Fill the tub with a few inches of warm water. Aim for about 2 to 3 inches of water, to keep baby safe. Making sure to support babys head at all times, gently lower your little one into the water. The bath temperature for a newborn should be between 90 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, never hotter than 120 degrees. While most parents are worried about making the bath too hot, be sure you dont err in the other direction, since babies get cold easily. Kelly B., whose baby is now 3, learned a thing or two when she nannied for a woman who had infant twins. She taught me that the water should be warmer than youd expect, she recalls. Dipping your wrist in is a good way to gauge the temperature, but if youre nervous about getting it right, you can use a thermometer.

Yes, theres a lot to think about when it comes to babys first bath. But soon enough bathing a newborn will become second nature, and before you know it, your child will be sitting up on his own and splashing away in the tub. Thats when things really start to get fun!

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How Often Should You Bathe A Newborn

• If Your Newborn Hates the Bath

Bathing a newborn is something many new parents eagerly look forward to. After all, there is nothing sweeter than a tiny baby getting gently soaped up and cleaned, while splashing around.

But the reality of bathing our babies may be different than expected and you may also be concerned about how to bathe your baby safely.

Maybe you have a baby who seems to really dislike baths. Or you feel unsure of how often to bathe them. Too much to bathe them daily? What if you cant get in a decent bath more than once or twice a week?

Rest assured, bathing your baby doesnt have to be as complicated as it seems. A few basic tips can go a long way.

As for how often you need to bathe your baby? There arent too many rules. If your baby can only get in a good bath a few times a week, you are actually totally on track. Its also usually OK if you want to bathe your baby more frequently, too.

Babys First Bath At Home

Once you get your little one home, theres no set timetable for when to give baby her first sponge bath. Experts agree that the timing for bathing a newborn is up to the parents, and that theres no big rush. Many families are excited about giving a baby their first newborn bath at home, but waiting a few days is fine, says Justin Smith, MD, a pediatrician at Cook Childrens Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

Holly S., a mom of two, gave birth to her second baby at home and didnt bathe him for more than a week. Theres no need to wash them right away in most circumstances, she says. Any blood from the birth can be wiped off, and you just need to wipe their diaper areas thoroughly in the meantime. She also made sure to rub the vernix into her babys skin to get the most out of its antimicrobial and moisturizing properties.

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‘i Don’t Bathe My Baby’

Sending your article

Ask any new mother and she’ll likely confess that she absolutely loves the smell of…. her baby.

The smell. It’s difficult to describe but some have illustrated it as warm, sweet, or soft. Many mothers are drawn to that smell and science may tell us why. One recent study found that a mom sniffing her newborn evokes the same pleasure and satisfaction as a hungry person tasting something delicious.

But amid diaper blowouts and spit up, you’d think that natural smell would seem to go sour pretty quickly, right? And that a bath tub and some baby wash is the necessary solution, right?

Not so, Claire Goss, 32, of Ashland, Mass. told me when I recently met her for a TV story I produced. In fact, she publicly confessed through her blog on the parenting site Babble that she just doesn’t find the time or the need to bathe 3-month-old Charlie.

Here’s what she wrote in her blog post:

As long as you are thoroughly wiping the diaper area, as well as neck and face, then baby is good to go. This makes total sense to me. It’s not like he’s touching every filthy thing he can find or running around and sweating a lot, so spot cleaning should be pretty sufficient.

Unlike my older kids who really, truly stink when dirty, my baby smells really good to me all the time. My hormones say so.

I smelled Charlie. He smelled… just wonderful. And clean. He’s a healthy baby, a happy baby. And gosh darn it, Claire told me the cutie sleeps through the night!

Her response?

How To Give Your Baby A Bath

Get everything ready before you start your baby’s bath:

• Ensure that all the supplies you need like shampoo, soap, a hooded towel, and a cup for rinsing are within armâs reachânever leave your baby unattended in the bath, so make sure you have everything you need on hand, including your babyâs fresh change of clothes

• Make sure the room is warm before undressing your baby.

Follow these step-by-step guidelines for bathing your baby:

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How Hot Should The Water Be

The water temperature to bathe your baby should be warm, never hot. The ideal temperature is 98.6°F . You can use a bath thermometer to monitor the temperature, or check the water with your wrist or elbow to confirm its warm and not hot.

Also, check different sides of the tub or baby bath to confirm there are no hot spots. If using a tub or basin, turn on the cold water first and then the hot water to fill it.

If you live in a house, you can also adjust the water heater to ensure it doesnt go above 120°F , which can badly scald your babys skin. You likely cant adjust the water heater if you live in an apartment complex or condo.

How Often Do Babies Need Baths

In your babys first year, they may only need about three baths a week. This is usually frequent enough if you wash the diaper area thoroughly every time you change your baby.

Bathing once a day or every other day is also OK, but any more frequently than that could dry out your babys skin. Thats especially the case if you use soap or other baby wash.

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Babys First Bath: When Should It Happen

If you give birth in a hospital, nurses will probably bathe your baby within a few hours of delivery. However, the World Health Organization recommends waiting 24 hours for your newborn’s first bath. WHO claims this delay regulates blood sugar and body temperature, promotes bonding, improves breastfeeding success, and keeps Baby’s skin from drying out.

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Your baby won’t be ready for the infant tub until the umbilical cord stump falls off . This usually takes about two weeks or longer. In the meantime, you’ll be giving your newborn a sponge bath.