Baby Bath Time: Must-Know Tips to Bathe Your Baby for the First Time
After the baby’s birth, eventually, you will start wondering when and how you should give your baby its first bath.
Your baby’s first bath may seem like a stressful experience — especially if you are a first-time parent. Fortunately, with a few tips, a baby bath can be a pleasant experience for everyone involved.
Keep reading to know about helpful tips and information to bathe your little one for the first time.
When Should You Bathe Your Newborn?
If your baby really needs a bath but still has its umbilical cord, healthcare experts recommend only doing sponge baths. When sponge bathing your baby, make sure the umbilical cord remains dry. Otherwise, it will take longer than average for the cord to fall off.
Once the cord falls off, your baby is ready to be in full contact with water and receive its first real bath.
Helpful Tips to Bathe Your Newborn
Here are a few tips that will help to make bath time go smoothly:
Choose the Right Spot
The first step is to decide where you will bathe your baby; will it be in the tub, the sink, or a baby bathtub?
For baby bath time, it is crucial to choose a safe and comfortable spot for both the baby and the parent. For newborns, we recommend a bath in the sink. Unlike tubs, bathing your baby in the sink is more comfortable since you don’t have to bend down.
Before bathing your newborn, make sure to clean the sink. Also, you can add a towel inside the sink to make it cozier.
Setting Up the Right Water Temperature
A common mistake of bathing a baby is not setting the right temperature. The last thing you want is a baby crying because the water is too hot or too cold.
When bathing a newborn, the water temperature should be about 100 F. To determine the temperature, you can either use a bath thermometer or test the water with your elbow.
Have Everything You Need Within Your Hand’s Reach
The golden rule when bathing a baby is never to leave their side. Therefore, when bathing your baby, you must have all your supplies within your hand’s reach.
Here is a list of must-have items you should have during bath time:
Washcloths
Baby soap
Baby towel (since newborns can easily get cold, we recommend baby hooded towels to keep them as warm as possible)
Also, to avoid your baby getting cold after the bath, make sure to have a diaper and clothes ready for them.
Make it Short and Sweet
Newborns can easily get cold due to the lack of fat in their bodies. Therefore, we recommend keeping the bath short and sweet. On average, a newborn’s bath should last around 10 to 15 minutes. A short bath will also prevent your little one from overexposure to soaps or other substances that may irritate its skin.
Get a Support System
It can be intimidating to bathe a newborn alone. Therefore, we strongly recommend having some help around when bathing your little one for the first time.
You can either ask your partner, a family member, or your doula for help. They can either be there for moral support, or they can help you bathe the baby. For example, one person can hold the baby while the other one bathes it. Once you feel comfortable bathing your baby, you can try doing it on your own.
We hope these tips will help you during baby bath time. If you are looking for quality goods to bathe your baby, at Eco Babi Bundles, we can help. Also, with every purchase, you are helping us to stop the illegal wildlife trade.