Bathing a newborn baby. What you need to know

Among the rituals that are repeated every day, bathing is important. In addition to eliminating sweat and dirt, it helps the baby relax his muscles and calm the nervous system. He sleeps soundly and eats well. Adults need to try to properly organize a place for a child to bathe and think through all the details.

It is important to know a few rules that will turn bathing into an enjoyable process.

Reasons for inconvenience

Bathing is often enjoyable for your baby. If he cries after that, it means something was done wrong. It is important to understand why whims appear.

• Perhaps the room is cold, and after a warm bath the baby feels uncomfortable.
• Fright (the child took a sip of water and heard a sharp sound).
• Hunger or thirst (a lot of time has passed since feeding).
• If the baby is tired, wants to sleep, or cries, you should not wash him. Washing will be enough.
• If the child cries not only after, but also during washing, he may have colic. While bathing, you can stroke his tummy.

You need to take into account the rule: the baby can be bathed only 30-40 minutes after feeding. You cannot start the procedure after eating; the child may vomit everything he eats during physical activity in the water. This is why it is better to maintain a time interval after eating.

Parents are often frightened by the situation when the baby takes a sip of water. There is no need to do anything. Water can also get into your ears. Then you just need to blot it with cotton swabs.

In order to get the maximum benefit, infants are bathed in herbs: chamomile or string. Sea salt is also beneficial. For the entire first month, until the wound on the navel heals, the water for taking a bath is boiled.

These conditions are difficult to comply with if the bath is large. In addition, all family members bathe in a large bathtub, and this is unacceptable for a newborn child. After 1 month, you can bathe your baby in a large bathtub.

Modern fixture

Limited space often causes a baby to cry. You can also use the circle to bathe in a large bathtub. Parents do not have to keep their baby in one place. With the circle he feels safe.

The inflatable ring has special fasteners with which it is attached to the child’s neck. The front of the circle has a recess for the chin. The baby will not be able to bend his head down and sip water. With the circle, the child’s muscles completely relax and spasms are relieved.

There are contraindications for which you cannot swim in a circle around your neck: increased intracranial pressure, viral infections, birth trauma.

The main thing is to position the child correctly in the circle. Before bathing, the baby should be placed on his stomach. Move the halves of the circle apart and stick the child’s head between them. You need to make sure that the chin fits into the recess and that the clasp is not pulled tight.

The time for swimming in the circle is not limited; you can use it every day. You need to start with 5-10 minutes so that the child gets used to being free in the water.

Children should not be left alone in the bathroom for even a second!

Comfort and reassurance

Keeping your baby in herbs will improve his body's health and relieve skin problems. Herbs such as nettle, chamomile, and string will help. A bath with sea salt and decoctions of these herbs will enhance the healing effect.

The series manages to relieve inflammation on the skin and reduce rashes. You can't often bathe in a line. You can add it once a week, as it dries out the skin.

Bathing in chamomile has a beneficial effect on the nervous system and disinfects water. Chamomile has antiviral and antibacterial properties.

Bay leaf helps with allergic rashes, purulent wounds, eczema, diathesis. Bay leaf is a strong natural antibiotic that helps get rid of excessive sweating. The essential oils that each leaf contains help calm the nervous system and cope with insomnia.

Bay leaf helps get rid of inflammation on the skin. Its decoction is used as a lotion or evening baths. To prepare the decoction, take bay leaves (7-10 pieces) and boil in water for 20 minutes. After this, let it brew for an hour. The strained infusion is added to bathing water.

Bay leaf is considered a safe allergy treatment, but caution should be exercised in children under one year of age. Up to 3 months the leaf can only be used externally, after which it can be drunk.

Bay leaf also has its contraindications for use: stomach diseases, constipation, pancreatitis. You should not repeat the procedure daily. This will prevent rashes and dry skin.

Soothing herbs that can be added to water: valerian, lavender, mint, oregano. Any herbs should be used with caution.

Security measures:

• procedures with decoctions of several herbs are not allowed in the first month of a child’s life. This makes it difficult to identify allergies to a specific plant;
• if the herbs are in filter bags, then use 5 of them per 1.5 liters of water;
• Before dipping a child into a bath with herbs, be sure to moisten a cotton swab with the decoction and apply it to the child’s skin. If after a few minutes there is no allergic reaction, you can bathe the baby.

Salt water

Sea salt includes important trace elements (potassium, iodine, magnesium). Salt baths can successfully replace swimming in the sea. Coniferous extracts will only enhance the effect of sea salt.

