How To Give baby bath

When should you give your baby a bath and how often? How is it actually done ? What products and accessories to use? The answers.

Summary

How to give baby a bath?
What products and accessories to use for the bath?
How often and when to give the baby a bath?
The benefits of baby bathing

Table of Contents

How to give baby a bath?

BATH PREPARATION AND SAFETY RULES

The bathroom must be at the right temperature(between 22 ° to 25 ° C ). Close windows to avoid drafts.
Prepare all the necessary equipment beforethe bath to have everything close to your hand (cleaning product, towel, clothes, etc.)
Run water 8 to 12 cm deep . Pour cold water before hot water, this reduces the risk of careless burns. In addition, remember to cool the tap by opening the cold water again, for a brief moment.
The water temperature should be between 35 ° and 37 ° C. Check it with a thermometer before plunging baby.
Never leave your child alone in the bath. When you give your baby a bath, you are no longer available to answer the phone or open the door when someone rings. Consider yourself absent from home. Many accidents occur when the mother turns away for a few moments, leaving the baby alone in the bathtub.
If baby is dirty, clean his buttocks before immersing him in the bathso that the stool does not stain the water in which he will take his bath.

THE RIGHT GESTURES FOR BATHING

To soap baby , you have a choice. You can soap the body and the head using the hand outside the bath , then put it in water only for rinsing. In this case, hold it firmly because its body coated with soap is slippery

Or, you can soap baby directly in the water. To do this, follow these steps:

Hold your baby’s bottom and thigh in one of your hands. Place your other hand under his armpit, neck and head resting on your wrist and forearm.
Then put your baby in the water, and if he does not know how to sit yet, continue to hold him under the armpit , his neck and head resting on your wrist and forearm. You can then release the other hand for soaping .
Cleanyour child’s hair and then rinse the scalp by hand or using a small plastic container. In any case, never run water while your infant is in the bathtub (risk of burns).
Soap your child, going from the cleanest to the dirtiest . So start with the head, then continue washing the body and the sex. Clean the buttocks last.
Finally, rinse your baby with bath water(by hand or using your container).

At the end of the bath, completely wrap baby in a dry towel so that it does not catch cold. Dry it thoroughly , starting with the head and upper body. Dry the lower body, insisting on the folds of the buttocks because the residual moisture irritates the skin. Finally, put a diaper on your child and then dress them quickly so that they are warm.

What products and accessories to use for the bath?

THE CHOICE OF ACCESSORIES

Choose bath products adapted to your child’s morphology and stage of development .

Before your baby can sit(up to about 6 months): you can use a baby bathtub or use the bathroom bathtub, by placing your child on a deckchair or “bath seat” “(canvas or plastic). Make sure it stays stable, to prevent your baby from slipping.
Once your child knows how to stay in a stable sitting position(around 7 months): use the bathroom bathtub by fixing a non-slip mat at the bottom. You can also sit your infant in the center of a swim ring.

THE CHOICE OF HYGIENE PRODUCTS

For the bath, prefer a soap-free cleaning product and a mild shampoo .

You can also use toiletries specially designed for babies , such as:

2 in 1 washing gels
skin-cleansing gels
surgras dermatological soaps

In general, prefer bath products without parabens, perfumes, dyes, alcohol, essential oils .

Also, remember to moisturize sensitive and fragile baby skin with a cream for the change .

How often and when to give the baby a bath?

SHOULD I WASH MY BABY EVERY DAY?

If you wish, you can give your child a daily bath, especially if he enjoys this moment of relaxation. However, washing an infant every two or three days is still sufficient . Indeed, at this age, it perspires and gets very little dirty (except in case of hot weather or regurgitation).

As for shampoos , two to three times a week are sufficient, unless medical advice indicates otherwise.

Note: if you space the baths , remember to clean the face and hands of your baby as soon as necessary and to wash his genitals and buttocks each time you change his diaper.

SHOULD I WASH MY BABY IN THE MORNING OR IN THE EVENING?

Bath time is not important and depends on your availability. You can give it in the morning or in the evening and vary depending on the day .

However, as the bath often has soothing properties, opting for the late afternoon can calm the tensions and crying in the evening (common in infants).

HOW LONG CAN YOU LEAVE A BABY IN THE BATH WATER?

The duration of a bath is variable:

About 5 to 10 minutes for a baby over 10 months old.
5 minutes maximum for a baby under 10 months old.

The benefits of baby bathing

In addition to the pleasure of the lapping of water on his skin, baby often makes it a moment of intense communication and play , which allows him to flourish and learn to discover his body.

Ideal in terms of hygiene, the bath is also recommended to facilitate relaxation and regain calm after a hectic day. It allows baby to relax and helps him fall asleep peacefully.