How often you should bathe your baby?

Babies are too adorable. All you want is to take care of your baby so that it remains safe from all the hazards. You may become confused thinking how often you should bathe your baby. Usually, the new parents don’t have a clue of how to bathe baby, when to bathe the baby or how often you should bathe your baby.

So it will be helpful for you if you have adequate knowledge of giving a bath to your baby. As a result, you will not cause any discomfort to your baby. Also, he will remain healthy and cheerful.

When to bathe your baby the first time

You should not rush to bathe your baby just after he is born. Rather you should wait for 48 hours to bathe him the first time. The first bath is no less than a milestone in your baby’s life. Usually, your baby is given the first bath by the nurse in the hospital. If you are to do it then follow the tips of the nurse.

Baby’s first sponge bath procedure

You should give your baby sponge bath until the umbilical cord stump of your baby falls off. Because sponge bath will keep the umbilical cord stump dry. If the umbilical cord stump gets wet, it may cause some serious health issues to the baby. Here are the tips to follow during giving a sponge bath:

• Lay your baby on a soft towel. Get a baby bathtub filled with warm water and a sponge.
• Keep your baby gently wrapped with a soft towel or blanket. Then expose only one limb at a time and clean it gently. Then pat slowly and carefully to make the area dry.
• Try to avoid umbilical cord stump to keep it dry. In case the umbilical cord stump is wet, then gently pat with a soft towel to make it dry.
• Keep a maximum portion of the baby’s body wrapped and warm.
• The water of the bathtub should be lukewarm.

How often you should bathe a newborn baby?

You need to be very careful about choosing the bathing schedule of the newborn baby. Therefore, you should not bathe him too frequently. If you bath your baby more, the moisture of the skin will be lost. Also, there is a chance of some skin diseases to appear in the baby’s body. Again if you bathe your baby too rarely then it may lead to some infections and skin diseases. Therefore you need to balance the bathing schedule so that it is congenial to baby’s health. You can bathe your baby twice or thrice a week. Thus your baby will be free from infections as well as moisture will not be lost.

Why avoid daily bathe?

You may find it a bit weird that you bathe your baby infrequently. But the fact is that your baby doesn’t sweat and get dirty like the adults. So it’s not necessary to bathe them daily. On the other hand, if you bathe them daily, their skin may get dry and lose moisture very quickly. Also, it may lead to some serious skin problems. If your baby has skin issues then consult a doctor for an appropriate routine to bath him.

Care to be taken after bath

After bathing your baby, use a soft towel to wipe his body. Use a moisturizer to prevent dry skin. Extremely dry skin may lead to serious skin problems. Consult a doctor if your baby has extremely sensitive skin. Use only the prescribed product on your baby’s skin.

When to bathe a baby daily

When your baby becomes one year old, you can plan to bathe him daily. Because at that age, skin doesn’t remain too much sensitive like before. On the other hand, babies start playing a lot. As a result, they get dirty too much. They also start sweating. So it becomes compulsory to bathe them daily from that period.

How often to bathe your baby?

After your baby becomes one year old then you have to bathe him daily. It may vary according to season. In summer you may bathe your baby even twice a day if your baby sweats a lot. In winter you need not bathe your baby daily as there is a chance of catching a cold. You can make a new routine to bathe your baby depending on the cold weather.

Tips to bathe baby properly

Bathing a baby may give you the feel of a nightmare. You need to be careful to ensure that your baby is getting cleaned properly. Also, you need to make it comfortable for him.

• Start at the top: It’s wise to start from the top of the body. At first clean the hair and scalp gently. Then gradually clean the body with suitable body wash or baby soap.
• Focus on folds: Most of the babies have folds along the thigh, wrist, and neck. These folds get dirty easily as bacteria and dead skin rest on there. So you need to clean properly the folds of the body. But be gentle while doing that.
• Clean the hands and feet: Hands are more prone to get dirty as the baby tries to hold everything with their tiny hands. Also, they tend to walk on barefoot. So you need to clean their hands and feet carefully. Babies always try to put their fingers into their mouths. So the fingers must be clean.
• Bathe with siblings: When your baby becomes able to sit on his own then you can bathe him with his older sibling. But if your baby is unable to sit on his own then avoid giving bath together. As the baby might get hurt when you will be busy with another child.

Conclusion

Giving a bath to the baby is not a piece of cake for them who became parents newly. Utmost care and caution are needed to give a proper bathe to the baby. So it’s wise to acquire some knowledge and then start to bathe your baby.