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Parenting

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Original poster

First bath for newborn and other daft questions

25 replies

anchovies · 30/12/2005 11:58

Just wondering whether it's ok to insist that when the baby arrives, it is bathed in just plain water? I missed the first bath last time (had a cs) and also wanted to know whether I can insist that dh does the first bath and gets him/her dressed etc. DS1 was taken away at about 10pm then redelivered to me bathed and dressed at 5am for a feed and looking back it makes me a bit sad! Second bath which I was there for, the midwife assistant lady squirted about half a bottle of johnsons baby bath in (I didn't say anything!) and we have quite a family history of allergies/eczema (so I have to presume this happened for the first bath as well?)

Also last time they kept asking me if I had any baby wipes, it is ok to not take any and just use warm water and cotton wool isn't it?

OP posts:

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tribpot · 30/12/2005 11:59

Definitely yes to the second question, and I am sure you can insist on the first as well. Get it in the birth plan and brief your dh as well.

hunkermunker · 30/12/2005 11:59

Absolutely no need for the baby to have a bath in hospital at all and definitely not in that Johnsons crap.

Also, wipes not recommended for at least the first six weeks, cotton wool and warm water perfectly fine.

FlameRobin · 30/12/2005 12:02

That's terrible!!! Insist on it - they can't say no - it is your child. For us they dressed her, but no bath, and then someone came round the next day to help show us how to bath... DH did most of it as I felt too rough. No cs, but still works in principle.

It was the baby bath and babywipes that made me the most then - we had it drummed into us from the very beginning not to use either for as long as possible.

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FlossNutsRoastingOnAnOpenFire · 30/12/2005 12:04

DS just given a good rubbing down with a towel, no bath.

MerlinsBeard · 30/12/2005 12:06

neither of ours was bathed at birth. eldest was dressed for us tho. then we bathed him b4 we were allowed home. (well DP did)

youngest was put in one of theose lovely gown things and that was it. Again, DP took hom to bath him but so that i could have time on my own with ds1.

expatinscotland · 30/12/2005 12:08

DD2 is nearly 3 weeks old and still HATES being bathed.

FairyTaleinNewYork · 30/12/2005 13:02

dd3 was bathed on day 3, and i did it in plain water only. only did it as she puked up, would've let it longer otherwise. vernix is a good protective moisteriser for babies, leave it as long as possible imo.

coppertop · 30/12/2005 13:06

Only ds1 ever had a bath at the hospital and that was only because he'd been there for a week.

I thought most hospitals also encouraged the use of cotton wool and water rather than the wipes. Ours doesn't usually give freebies but they had a whole trolley filled with little basins and cotton wool for parents to use for nappy changes.

yoyo · 30/12/2005 13:08

They do not need to be bathed. Leave for as long as you like. I can still remember the screams when DD1 was bathed by midwives (I wasn't with her) and didn't allow anyone to bath my other two. I love the smell of them before they are bathed and the vernix definitely keeps their skin soft.

mazzystar · 30/12/2005 13:09

just reading this, and the brow presentation thread the other day, and remembering my own experiences, its making me think what is it about healthcare professionals/hospitals or new mothers that makes us so unassertive about what we want for our births and our children's care?

i bet in everyday life anchovies gets exactly what she wants no question.

mumfor1sttime · 30/12/2005 13:10

Ds wasnt bathed in hospital, I was told it wasnt hospital policy to bath babies! I had to wash him with my own flannel and cotton wool. I had no help at all with this despite having a CS.
Dressing baby? I had to do this.

aviatrix · 30/12/2005 15:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

PrincessPlumPuddingHead · 30/12/2005 15:27

I second no bath or plain water. or even better than plain water is water with some oats squeezed into it (exp if you live in a very hard water area like we do). Softens the water, full of vit e and very good for skin...

DEFINATELY never johnsons which is super-allergenic - if you want some bubbles much later on use a tiny bit of Infacare. hth

SnowmAngeliz · 30/12/2005 15:32

we didn't bathe dd2 in hospital, we took her home and bathed her on day 3 i think. I also didn't use wipes for weeks.

expatinscotland · 30/12/2005 15:32

i only bathed dd2 after my mum accidentally didn't secure her nappy properly and she wee'd all up her back.

then it was just plain water and an old, soft flannel.

kama · 30/12/2005 15:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

sazhig · 31/12/2005 01:41

I politely refused the (numerous) offers to bathe/show us how to bathe ds when he was born as I knew that the he didn't need it. It got to be a pain in the end as I was in for 4 days & got several offers every day . He got his first bath with his dad when he was just over a week old I think, maybe even in his second week, can't quite remember now (he's 17 months now) & has never been bathed much more than once a week since and only ever in plain water. He has quite dry skin (inherited from me I think ) and was slightly over cooked I think as his skin peeled quite badly at first & we found that bathing, even in plain water made it much worse so sometimes he went 2 weeks between baths whe he was little. Even now with him running around and making a mess of everything he still only needs a bath once a week.

sazhig · 31/12/2005 01:44

Sorry in all my waffling forgot to add that I put my wishes re bathing in my birth plan so there would be no mistakes about what we wanted if I was unable to say so (& made sure dh was aware as well!). I used cloth nappies from the start & only used cotton wool & water to clean him with at changing time with no problems at all - don't ask - just tell them what you want - its your baby remember!!

merrySOAPBOXingday · 31/12/2005 01:50

One of Mears' collegues did a study on the use of bathing products for babies, which IIRC said that they led to an increase in the incidence of allergic reactions.

I think plain water is just fine (although as my two were born and bathed before such advice was in place, I do have a certain nostalgia for the J&J baby smell).

Original poster

anchovies · 01/01/2006 11:34

Thanks for all your thoughts. It is annoying me that despite being so sure I would be assertive this time I can't even be sure enough about using blinking cotton wool and water to change a nappy!

Defo no wipes whatsoever this time and a lovely bath (in plain water) with dh and I when we all get home!

OP posts:

agalch · 06/01/2006 09:47

When i had dd 17 months ago,hosp advised not bathing her for a day or two as theres really no need.They just gave her hair and body a good dry off and a good rub to get rid of all the mucky stuff off.Told me the vernix was good for their skin (or summat like that).Apparently my hosp routinley(sp) do this.

edodgy · 06/01/2006 09:58

Definately ask for plain water i didn't this time and my newborn ds had a lovely rash all over his face for the first photos!

jenkel · 06/01/2006 10:09

I'm quite horrified at what people have experienced. With both my dd's (born at the same hospital) wet wipes were banned and warm water and cotton wool was encouraged, to be honest this is what I have always used at home, only use wet wipes when we go out. And neither of my dd's were bathed, wiped down with a damp cloth in hospital by mean but not bathed until 3-4 days out of hospital and this is what the hospital and midwife recommended.

nannyme · 06/01/2006 10:13

Who says they need a bath?!

nannyme · 06/01/2006 10:17

These were the kinds of things that made me choose Home Birth - twice!

Put your assertive shoes on and get what you want - poor you the first time.

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