Baby care week by week alters as your baby grows and starts to be more responsive and he gains more control over his limbs, there is more that you can do with them while bathing. As they become more mobile, there are also some additional dangers that arise. There are a lot of opinions about the best time to give a baby a bath. Some feel it is best at night as a relaxing end to the day, while others feel a bath in the morning is just the thing to get the day started. Do you know the best time to offer a bath to your baby? Learn here.
Related: 14 Baby Care Games While Co Bathing With a NewBorn
1. Safety First, But Don’t Stress
Bath time for your baby can be an exciting milestone and an amazing chance to bond with your little one. However, following newborn baby health care tips and cleaning a tiny, fragile, wiggly baby can be a daunting task. Don’t be scared, every parent feels that way in the beginning, but the good news is that it gets easier every time. It even becomes something to look forward to. So relax, enjoy the learning process, and let your baby fall in love with the water. But when are the best times to give your baby a bath? Here are 10 baby care week by week tips on the best times and why!
Related: Baby Health Information: Baby’s Bathtime Drowning Concluded to be Homicide
2. Baby Care Week By Week Tips
Being a parent is a full-time job, and sometimes what worked the week before doesn’t work the next week. It’s great to have a routine, no doubt, but it’s also important to be open-minded and flexible. One week, a baby may only have needed two baths, but the next they might have diarrhea and require more. There’s no point in sticking to hard and fast rules with an infant; be diligent, but don’t stress when the little one flips the script. Just try to take this tip of baby care week by week, and always put the baby’s health first, before convenience!
3. The Truth About Bath Time Baby Care Week by Week
Here’s the real truth: babies don’t need bathing as frequently as some might think. They don’t get around much the first few months, so they don’t get into any dirt or work up the kind of sweat that requires regular baths. Newborn baby health care involves more than baths, and to be quite frank, too many baths can do more harm for a baby than good. Their skin is very sensitive and can become dry, so a day or two between baths is fine. While we all want our babies to be clean, we also want them to be healthy, so baby care week by week is a necessity.
4. When A Baby Has Diaper Rash (All About Baby Rashes)
While many of the tips and advice that can be found online emphasize the need to keep a baby’s bottom dry when inflamed, the real solution is the baby’s cleanliness. Diaper rash comes from bacteria, so when a child has it on their bottom, thighs, and genitals, those areas need to be free of all bodily fluids and allowed to breathe. Baby health information dictates that this means not letting them sit in their waste. Not even for a moment. A warm bath is soothing to a baby’s irritated skin and gives it a chance to heal. No soap is required, only a clean cloth and gentle hands and constant baby care week by week rash check.
Related: Baby Care Games: 10 Toys We Can Use in Baths
5. When A Baby Makes A Mess
If a baby gets sick, is a messy eater or vomits, this can make bath time a more urgent need. Normally, a quick but gentle wipe down during diaper changes can do the trick. However, in the case of diarrhea, vomit or spills, it’s best to let the baby get completely clean in a bath. This keeps bacteria away from their genitals, as well as any food or vomit settling in the rolls and crevices of their skin. It might be a little tedious (cleaning up messes usually is) but it will ensure that the baby care week by week, is followed through on.
6. When Parents Want To Have Bonding Time
Bonding time is very important in baby care week by week. Bath time is bonding time! Every parent is taught this or learns this at some point. When bathing a baby, the parent and child are able to have a physical connection that is associated with warmth, comfort, prolonged eye contact, and sweet smells. All of this calm and cozy sensory input is like heaven for the baby, and believe it or not, for the parent too. In the bath time setting, oxytocin is heavily at play, putting both the child and parent at ease. When the baby gets bigger, bath time becomes playtime, and the bond becomes even stronger!
7. When A Baby Is Sleepy
Many parents praise the use of car rides or lullabies to put their babies to sleep, but actually a nice warm bath can often have the same effect. When a baby is tired they get cranky and tense. A warm bath accompanied by a parent’s gentle massaging, led by soothes their stiff muscles and calms their frazzled nerves, slowly working them into a deep and restful sleep. Adding this to the baby care week by week will create a winding down routine that can work wonders and regulate their sleeping patterns. However, the keyword here is routine. A baby gets used to a certain activity that signals time for rest.
8. When A Baby Is Fussy
The best baby care week by week when a baby is cranky or fuss is a fun bath. A fun bath can be a useful diversion. If the baby is small enough to still be using a baby tub, the parent can entertain them quite easily by simply splashing in the water, cooing, making faces and talking to them. If the baby is a little bigger, old enough to have a bath in a real tub, then a few toys and bubbles should be enough to keep them occupied and happy. Often, a baby’s fussiness is a precursor to being sleepy, which funnily enough can also be solved with bath time.
9. When The Baby Can Sit Up
When a baby is old enough to sit up on their own, that means that they can have bath time in a real bathtub! This is very exciting for the baby because it’s new, uncharted territory; it’s also exciting for the parents because they get to see their child reach another milestone. The natural elements that come with a real bathtub are bath toys, bubbles, and maybe even a little shampoo. This is a great opportunity in the baby’s life to utilize bath time as a fun bonding experience. Plus, the pictures of their delight will be amazing.
10. Baby Care Week By Week: 24-48 Hours
When parents are still in the hospital with their baby, they’re eager to bond with their child. There’s nothing wrong with giving a mild sponge bath to a newborn baby, but it’s recommended that parents wait 24 to 48 hours before giving a real sponge bath. By that time the new family will likely be discharged from the hospital and sent home with helpful tips and baby health information, including waiting on a tub bath until the umbilical cord falls off. After 48 hours, newborns typically only need a bath two or three times a week. Whether or not to use a sponge or tub depends on the situation and whether the baby needs complete cleansing.
Related: Baby Health Information: How to Give Sponge Bath With The Umbilical Cord