You should bathe your baby in a bath with sea salt no earlier than six months after birth. Up to three baths per week are allowed. Neurologists prescribe salt baths for birth injuries and hypertension. Do not add salt if there are open wounds or skin abrasions. Salt is also harmful for diseases of the nervous system. After water containing salt, be sure to rinse your child in the shower.

Pine-salt baths will help relieve excessive excitability and strengthen the immune system. Salt baths are done according to doctor's instructions.

You should properly prepare water with sea salt. The salt is diluted in a separate container, then poured through a sieve into a bath of water. The time for taking such a bath is 5-10 minutes - up to 6 months, and 20 minutes - after 6 months. If you make pine-salt baths, then add a few more drops of pine needle extract.

Water with sea salt will start metabolic processes and activate the body's defenses. But salt can have a negative effect on your baby's sensitive skin. Prolonged bathing in water with sea salt leads to flaking and dry skin.

It’s good to turn water procedures into an exciting game. You can take your favorite toys with you, massage and stroke your baby, and tell him fairy tales. Parents can create all the conditions to make bathing for their child useful and enjoyable.

Water procedures for the baby have undoubted benefits.

A bathed child will eat better and fall asleep faster.

With proper bathing, a hardening process occurs, as a result of which the child gets sick less often.

But all this does not mean that children should be bathed as often as possible.

According to many professionals, excessive use of water washes away the protective film from the child’s skin, the skin becomes drier, redness and peeling appear.

Moreover, in families that strive for sterile conditions for their baby, diseases manifest themselves more often, especially.

Therefore, Russian pediatricians advise bathing children under 6 months of age no more than once a day, or even less often.

Considering that babies hardly get dirty, washing and rinsing is enough. There are wet wipes for hands and face, and to prevent diaper rash, you need to make sure that the baby does not lie in wet ones.

Until how many months should I bathe my baby every day?

In general, the international recommendations are as follows: up to six months, children are bathed daily, from 6 months to a year - every other day, and after a year, once every two or three days is sufficient.

If the purpose of bathing is, then you need to bathe every day.

After the newborn is discharged, it is important to monitor it, so bathing in the first 10–15 days, if carried out, should be done very carefully.

At this age, it is enough to wipe the baby and give him air baths. If the child was born premature, then bathing should be postponed until recommended by the supervising doctor.

A small child is bathed no more than once a day. If the baby gets dirty, he is washed under running water. During the hot summer months, the child is bathed more often to avoid overheating of the body. In winter, you can turn on the heater until the child is dressed.

As for bathing time, it is carried out either 30 minutes before eating, or after 40–50 minutes after feeding.

Many people prefer to carry out water procedures before evening feeding.

This helps the baby sleep more soundly, but there are children who, on the contrary, are excited by bathing, so each child needs to choose their “own” time.

In terms of duration, bathing starts from 3 minutes, the very next day it is extended to 5 and then increased to 15–20 minutes.

In general, as with bathing time, bath time should be individualized. If the baby likes to swim, then you can splash around longer, the main thing is not to overcool the child. We also monitor the skin: redness, dryness and peeling are a sign of the need to interrupt water treatments. If a child is sick, it is not recommended to put him in hot water to avoid overheating. The baby's temperature before the bath should not be higher than 37.5 degrees, and instead of a bath, the baby is washed in the shower.

The air temperature in the bathroom should be 19-20 degrees in the first three months. In the future, such precautions are unnecessary, but, of course, you should not create drafts in the bathroom.

Before bathing, prepare all the necessary things so as not to be distracted from the procedure and go with a wet baby to retrieve a forgotten item. The water temperature for a newborn is set to approximately 34 degrees. They check it with a thermometer, without relying only on their own sensations from the water.

Over the course of a month, it can be reduced by 2 degrees; at two months, the optimal temperature for a child will be 28–30 degrees. A good hardening procedure would be rinsing with cool water after a bath: first the temperature difference should be no lower than 1 degree, then gradually increase it to 22 degrees. At the same time, do not pour the water too much so that the baby does not get scared. Another option: after bathing, without rubbing with a towel, carefully blot the wet areas and give the baby an air bath.

The best indicator of what water should be like is the baby’s behavior. If he cries, the water may be too cold or hot; if he is motionless, the water may be too warm. It is optimal if the child actively moves in the water.

It is not recommended to add scented shampoos or essential oils to bathing water, especially the first one.

It is not necessary to boil water; for bathing the smallest baby, regular water from the tap will do. There is also no need to add potassium permanganate.

If the water is of poor quality, you can use water filters. Before bathing, wash the bath thoroughly, but not using chemicals. Soda and boiling water will be enough to treat the bath.

