Bathing a newly born baby can be such a scary as well as an exciting experience in the first few days of its life. At this tender stage of life, they are usually very slippery and quite fragile especially when they are wet. This can result to a bit more intimidating baby bath if you have no prior and right experience. But preparing for the baby’s bath would make it more enjoyable than scary at all times.
Fall of umbilical stump
The baby won’t be requiring a real bath until its umbilical stump has fallen off. This is during the first two weeks after birth. In most cases, the umbilical stump would fall off at around the 10th day since birth. Before this time, it would only be necessary to sponge bath the newly born with a washcloth that is moistened. The face and hands of the baby needs to be carefully wiped off at this stage. Also its genital area should be thoroughly cleaned every time the diapers are changed. The baby can be tub bathed after the umbilical stump has completely fallen off and its surrounding area has fully healed up.
Most of the newly born babies are so small that one does not have to wash them in the real bathing tubs. This means that the baby care giver has to buy a baby bath or even wash it in the kitchen sink. Although most baby care providers bath the babies daily right away from birth, it is not a must until the baby grows older and begins to have some mess. It is some care givers or parents’ believe that bathing the baby assists in creating a nightmare or a routine ritual, but this really invaluable as the baby grows older.
First bath
The first bath for the baby can be tricky, this is because it will be very slippery and it is usually wiggling about when soapy and wet. This implies that the person bathing the baby needs to be sure that they are comfortable and calm enough to grip it well to avoid slipping or dropping them. They therefore don’t have to bring the baby with them to the shower if they are not sure of this. While bathing the newly born baby, the care taker should always ensure that they are not left alone in the tub even if they are in a position to sit all alone in the bathing tub. This should never take place even if you are out to answer a phone call, door call or to grab a towel. It would be advisable to always wrap the baby and take it with you if you have to leave the bath area.
Ensure safety
Also to ensure baby safety, the water heater in the house should always be set to at most 120 degrees Fahrenheit. More than this could lead to more severe third degree burns to the newly born baby. If at any time you feel like walking away with the baby, never ever put it on the bath tub edge and walk with it inside. While the water is running into the tub, you should not place the baby in there because that water can have its temperature change abrup.
0 Comments