It is important to keep your baby healthy and keeping them clean will help you to keep them so. This includes hygiene care, bathing, skin care, changing diapers and more. Now let us look at how you can keep your baby clean and happy below.
Allocate Time for Bathing and Skin Care
Giving your baby who is full of energy might make a new parent pretty anxious. But it is important to stay calm and make the necessary preparations to adapt to the process.
Newborn babies only need a bath one to two times a week. If you bathe your baby more often than this you might dry his skin. It is also important to keep in mind not to place a baby in the bath until their umbilical cord has fallen out. Give your little bundle of joy a sponge bath using a soft wash cloth and gentle soap if they still have the umbilical cord attached to them.
It is important to note that you must always be present when bathing a baby and never leave them alone. Have all the items you need to bathe your baby within reach such as a basin of adequately warm water, clean diaper and clothes, bath towels, mild soap, baby shampoo, soft wash cloth and hair brush. Now let us look at some of the steps for cleaning your baby.
Steps for Cleaning Your Baby
Begin by washing your baby’s face with plain warm water. Clean their eyes using plain water and wipe using the corner near the nose to the outer corner. You can do this using a washcloth while keeping in mind to use a clean area for each eye or two cotton balls - one for each eye. Clean only the surface of the ears and nose and not the interior.
Wash the rest of the baby’s body with mild baby soap. Remember that perfumed soap is not a good option. If you have doubts about what products to use while bathing your baby, then you might want to consider consulting a qualified and experienced healthcare professional for advice.
Leave the diaper at last and wash well. After rinsing the baby dry with a clean towel.
Use shampoo on the hair while you hold the baby in the crook of your arm. If you wish, you can also put mild soap on the hair and gently scrub and rinse out soap suds. Remember to shampoo the soft spots to stop the build up of yellow, oil, scaly flakes from accumulating.
Towel the hair dry and then gently brush it with a soft brush.
Do not use any application without reading the list of ingredients in the back of the bottle on your baby because they might develop a rash. If you have any doubts, remember to consult an experienced healthcare professional to find out if the bath product is right for your baby.
Allocating time for bathing and skin care help keep your baby healthy, happy and comfortable.
