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Bathing Your Baby
Bathing your newborn can be one of the scariest and nerve racking
tasks for a new parent. Here are some helpful tips to keep your
newborn safe and make bathing a fun time.
Keeping your baby clean is important but there is no need to give
your baby a complete bath every day as too much bathing can cause
dry skin. Rather wipe baby’s face, neck, hands, and bottom daily and
give a full bath three times a week.
Don’t bath baby on a full tummy. Baby is more likely to develop
gas or become cranky when bathed with a full tummy.
To make bath time pleasant for both you and baby choose a time
during the day when your baby is happy and relaxed.
Keep the room that you bath baby in warm and make sure the
bath water is not too hot. Always take the temperature of the water
with a thermometer before playing your baby in the bath.
Use a plastic baby tub or a plastic dish pan to bath baby rather
than the large bathtub. You’ll use less water and it’s much easier to
control the situation with a smaller tub.
Never ever leave your baby alone in the tub, not even for a
second. Infants can drown in less than an inch of water and it only
takes a second. Make sure you have everything at hand such as soap,
shampoo, and towel, before you start the bath. If you must go
retrieve something then you “must” remove baby and take him or her
with you.
Clean baby’s ears but do not put anything into the ear. Not even
a Q-tip. There is a chance of causing damage and no benefit to this
type of cleaning.
Do not bath your baby in a tub until the umbilical stump has
fallen off, rather sponge bath.
To clean baby’s genital area use a soft cloth with lukewarm
water. Girl’s genitals should be washed from front to back and be sure
to clean in the folds of the skin. No special cleaning is required for
boy’s genitals.
Find a convenient place to bath baby whether it’s the kitchen or
the living room floor. Make it convenient and roomy. You can always
place a waterproof pad down.
Cradle your baby’s head in one hand and use the other to remove
clothing. Then gently place in the tub while still cradling. Use you’re
free had to wet the soft cloth and gently wash baby.
As mentioned earlier be prepared. Have everything you need
handy. This includes alcohol pads, wash cloth, bath towel, a clean
diaper, clean clothing, shampoo, soap, Vaseline, and anything else you
need. Remember newborns are seldom dirty except in the diaper area
so go easy on the soap.
Wash your newborn’s hair last to prevent loss of body heat.
Newborns don’t have much hair so you really only need to sponge the
hair. Remember babies don’t like water in the eyes so make sure to
gently tip your babies head back.
After you’ve completed the bath, wrap baby in a soft towel,
preferably one with the hood. Gently pat dry baby’s skin and then dry
the diaper area thoroughly. Apply powder if you desire.
Put baby’s diaper on first then you can complete the rest of the
dressing ritual.
Some babies love their bath right from the beginning, while others
become frightened and fidgety by the experience. You can comfort a
frightened baby by talking softly or singing. Keep bathing down to a
minimum if it is a traumatic time for your baby. Most babies become
more comfortable with the process over time. Try to make bath time
as enjoyable as possible.
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