Parenting Infants: Learn the Basics of Bathing and Cleanliness
Parenting infants is the one thing that no one can really teach us. We can receive advice, or tips on making it easier, but you have to live it to learn it. Bathing and cleanliness is one of the very first things we learn as new parents. Here are some tips to get you through nice and smoothly.
When you bring a newborn home to join the family, many parents are afraid to actually bathe their infant. It is a completely understandable fear that you might hurt the baby or do it wrong. What you need to remember is that newborns do not have to be bathed the first couple of months. The only thing you really have to do is wipe them down with a warm washcloth. Using soaps on your newborn can dry out their delicate skin, which can lead to tiny cracks developing in their creases. Wipe them down one time before bed and nothing else is needed.
Once they get into being more active, let’s say around two months old, you can start giving them kitchen sink baths or even a bath with you. There are many products on the market today that are used to clean infants. Your best bet is a gentle liquid soap with no perfume added. Babies already smell good, no need to mask that with a perfume that could irritate their skin.
Once you have gotten the soap, what you want to do is test the water with the inside of your wrist. This is the most sensitive area that will tell you if the water is too hot or too cold. Adjust the water to a lukewarm setting. Fill up the baby bath, your bath or even the kitchen sink half way with water. Then slowly place the baby inside the baby bath, sink, or inside the bath with you. Wash their body with a washcloth and very little soap. Rinse well and cover completely with towel until dry.
Now at the age of 6 – 12 months, babies are so much easier and excited to receive baths. By these ages, you should know whether your child likes water or not. You will not have a hard time determining this at all. They will either love it or hate it. At this age, you can place the infant in a kitchen sink, or even in a bath tub if they are sitting up already, if not they do have seats that stick to the bottom of the tub. Fill the tub up just underneath their belly button and wash their body and hair with baby shampoo. They can receive a bath up to two times a day.
Anytime after the age of 12 months, a child can be bathed as many times as needed per day. Be sure that during these times, that you are with them at all times. All it takes is one inch of water to drowned a child. Never at any time leave your child unattended for any reason.
Once your child becomes a toddler, many of them like to start taking showers. If this is the case, be sure to turn the water on lukewarm. Show the child what to wash and what to use when washing. Be sure you explain that they need to rinse themselves thoroughly, many times they will forget. IF they cannot wash their hair, then of course assist them in the process.
In any case, starting a good bathing routine is essential to being a clean and healthy child. Teaching them to wash their hands before eating, after using the bathroom, or after being outside is another part of cleanliness. Teach them early, they follow for life.
These are the essentials of parenting infants in bathing and cleanliness. If you take it slow, and keep it routine, you will have the bathing down in no time. Other than that, enjoy your baby/child and just go with the flow of things.
