How old was baby when you first gave him/her a bath?

[Melittlebee]

My baby is 2 weeks old, the cord has now come away so wondering if I should bath him or wait a bit longer?
His feet are really dry and flaky so was going to at least moisturise.

Current guidance from Royal College is not to bath until babies temperature has stabilised after birth and to avoid harsh bath additives. That advice is a month without bathing is misinterpretation and myth.

Misinterpretation of what?

DS was about 2 weeks old before his first proper bath.
He now has a bath twice a week (family history of eczema and he has dry skin) in just water, but we use a little baby shampoo and a soft flannel on head, hands and bottom before he goes into the bath.

My DD is now 5 an at the time we were told not to bath her until the cord stump had come off.

2 days old. Just water.

Ultimate baby bath...

In hospital day 2 - the nurse showed me how to do it.
We gave her a bath every single day (except if very sick) until she was about 8 / 9. Then she moved onto showers herself. She is 13 now and has a shower about 4 times a week, sometimes 5. I can see that she will get back to 7 days a week in the not too distant future.

We used Gia products when she was tiny and then moved onto Moo Goo and she has the most beautiful, blemish free skin and we never had any problems with it.

I just can't imagine not washing a baby for 2 weeks - yuk! Poor babies. I have held unwashed babies and they do not smell nice. At all.

3 days, the midwife showed us how before we left the hospital.
They do encourage delayed bathing for the first 24-48 hours, and encourage mums not to use soap on their chests for that time too, as it helps babies to attach better and establish breastfeeding in those early days.
He was overdue so had no vernix anyway.
We bathed every few days for the first few weeks, and now we bathe every night as he really enjoys it and it's part of the bedtime routine.

Dc4 was about 9 days old. I’d rinsed his hair out and wiped him over before that though

I hate those videos of the babies being run under the tap. Those children are in some kind of shutdown stress response surely not just happy and chilled out? And the risk of the water temperature staying stable, ours runs boiling at a whim... and the risk of legionairs and other bugs that can live in the plumbing of large institutions... I'll go now, and find something else to rant about!

My son was bathed in plain old water aged about 9 hours old at hospital with the midwife, me and DH present.

caperplips ya nincompoop they are topped and tailed not completely neglected

I didn’t for a week but the midwife implied I should have waited longer. I’m intrigued by all the posters saying they showed you how/bathed in hospital. No one even suggested anything like it when I was in- baby is 3 months.

In hospital the day after birth I think. They could have used Fairy liquid for all I remember about it tbh.

They also have beautiful blemish free skin and have never been washed every day unless on hols and needing to get chlorine off. Blemish free skin isn’t unusual, especially in pre-pubertal children!

I waited two weeks for a full bath just water. Obv washed her bum with cotton wool and water every time she had a dirty nappy. Washed her face and hands with cotton wool and water every day too.

How on earth it is grim? They dont sweat and I wasnt in the habit of sending my boy down a mine every day.

Midwife told us to wait a month. So we did. He's now 5 months and we bath him everyday but that's because it is part of his routine. I dont use any product on him either.

We had to wait a week as she was in NICU then special nursery. There had been meuconium (sp) and she still had poo in her thick hair! Took ages to get that shit out - literally!
Once home, we bathed every 2 nights usually. No issues with skin though.

Bobfossil2 it used to be the norm to show new parents how to bath their babies when still in hospital. Also used to be the norm to show parents who couldn't/didn't want to bf their babies how to safely make formula. Come to think of it used to be normal to allow us new mums space away from endless visitors and to actually be given the opportunity to rest.

I think we washed his hair at about day 4 because it had a lot of dried blood in it and then a few days later for a bath.He's 4 now and had a bath every night and hair washed twice a week.

From day of birth for all 4 of my kids 🤷🏻‍♀️

Amazed by all these responses. Dd1 bathed aged 2 days. DD2 bathed at less than 24 hours old. Only in water though. They both looked icky and I wanted them clean and fresh to meet the grandparents!

DD1 was a couple of days old, they showed me how to bath her in hospital and as a PP said said they didn't do it immediately to allow their temperature to stabilise. Can't remember with DD2. DS was slightly prem (36 weeks) and wasn't bathed until he left hospital at 9 days old. None of them use soap yet and only DS has a daily bath as per instructions to deal with his eczema.

DD1 - bathed in hospital by auxiliary nurse at 3 days old.

DD2 - bathed her when she was 4 days old when we were at home.

This was 2016 & 2018. No midwife/medical professional told me to wait until the cord came off before bathing.

Just shows how things change. 12 years ago baby bathed in hospital on first day. We used to bath her most nights and top and tail every morning when newborn. She liked the bath, it chilled her out and it filled half an hour by the time she was dried and dressed. She was a very high needs baby!

My oldest was about 6 hours old, a midwife on the ward showed a group of us how to bath our babies and then we had to do it ourselves. That was 22 years ago.

His brother was a couple of days old, at home. 18 years ago.