It’s a wonderful moment, having your new baby placed onto your chest. But then, you look down and instead of seeing a fresh, pink and soft looking newborn you see a wrinkly faced, purple-ish coloured, vernix covered little squirmy thing. Maybe there’s even some blood or meconium in your baby’s ears or hair.
It’s not unusual that one of the first things a new parents asks is “When are we going to bathe the baby?”
It was used to be routine in the hospital that within moments after birth a baby would be weighed, measured, given a baby bath and wrapped in a baby blanket. Then, after spending some time with his mother a baby would be whisked off to the nursery so visitors could admire him from behind the glass and nurses would tend to him throughout the mother’s hospital stay.
In Montreal birthing centres nowadays after a baby is born they aren’t weighed or bathed right away. Instead they are typically left placed on their mother’s chest so that they may be cuddled and breastfed after birth.
It’s only later that day or the next day before you leave the hospital that your baby is given a bath. In fact, sometimes you might be sent home from the hospital without having been taught how to bathe a baby.
So- how do you bathe a baby?
It’s actually REALLY easy, we swear!
1) Get all your supplies organized in advance. You’ll a towel, a couple of washcloths, a diaper, a fresh outfit and if you want, some gentle baby soap or shampoo. We recommend just using water for the first few baths because it’s gentle on baby’s skin and we don’t want them to react to any chemicals in the soap. But, it’s up to you!
2) You might want to have 2 people present for the first few baths. Your partner, mom or doula might be a good person to assist you. Wrangling a new baby is harder than you think even though they barely move. Remember- you’re never to leave your baby unattended- even for a second.
3)The water should be warm! A big mistake people make is to have the water too cold because they worry about burning the baby. A nice warm baby that you might enjoy is the right temperature. There are many products on the market that you can buy to help you make it the right temperature, if you’re still not sure.
4)Focus on the important body parts and if your baby cries, don’t stress but make it quick! The diaper area, hands, face and neck are the focus for most babies. If your baby has a good amount of chunky baby rolls, make sure to check those as well! You’d be surprised what you find hiding in there. If your baby still has vernix* on their body, jut rub in it- it acts as a great moisturizer for him.
5) Choose your bath wisely. There are a million baby products on the market and baby baths are no different. Figure out where you will keep the bath when you’re not using it. If your bathroom is small you might want something compact. Some people decide to use something they can place in their kitchen sink. Others choose a small portable tub. Again, it’s your choice!
And last, but not least- have fun! Enjoy bath time. It can be a great bonding moment for a new family.
It can be the start of a nice bedtime routine for baby or a way for a partner to bond with baby if they’ve been at work all day.
Most kids love water and love their bath, but it may take a couple of tries before you’re feeling totally confident. That’s totally normal!
Have more questions about how to bathe your baby? Join us at our group prenatal classes in NDG, where we do a demonstration of bathing baby and give even more helpful tips.
