Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To bathe baby once per week?

234 replies

StarfishSandwich · 28/10/2018 21:54

He’s 7 weeks. I thought this was totally normal and fine. He gets top and tailed as and when needed - certainly daily! But I don’t feel like he particularly needs bathing. We always bathe him in the bath with one of us so daily would be a complete waste of water. I keep reading about people using baths as part of the bedtime routine and it’s just occurred to me that this means that lots of babies get bathed daily.

AIBU and scummy? His skin is flawless and he doesn’t smell FWIW!

OP posts:
Ferrisbuellersdayoff · 30/10/2018 21:59

svalentine60
I've never known any mother to not bathe her new baby daily.

Really? Have you asked everyone you know about their tiny baby bathing habits? I can promise you there are plenty of newborn babies not bathed daily, for many, many good reasons.

Ferrisbuellersdayoff · 30/10/2018 22:03

OP, I've never bathed my child daily. He's 5 now. He has eczema and dry skin, which is worse when we clean him lots. He has a mini wash every day before school.

I only have a full shower every other day unless I'm obviously stinky or greasy.

Sarahrellyboo1987 · 30/10/2018 22:28

A bit scuzzy considering he sits in his own wee and poo a lot! Not to mention the fair amount of baby sick.
I did my daughter had one the vast majority of days.
When they’re toilet trained I don’t thjnk they need a bath everyday. But when they’re in nappy’s...it’s a definitely for me.

fluffiny31 · 30/10/2018 22:51

I couldn't Bath my dd daily. Her skin was really sensitive because she was prem. Once to twice a week she was bathed. And then it was only water. Any soaps irritated her skin. She Was topped and tailed every day though. When she was a few weeks old she got an ointment for the bath to protect her skin from drying out and becoming sore. She's 3 now and baths every other day to stop her skin from drying out.

Mumofthree92 · 30/10/2018 23:36

You know with my 1st dd I used to bathe her everyday as I was told it’s a good routine. Soon realised it was making her eczema 100 times worse so started bathing her once a week and she hasn’t had a flare up since now 8 yrs. so when I had my next 3 babies I only bathed them once a week and still do now. Unless they are filthy from playing in the garden or sick.

So that’s my 8,5,4,11 month all get a bath once a week and there skin is lovely and soft not a dry patch to be seen.

Clairenewbie · 30/10/2018 23:48

I had to bathe mine daily, except when they had colds. They were babies with lots of hair when born, nightmare if they vomited, bluegh.

I hardly used the baby bath I preferred using the sink to bath mine, less bending down

MadMadaMim · 31/10/2018 02:39

Health visitor and GP at weekly clinic assured me it is totally unnecessary and not very good for their skin. Unless there is a medical reason or they're dirty, 1-2 per week is fine.

This goes for anyone. We bathe far too much. Every other day is completely adequate. What do people do to need to bathe every day? I can understand if there's daily exercise or you're particularly ripe, otherwise, it's wasteful and unnecessary.

People wonder why their hair is greasy if they don't wash it every day - THAT'S WHY! You wash all the oils out and as a result, your scalp is frantically producing more and more oils. Leave it a week for 4-6 weeks and your oil production will go back to normal. Then you'll only need twice weekly washes.

moita · 31/10/2018 02:46

My 21 month old has a bath every evening but only because: a) toddlers are messy and b) he needs the wind-down time before bed.

5 month old dd has a bath probably 3 times a week. She gets dry skin. Not on solids yet so no real need.

Dillydallyer · 31/10/2018 06:36

It’s entirely up to you but that’s what I’ve always done with mine. Unless they’re filthy, bathing them daily is no good for their skin (my friend is a dermatologist and I have eczema) so we’ve always done 1/2 times a week. Obviously if they get particularly dirty we would give them an extra bath but it’s not necessary to bath a baby every day in my opinion.

Sallystyle · 31/10/2018 06:47

I think it's fine as long as they are having a wash regularly too, even if it is with just wipes.

I bathed the ones who were sick a lot more often though. Especially my son who was lactose intolerant and had special formula. That stuff stinks and when he vomited it didn't take long for him to be pretty smelly.

Sallystyle · 31/10/2018 06:53

Actually, ignore that. Just using wipes and bathing once a week wouldn't be enough for most babies.

A wash and bath once a week is fine.

Yonijust · 31/10/2018 07:11

My DD would get excited if she had a bath, so not helpful just before bedtime.

We did it once or twice a week mid morning when on mat leave.

Routines are best for when the child actually understands the purpose of the exercise.

