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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To wash DS 3 times a week

56 replies

Aki23 · 20/01/2017 15:01

I imagine I will get some differing views but wonder if I am being completely unreasonable. I wash DS (6 months) 3 times a week and have done since he was newborn - the days can be moved around to suit a special day out or the inevitable poonami that wetwipes just will not handle. He is topped and tailed every day in any event. I recently went to a party (babies/children invited) and the host offered use of her bath for DS. I declined saying I had bathed him this morning and he was fine now for a couple of days. She was and I felt I had to explain myself. I said that I had experience via my cousins children that too much washing can be bad for LO's skin and I may? have read this somewhere. She was of the opinion that babies should be bathed every day as part of their night-time routine. Should I bathe him more regularly? He has at least 2 changes of clothes per day but I now feel like I have a dirty child

Sometimes I only wash his hair once/twice a week.

OP posts:

Crunchymum · 20/01/2017 16:40

You went to a party and someone offered you their bath for your child? What kind of party was this?

My kids have 3 baths a week this time of year. Same in summer but I'll give them a quick shower in the evening to get rid of suncream etc if need be. Hairwash still 3 times per week.

Both mine have / had eczema so that's the main factor but to be honest the obsession with bathing / showering everyday is a bit OTT.

lorelairoryemily · 20/01/2017 16:45

We only bathed ds once a week for the first few months too, top and tailed every day, he's 10 months now and we bath him 3/4 times a week, hair wash every time too. Absolutely nothing wrong with what you're doing!! He's your baby do it your way

SheepyFun · 20/01/2017 16:53

We bathe DD twice a week if it's a good week. Not every week is a good one...

Mimicat44 · 20/01/2017 16:53

I completely agree with you op

KatharinaRosalie · 20/01/2017 16:54

Bath does not wind mine down, gets them more excited with all the splashing and playing.

The every night bath time routine was made up by Johnson and Johnson, it really isn't necessary for babies. We used to bath DS every evening, and he had a bad eczema that cleared up straight away after we stopped all the washing.

TurkeyDinosaurs · 20/01/2017 17:01

Usually we wash our 4 and 18 month old on Sunday, Tuesday, Friday

TurkeyDinosaurs · 20/01/2017 17:01

Usually we wash our 4 and 18 month old on Sunday, Tuesday, Friday

museumum · 20/01/2017 17:04

Personally I found "topping and tailing" really fiddly and ds hated it.
He loves baths so we went with nightly baths instead. Still do at 3.5. We use very gentle baby bubbles and no real soap.

Thingywhatsit · 20/01/2017 17:08

Dd (2.5) is only bathed as required - so when she is dirty or smelly she gets a bath. Depends on what she is doing. But usually works out twice a week at the moment. Try and wash her (long thick) hair once a week.

In summer bathing is more regular as we spend lots of time on beach, or at the park which has its own little bathing pool. She is always bathed if she has been near chlorine pools.

Ignore these people who say bath everyday. Do what is right for you and your child. As long as your child is happy, is fed and well cared for does it matter what other people think?

Meffy · 20/01/2017 17:11

Ours were all top and tailed in the am then bathed in the pm. Up until youngest was 3 then it moved to 3 x per week.
Now youngest is 5 and it's 2 x per week or if the are rotten!

Artandco · 20/01/2017 17:11

Never done a routine or everyday here. We used flannels for bum wiping so they were properly washed at each nappy change as babies. Now primary age it depends, some weeks they only shower after swimming (3 times), some weeks they bath both days at weekends plus swim showers, sometimes extra. Abroad they shower daily due to sand and chlorine.

steff13 · 20/01/2017 17:16

My daughter is 6 and has eczema, and we bathe her every other day. The same with my boys when they were little. Now that they're teens, they shower daily.

You went to a party, and the host offered you the opportunity to bathe your child while you were there? Why? I've never been to a party where bathing was involved.

switswoo81 · 20/01/2017 17:17

Daily baths!! Think of the cost of the immersion!!!!

hollie11 · 20/01/2017 17:23

My daughter is 6 and we bathe her every other day, quick shower or bath during the week and usually a longer bubble bath on the weekend

twinjocks · 20/01/2017 17:26

When DD (now 22!) was born, I had no prior experience of babies - the only thing I was sure I was going to do was bath her every day, as my Mum (who had died a few years before) had said she used to bath me every day.

