Tips for Baby
Tips for Giving Baby a Bath

When you give your baby their first bath it will be likely that it may be a sponge bath. You might just lay them in a small amount of water carefully not submerging their belly button. Which ever you choose to do there are common bathing techniques for newborns.

When your baby is newborn you will be giving them sponge baths, until their umbilical cord has naturally fallen off and their belly button has healed. How To Give Your Baby a Sponge Bath offers the steps you can take in giving your newborn, or only a few weeks old baby, a sponge bath. The very first bath that your baby has, minus the cleaning they get after being born, will likely be overwhelming for both a baby and his bath givers, however bath time will likely become a fun occassion for both a baby and her bath givers.

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Bath time can go on as long as the baby wants, and as they get older you will find that they may just want to take a bath till the bath water turns ice cold, of course though you will have to pull them out of their bath long before that happens. However when babies are not that fond of bath time the only thing that you have to worry about is getting them clean.

Make sure you have everything that you will need in order to give your baby a bath, you can't walk away from them once they are in the water. Make sure that you have a towel at least so if you find that you do need to get something you can grab them and quickly bundle them up. Fill the baby bath, or sink, that you are bathing your baby in with warm water, testing the temperature of the water on your wrist.

While bathing your baby you will want to make sure that you clean behind their ears as well as in their neck folds. Wash their face first and their bottom last. You can use soap, but it isn't neccessary when they are very young. If you do use soap and you wash your baby's hands make sure that you rinse them before you continue to wash the rest of your baby. They may have a reflex to rub their eyes.

Stay calm and positive during the bath, if your baby sees and feels that you are comfortable giving a bath they will feel more comfortable having a bath. When your baby gets older and their umbilical cord has fallen off and their belly button is healed you can take them in the shower or bath with you. Just make sure you have a good grip if you do and keep in mind to not get any of your bath products on your baby though.

Don't be surprised if after setting your baby into their bath that they pee or poop. The warm water allows their muscles to relax, you can change the water and start the bath over no problem. If your baby enjoys having bath toys in their bath be sure to ring everything out really well, such as cloth bath books, and to squirt out all of the water of squirty toys, to prevent mildew from growing inside of them.

Make sure that you have a good grip on your baby before you lift them from the bath, and hold their towel under your chin or tucked into the collar of your shirt so you will only have to lift them a short distance before you wrap them in the towel. Another option that you have is to have a baby swing or bouncer at your feet with a towel already laid out on it. Simply get a good grip on the baby, and lift them to the swing or bouncer and wrap them in the towel and pick them up.

Once the bath is over, bundle them up in a towel and nurse them. Babies often want to nurse after a bath and there is no reason to put on their diaper or clothes until they have had a chance to suckle for comfort.