Bathing can also be carried out provided that no one except parents uses it. Up to 4 months it is advisable to bathe in a baby bath. This is much more convenient for parents, and the child also does not need much space to frolic in the water. After 2 months, you can already carry out special exercises for swimming, which will increase the baby’s immunity.

When lowering the baby into the water, he is held so that the child's head lies on the parent's forearm, and the hands are held under the armpits. Gently wash all folds, starting from the neck and ending with the crotch. Pay attention to the interdigital spaces. The hair is washed last so that the baby does not sit with wet hair.

For the child, purchase special hypoallergenic products with a neutral meaning - baby shampoos or gels. There is no need to wash them every day, since the baby’s skin already contains a film that protects the body from infections. In addition, excessive use of soap dries out the skin and disrupts the functioning of the sebaceous glands. Washcloths can easily injure delicate skin, so it is better to use either a soft sponge or a flannel cloth. In any case, it must be an individual sponge. Shampoos are used no more than once a week. At the same time, with each bath, improving blood circulation in the scalp.

After water, it will be useful to lubricate the skin with baby milk or cream. When drying the skin, pay special attention to the skin folds: they are thoroughly dried and lubricated with a moisturizer.

After a year, the baby may develop a fear of water. This may be due to unpleasant sensations, for example, if soap gets into your eyes.

Now you can buy a special visor for your baby’s eyes or find instructions on how to make it yourself.

The baby will have more pleasant sensations if during bathing the parents behave calmly and speak affectionately.

At the age of 1.5 years, you can gradually accustom your child to the shower. It is especially useful for inactive children with poor appetite. You can take a shower every day, and a bath 1-2 times a week is enough, combining it with washing your hair.

By the age of two, bathing is already a fun game for a child, and its duration increases to half an hour. At this age, it is appropriate to wash after an evening walk, when the child has played enough and comes home dirty. The temperature of the bath water is approximately 28–30 degrees, and the air temperature is about 21. By this age, you can already give your child a washcloth so that he learns to wash himself.

You can already use baby foams and bathing gels, but you should refrain from using cosmetic salts. We use soap more often, but not every day. Dousing with clean cool water up to 21 degrees is still practiced. After the bath, the child is covered with a terry towel and dried.

Herbal infusions (chamomile, calendula) are used after 3-4 months, and pine baths - after 6 months.

Baths with valerian or motherwort will help with nervous disorders and. You should not overuse herbs, as they dry out the skin.

Swimming in open reservoirs begins at 2 years of age at an air temperature of 25-26 degrees and a water temperature of 23. It is preferable to swim in the morning. You can also start swimming in the sea from the age of 2.

Between the ages of 6 and 11 years, you can wash once a week. Additionally, you can take a shower if the child went to the pool, sweated or got dirty.

From about 11 years old, you need to wash more often, as the skin becomes more oily. Showers are taken daily, plus additionally after physical activity. Washing your hair carries the same recommendations as for adults.

Bathing a newborn is a very important process, which is not only necessary for maintaining hygiene. It develops the skeleton and muscles, strengthens nerve cells and immunity, calms and relaxes, improves the baby's sleep and appetite. In addition, the first baths help to quickly straighten the baby’s arms and fingers. They stabilize blood supply and pressure, improve coordination and orientation of the baby in space.

To ensure that bathing and swimming in the bathroom are safe and beneficial, it is important to follow a number of rules and recommendations. Parents are concerned about how to properly organize this procedure and how often to bathe their newborn baby. Let's take a closer look at these questions.

Features of baby bathing

It is not necessary to bathe your child every day if it is not necessary. It is enough to do this once every two to three days. The rest of the time, wipe the baby with wet wipes or a damp towel. Bathing too often can negatively affect the immune system, body temperature and protective layer of skin, which are just being formed in life.

It is not recommended to wash the baby with regular soap. In the first weeks of life, it is enough to simply wash it with warm boiled water. After a month, you can use liquid baby soap without fragrances, fragrances and other chemicals. Baby shampoo “without tears” is used after 2-3 months. You need to wash your baby up to six months using cosmetics no more than once every 7-10 days, then you can carry out bathing procedures with soap and shampoo every 5-7 days.

It is important that cosmetics are natural and hypoallergenic, including wet wipes. For the little ones, choose cosmetics for newborns. Carefully study the composition and expiration date of each product, check the product’s age compliance. When washing, use a soft sponge or cloth that will not scratch or damage the baby's delicate skin.

The first bathing is carried out at a temperature of 36.6-37 degrees, starting from five to seven minutes. Then the time spent in water is gradually increased and the temperature is reduced. In this case, the air temperature should be about 25 degrees. Then the baby will not get too cold and freeze after swimming or, conversely, will not overheat.