HoppingPavlova · 31/10/2018 07:22

It was once a week here with daily topping and tailing. I had a large bowl labelled ‘face’ and a large bowl labelled ‘bum’. Apart from that they only had additional baths if they vomited or had an explosive poo that escaped the nappy area.

One of mine was in hospital for several months after birth. Their first ‘wash’ was a scrubbing of the head/hair and light wipe of the body to try and get the birth gunk off. That was about a fortnight after birth. They didn’t leave the ICU cot for that but they had started to smell quite rank and a ruse couldn’t stand it any longer. They were then lucky to get a light wipe over once a week and that was with lots of vomit too. It was ages until they had an actual bath. Obviously their nappy area was thoroughly cleaned at every change though. They were fine, it caused no issues at the time or throughout their life so far - although may have contributed to teen attitudeGrin.

I think people get way too antsy about all of this stuff.

brookshelley · 31/10/2018 07:31

I don't find "top and tail" much of a time saving. I bathe mine daily because it's a nice way to end the day, but didn't use soap until about 5/6 months as it's drying on the skin.

user1471426142 · 31/10/2018 07:33

At that age I think it’s fine (and we were a once a night family) but I think once they hit 6 months and are weaning etc it’s a bit grim to do baths once or twice a week.

Ohheyyy · 31/10/2018 07:35

I only used to bathe my baby every 2 or 3 days until he got to about 6 months and went into his own bedroom and we started a bedtime routine that includes a bath, now he has one every night and he does fall asleep a lot easier since we have been doing so (poss just a fluke but who knows).

Alicatz66 · 31/10/2018 07:42

I agree once a week is a bit grim .. doesn't take much longer to pop them in the bath than top and tail

Frokni · 31/10/2018 08:01

We have never done daily baths for either of ours. Our 1 year old gets bathed twice/three times max a week with daily face and crease wash.

3.5 year old washes her face/self with her own flannel (feels like a big girl in the mornings) each day with real bath three times a week and 2 hairwashes in there too.

If older DD gets to the stage where a more thorough daily clean is needed she will use shower as baths are quite a waste of water daily.

Each family is different though so you just do what works. We did what you are doing now with your 7 week old, with both our kids until they were 6 months old.

Blueink · 31/10/2018 09:29

Daily bath environmentally wasteful, unnecessary for ‘routine’ & not good for skin. YANBU.

RidingMyBike · 31/10/2018 12:29

I think daily baths are unnecessary and bad for their skin. We bathed DD once a week (Sunday night was bath night!) plus if she’d got particularly covered in poo or vomit. Combi fed baby but still didn’t find she smelt unpleasant. Everyday she was top and tailed using flannels and warm water - found top and tailing worked well for us as it took about five minutes rather than the 20+ minutes a bath entailed.
At 7 months she came in the bath or shower with me some mornings so we stopped the weekly bedtime bath and have never resurrected it - it didn’t affect sleeping through or routine at all. You can still have a routine without a bath in it! She now has about 3 baths or showers a week at nearly 3 years. More when the weather was so hot earlier this year as she was sweaty and grimy.

Leapfrog44 · 31/10/2018 13:09

Bah, it's FINE!! babies don't get dirty and don't need washing frequently.

As long as the bum is clean you don't need to worry. The delicate skin is better off not being soaped up too often.

It's just OUR cultural hygiene obsession that is making you worry about it.

Trust me in most other countries, they don't insist on daily baths for 7 month olds!

anniehm · 31/10/2018 17:44

This bathing/showering daily thing is really new. A couple of generations ago a weekly bath was the norm and we do less manual work not more now!

Once or twice a week is fine unless they are particularly dirty (exploding nappies etc) once they are feeding themselves it can be the easiest option to bung them in the bath straight after evening meal but we didn't always. I've heard that twice a week is better for us too!

Zoflorabore · 31/10/2018 18:12

I don't think it's a new thing.
I'm 40 and I had a bath every night as a child and always have done as an adult although I now prefer showers.

RidingMyBike · 31/10/2018 19:48

It's relatively new. I'm 39 and we only used to have 1-2 baths a week (no shower in house) as children and at least two people used the same water to save money heating it. We always had a bath and hair wash on a Sunday night so it was all clean for school the next day. As we got into our teens we bathed more often and even had an electric shower installed over the bath (felt like the height of luxury at the time!).

The generation before (now 70s) in my family definitely weren't bathing every day as they didn't even have a bathroom - weekly dip in a tin tub put in front of the fire and all the water carried in and poured into it!

Lettherebelight · 31/10/2018 21:29

Definitely not that new! I'm the same age and grew up with a bath-bed-book routine, I think that's why I did the same.

No soap for baby though. She had eczema so the dr had recommended some oil for the bath before we started.