Bathing an Infant

Holding your newborn in your arms for the first time is an exciting, yet extremely terrifying experience. Neonates just seem very fragile, and you feel as if one wrong move or position could hurt them tremendously.

As if carrying them is not enough of a feat, you find out that you have to bathe them too - and this entails taking off their clothes putting soap and water all over their tiny bodies, which makes them really slippery. I cannot stress the word SLIPPERY enough. It's like holding jelly in your hands. Very slippery.

Bath time!

Observe and Ask!

If you're not too confident about your infant-bathing skills, you can ask the nurses who are taking care of you if you can observe them bathing your baby. Take advantage of this opportunity! Observe how they hold the baby, what they do, and ask whatever questions come into your mind. Don't be shy! After all, you will be taking care of your baby when you get home from the hospital - and yes, this includes bathing.

Choosing an Infant Bathtub

What I did before was I got an infant bathtub with one end elevated and with a rubber surface on the bottom, which helps to stabilize your baby. It kind of looks like this one here:




You could also get the ones with a net or a sling which you could lay your baby on while you sponge bathe him. It would look similar to this:




In our case, we hadn't realized that there were bath nets available until our baby was about 4 months old, so we purchased the net alone, which we just hooked up to our old bathtub.

Baby Toiletries

Now that you have your tub ready, it's time to pick your baby's toiletries. Choose a brand that's extra gentle and hypoallergenic. Babies have very sensitive skin, and they aren't used to exposure to harsh chemicals.

Initially, we used Lactacyd Blue for her whole body, but our baby got rashes and our pediatrician recommended we switch to a gentler soap. Now, we use Cetaphil for her face, Lactacyd Blue for her body and Johnson's and Johnson's Baby Shampoo for her hair.

Now, it's Your Turn...

Bathing an infant is really pretty easy, if it weren't such a fragile thing you're handling. Really, it's just like giving yourself a bath - wet yourself with water, apply soap and shampoo, and rinse off. But there are a few special guidelines that apply specifically to infant bathing:

• Don't tub bathe your infant until his umbilical cord stump has fallen off. This is to make sure that it dries up as quickly as possible, and submerging your baby in water can prevent it from drying up.
• Ready all things you'll need in advance: soap and shampoo, towel, diaper, and new clothes. This is VERY important because you wouldn't want to run around in the middle of the bath to get the stuff you need - very dangerous for the baby! Or, you could have a handy-dandy assistant (eg. husband) with you so he could go get the stuff you need. =)
• Double- and triple-check the temperature of the water you're using. If you don't have a water heater, add hot water to cold - not the other way around. If you add cold to hot, you might not notice that some areas of the mixed water are still pretty hot. Better cool water than accidentally scald your baby - ouch! Test the water temperature using your elbow or wrist, or better yet, use a bath thermometer. It should read around 90-100 degrees Fahrenheit (or around 32-38 degrees Celsius).
• Aside from the warm water, it would be ideal to have a warm environment as well. Newborns lose heat very easily if their environment is cold.
• Always ALWAYS support your baby's head. Their necks (what necks? LOL) aren't strong enough yet and can't support their disproportionately massive heads.
• To clean your baby's back, turn him over so that your hands cup his nonexistent neck and his body is supported by your forearm. Yes, it might seem scary at first, but you'll get more confident as you get more practice.
• Wash your baby's head last. This is the body part that loses heat the fastest because of its large surface area.
• Finish the bath as quickly as you can. Again, babies lose heat very quickly.

You could also watch this video tutorial here:

Bath time's done, and now it's time to put on diapers and new clothes, brush whatever hair he has, and cuddle with your sweet-smelling baby!