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Parenting

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Original poster

Newborn - to bathe or not to bathe??

16 replies

Beantin · 09/03/2009 10:14

Such conflicting advice from one book to another and one 'professional' to another.....DS almost 3 weeks old and we haven't bathed him yet - just cleaned with cloth and water. He has flaky skin (normal) which we're putting olive oil on. He is a bit of a pukey baby, so does need a good clean sometimes and has had one nappy that I considered putting him in shower fully clothed!
DH has dutifully read books so wants to wait til he's 1 mth before bath, but am concerned he's not clean enough, or that he and I are missing out on something fun.

What to do?

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Seeline · 09/03/2009 10:16

Mine are now 7 and 4 so maybe I'm a little out of date - but I was shown how to bath DC1 whilst still in hospital (and he was in teh Special care unit) so could only have been 2-3 days old. DC2 had a bath the day after i bought her home so 2 days. What's the concern? They both loved having baths even at that young age - it calmed them down, and they loved splashing the water.

compo · 09/03/2009 10:17

I bathed mine since about 3 days old I think
they both screamed at first but soon started enjoying it

Geepers · 09/03/2009 10:19

My babies would have all smelled by that stage had they not had a bath. I put off the first bath for as many days as possible as I didn't want to wash away that new smell, but after that they were done regularly, mainly because I hated that greasy hair look all my children seemed to get after a day or two of it not being washed. I liked their hair to look soft and fluffy.

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IwishIwasmoreorganised · 09/03/2009 10:20

Both of my boys have been bathed since a matter of days old. Te hspital showed us how to bath ds1 at 2 days old. To start with every other day but by about 6 weeks old it was every day (just a nice routine to get into!)

If he has flaky skin then just rub in his olive oil after his bath when his skin is all warm.

There is no real reason not to, but also a good wash does just as well at this age.

Up to you and DH really!

usernametaken · 09/03/2009 10:24

We bathed DD from about 3 days old plus they showed us how in the hospital. We never added bath products like bubble bath until she was about 2yrs old or used shampoo (until 6 months)though- recommended by the hospital- as FTP we just did as we were told and didn't question it! lol
She loved baths from the off and still loves to lounge in them for hours!

CMOTDibbler · 09/03/2009 10:25

DS was in SCBU, and they recommended not bathing for a couple of weeks, and certainly not using shampoo/baby bath etc till at least a month as their skin is so porous chemicals are absorbed very easily.

When you do start doing baths, the nicest way is for you or DH to have a bath with the baby. I liked having a nice soak while DS could bf all he liked. Nearly 3 years later we still bath together

WhereTheWildThingsWere · 09/03/2009 10:25

Dd (my second baby) had about 4 baths in her first 6 months, I just never had time .

What ever you do will be fine, as long as you keep nappy area, hands, face and neck creases clean all will be well.

HarryB · 19/03/2009 19:27

Beantin, I was like you, going crazy over the conflicting advice, In the end, at 7 days old, we went for it and gave DS a bath in plain warm water. DS is now 10 weeks and still loves his nightly bath before bed. Do what you feel is right.

CherryChoc · 19/03/2009 22:11

DS had his first bath at 10 days old (he was not bathed in hospital) and always just in plain water until he was about 4 or 5 months old (when I let DP add something because he wanted DS to smell nice - I wasn't going to use soap until we started solids tbh.)

Once they start puking and doing explosive nappies I don't see the point in sponge bathing them! I think the concern is things being added to the water - lotions etc - which can irritate the skin. If you use anything stronger than cotton wool and water when you change his bum (baby wipes?) then it is a bit pointless to avoid bathing him I think! Baby wipes are much worse. (Says she whose DP used full strength - ie not even sensitive - huggies wipes on their DS' first ever nappy change with no ill effects...)

MrsMattie · 19/03/2009 22:21

My DS loved water from birth, so we bathed him everyday. DD is 17 wks old and is only just at the stage where she will tolerate a bath for a couple of minutes - hates being undressed/cold/wet. I first bathed her at about 1 wk old and she screamed blue murder and has done pretyy much ever since. I top and tail her every day, but probably only bathe her 3 times a week. She is also a puker and prone to nappy rash, so the daily topping and tailing is a must.

MrsMattie · 19/03/2009 22:22

Forgot to say - don't use any products on DD at all, other than a tiny bit of Aveeno cream or plain, unscented oil for her dry skin. Never did with DS, either.

madmouse · 20/03/2009 09:12

We were shown how to bath ds in scbu at about 2 weeks old (he was not prem though)with soap and everything. As he is prone to exzema we bath him only in water, when he got a bit bigger i started to use top-to-toe wash for his hair (as he has lots) and that is still how I do it at 13 months. And he has only 3 baths a day. I know daily baths are recommended as part of 'routine' but with problem skin just don't go there.

But why not bath for a month?

madmouse · 20/03/2009 09:15

eeerm 3 baths a week

treehugga · 21/03/2009 07:38

I think my rate of bathing newborn (now 6 months) was one bath every 2-3 weeks, because I am neurotic about her getting eczema. (I was also scared of giving her a bath on my own - especially as we had to bathe her in our kitchen which was quite a cold room- but I got over this quite quickly and just whacked the heating up.) I used to ask other mums 'is this enough?' and they all thought I was mad and bathed their tots every day. But I think they're mad - daily baths (even without soap products) disrupt the development of the natural oils in the baby's skin IMO. This might not be what the medical profession say, but as someone with eczema I know that water is actually very drying. So, I would say keep baths to a minimum, don't use soap until it can't be avoided (I still haven't used soap on mine and she smells sweet as a rose), and use flannel/water to wash regularly where she needs it. IME the bigger issue is that baths can form a great part of a bedtime wind-down routine, signalling to the baby that it's time to get sleepy, so you might need to find other ways to give those signals - plenty of threads elsewhere on bedtime routines. Best of luck!

nulgirl · 21/03/2009 07:55

We didn't give ds a bath til he was 1 month old. He missed it in hospital cos he got a cannula in his hand and I was too squeemish. We then made sure he was washed well. Once he was 1 month we just put him in with his older sister. Totally bypassed the baby bath stage.

They now have a bath a 3/4 times a week. Certainly not every night. We have a bath in the morning too It just hypes my two up which we don't want before bed.

SomeMightSay · 21/03/2009 08:00

Beantin With both of mine, we waited until the cord came off, you don't have to, I just didn't fancy messing about trying to dry it so I top and tail washed them everyday and when cord came off, bathed twice a week until weaning stage when you can get into a better and more stable routine.

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