To not wash my newborn

[Anotherchair]

I have a 3 week old and I have never given him a bath. I don't want to as my first ds hated baths and used to scream. I don't want to wash him for as long as possible so I have told some little lies to my dh and dm about this.

I do top and tail him but don't want to do a proper bath.

superglue - cradle cap is a fungal infection and is nothing at all to do with cleanliness. And both my newbies always had fluff between their fingers cos they'd suck their hands and the fluff from blankets and clothes would stick to their wet hands. Defluffing their fingers was one of my favorite jobs.

I've not read the whole thread so I'm sorry if this has been said.

My midwife actually told me not to bath my newborn DS in the first few weeks because it dries their skin out. I topped and tailed him but that was it.

Fgs not bathing babies doesn't mean you don't bath them once bigger and they need it!

You can clean a baby perfectly fine with a flannel, get in all the creases and even wipe their hair down if they need it. But they don't need a bath andvcertainly don't need soap/bubble bath etc.

Aggrah what is this obsession with bathing babies. They aren't crawling through filth everyday! YANBU

yes 5madthings but Johnson & Johnson et al have managed to persuade parents that their children are filthy little creatures who, unless they smell of fake lavender, stink. Other than using water as a tool to calm an upset baby (which can be done soap free) I honestly cannot imagine a scenario where a newborn needs daily washing

Strange how times change, when I was a student midwife in the late 70's when on "district" our job was to give newborns a daily bath not sure they needed one but it gave us the opportunity to examine the baby all over.
Not convinced they needed it though!!

yes 5madthings but Johnson & Johnson et al have managed to persuade parents that their children are filthy little creatures who, unless they smell of fake lavender, stink

You are totally correct there, Thats exactly what they have done and made lots of money out of worried parents...

I am another who rarely bathed baby, and certainly never with johnsons chemicals over new born skin.

I live in an arid desert climate and was told to bath DD every other day and put unperfumed creams on her so she didn't dry out (and trust me those first few weeks she was a flaky baby). I have a friend in a humid climate that was told to only bathe her baby once a week. So, I'm not sure that bathing dries them out.

Op do what you think is best. You are the mom. Why lie to
Anyone? You are in charge.

Takes me back to 1989 and me waiting for dh to come home so we could bath our ds.

Had to wait for him as the bloody baby bath filled with water was too bloody heavy for me to lift onto it's stand.

What a waste of money. Still were great nude photos plastered Round the pub for his 18th party.

What seems to be the problem with a bit of water? I don't get it.

My 4mo had a bath with his big brother this morning and was laughing his socks off throughout - it can be really fun so your second baby might come to enjoy it even if your first didn't.

I don't think that he is particularly cleaner from the dunking than when I wash him with cotton wool and water on his mat though. The benefit of bathing us that he likes it and it's good for his eczema because I use emollient in the water and then massage him with lots of cream. I'm sure your baby is clean from the top and tailing.

Also, a bedtime bath isn't always recommended for bad sleepers because young children don't tend to relax in the bath like adults but kick, splash and play which gets them excited and harder to calm down. So for some children, having a bath as part of the bedtime routine isn't actually a good idea.

Don't lie though, OP, or worry that screaming could 'ruin' your baby. Top and tail for as long as you like and if your husband or mum don't approve, they can give him a bath themselves.

I always found my dc cleaner with a top and tail at that age. I didn't have a bath support at first and loved taking my time washing with a top and tail while they lay on changing mat.

So yanbu , but no need to lie to family.

I didn't properly bath mine until the stump had come off (dd2's took ages - she had an unusually thick umbilical cord). Bums got a good dunking in the sink morning and evening though.