Well, DD had other ideas - she loathed every aspect of bathing from the day she was born, would scream like she was being murdered, stiffen her body, and it was so traumatic for all concerned that baths ended up happening about once a fortnight, if that. Otherwise I just topped and tailed and she wasn't fond of that either! Around the time she started crawling, independently sitting up and being able to understand play, she began to love bathtime, so we upped it to maybe twice a week.

OP - you're fine - keep doing whatever you want with your DS!

mambono5 · 20/01/2017 17:29

Daily baths!! Think of the cost of the immersion!!!!

but the children! Think about the children! Won't somebody think about the children!

Original poster

Aki23 · 20/01/2017 18:25

Thank you for your support! It's really reassuring to see all the different ways and timings for bathing.

For those that asked, I was a bit taken aback at the question and it was after that I started to question myself. She is a friend of my husbands as is her husband (uni) and I assume that she thought it was part of my routine as well.

OP posts:

picklemepopcorn · 20/01/2017 18:26

When they get bigger, daily baths can be helpful. It's a nice bedtime routine for a toddler of their skin can stand it, and good sensory play. Also, their hands get dirtier and dirtier and sticky in the creases! When they are out of nappies, they need the better clean in the nappy area as well.

FeliciaJollygoodfellow · 20/01/2017 23:28

My kids get wound up at bath time as well. It's definitely not a wind down routine for them!

I honestly don't know how all your kids are getting so dirty in a day that they need daily or twice daily washes . And yes, I count top and tailing as a wash as that's what's I do if I haven't got time for a shower!

BoredOnMatLeave · 21/01/2017 09:14

I bath DD 6 months every other day. She always smells delicious. All my NCT friends think it's weird as they bath every night as part of the routine... I just don't say anything

Talllara · 21/01/2017 09:24

Well for example. Ds 19 months was doing painting at nursery yesterday which he'd got a bit over him. He rubbed some of his dinner in his hair, he'd done a poo, he sweats during his afternoon sleep, mucky hands and face from eating x 3, juice from a pineapple dripped round his neck.

Ds1 gets muddy playing football.

Personally I feel better and nice and fresh after a bath or shower and I get far less mucky than my kids. I don't sweat badly or smell and I'm not dirty but a quick shower freshens me up.

Why should my kids feel any different?

WhatInTheWorldIsGoingOn · 21/01/2017 09:30

I bath DD once a week. I'm not even sure what top and tail is? Surely they get their bums wiped multiple times a day? If top is a face and neck wipe then this happens when she has noticable snot and runny eyes. I didn't bath her at all for the first month of life.

BobbieDog · 21/01/2017 09:34

When i studied childcare 10 years ago it was always stressed that babies and children need a daily bath to remove stale poo and wee. Apparently bottoms have to be immersed in water daily not just wiped with a wet wipe.

Dd is 4 and i bath her every other day and use a flannel for face and bottom in between.

DavidPuddy · 21/01/2017 10:06

Twice a week here with no soap or lotion or shampoo. Baby is 12 months and certainly not smelly or greasy.

We did do a lot of emergency bathing during the summer when weaning was starting to take off, though

NotTheMrMenAgain · 21/01/2017 12:39

Hi. Your routine is fine OP, it's just the fashion now to bathe babies every night - but it's not great for dry skin and can be a disaster for eczema!

For those with little ones with eczema please can I just mention the 'oats in a sock' bath method (in case you haven't heard about it), because it was a great help when DD was younger.

You put a cupful of plain porridge outs in an old sock and hang it under the tap while the bath runs - or just toss it into the bath and give it a good squeeze. The oaty goodness makes the water white and cloudy and it's very soothing for eczema - Aveeno lotion has oat-stuff in - you don't need to rinse it off or anything.

When DD had a flare up I used to use the oat-sock instead of a flannel, rub the slippery oat-stuff on her, and let it sink in while she played.

It really did help, especially when we got Aveeno lotion on prescription as well, game - changer.

The worst bit is cleaning the squished oats out of the sock afterwards, and the bath will probably need a good rinse.

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