Before each bath, the bath must be washed with safe detergents. To do this, use laundry soap, baking soda, neutral liquid soap, baby gel or vinegar. Read more about how to clean the bathtub before bathing your newborn. And then we will look at the basic rules of bathing. Let's find out how to bathe a baby correctly and how often, depending on age.

Rules for bathing newborns

• The first bathing is carried out for five minutes in the evening in boiled water with a temperature of 36.6-37 degrees;
• Then the water temperature is gradually reduced by one degree every 5-7 days, and the bathing time, on the contrary, is increased. By the age of six months, a baby can bathe for half an hour;
• The air temperature in the bathroom should be about 25 degrees;
• You need to wipe the newborn with wet wipes or a wet towel several times a day, bathe him in a baby bath with boiled water if necessary;
• It is recommended to bathe your child more often in hot weather, with severe sweating, diaper rash, and skin irritations;
• , at 3-4 weeks the child can begin to bathe in a regular adult bath with running water;
• It is not recommended to wash your child with soap and shampoo more than once a week. Moreover, shampoo is used only after two to three months. Before this, the baby’s head is washed with baby soap;
• Use only hypoallergenic cosmetics and detergents with natural ingredients that are suitable for the baby’s age;
• After two to three months, swimming exercises are included;
• Herbal supplements in the form of string, chamomile or calendula can be used after 3-4 months, pine-salt baths are made for children older than six months. But be careful, the components can cause allergies in the child!;
• Before bathing, be sure to wash the bathtub with soda, laundry soap or other safe products.

Bathing a newborn in the first month

In the first weeks of life, the baby requires special care and attention, because the child’s body is just adapting to new conditions. The baby should not be bathed in regular running water or in an adult bath until the umbilical wound heals. As a rule, this happens in the second or third week. During this period, the baby is bathed in a special baby bath or simply wiped with wet wipes.

In the first days of life, it is enough to wipe the baby with damp hypoallergenic wipes or a soft towel soaked in boiled water. Then you can start bathing your baby in the baby bath. In this case, too, only boiled water is used with a temperature of about 37 degrees above zero. The first baths should not exceed five minutes.

For bathing, rinse and prepare the bath. Pour in boiled water and wait until it cools to the desired temperature. Then undress the baby, hold him in your arms and press him to you. It is important that he calms down and knows that you are there. Immerse your baby in the water gradually and carefully.

Prepare a table in advance where you will dry your baby after bathing. Lay down a diaper or sheet, wrap the bathed baby in a warm terry towel. When drying your child, do not rub the skin, but lightly blot the moisture. Don't forget to treat the umbilical wound. To do this, blot your stomach with a towel or dry cloth. If there is still a clothespin on your belly button, carefully remove it. Dip a cotton swab in 3% hydrogen peroxide, carefully remove the crust and then thoroughly treat each area of ​​the skin with peroxide.

The clothespin is also treated with peroxide and wiped dry with a cotton pad. Afterwards, it can also be treated with 70% alcohol to enhance protection against infections and bacteria. After the procedures have been completed, the clothespin is put back on. You can then lubricate your baby's skin with lotion or baby oil to moisturize and soften it. After this, they put on clothes or wrap the baby in a diaper. Remember, it is not recommended to wear a diaper under a diaper!

Bathing a baby after a month

When the baby is 3-4 weeks old, you can start bathing the baby in a regular adult bathtub. However, it needs to be processed more carefully! But many parents prefer to use a baby bath even after a month. This is not surprising, because it is very comfortable. Plus it's more hygienic.

If you bathe your baby in an adult bath, you can use a children's slide or hammock. This will simplify the procedure, because the mother or father who is washing the baby will not have to bend too low towards the child. In addition, the baby, while in a hammock or on a slide, will not slide around the bathtub.

After a month, it is no longer necessary to boil water. The water temperature is reduced by one degree every week, and the bathing time is gradually increased to 15-20 minutes. The appropriate water temperature for a baby at one month is 36 degrees, at three months – up to 32 degrees.

For children older than two to three months, you can already practice special ones. This will further strengthen your muscles and immunity. The baby will not be afraid of water and will learn to swim faster. Thanks to a long evening bath, the baby will eat well before bed, fall asleep quickly and sleep peacefully the whole night.

You can bathe your child every day, and wash your child with soap and other products about once a week. It is important to wash every fold of the baby. It is better to water the child from a ladle. If the baby is afraid of water and is capricious, use various toys. They will help you relax and unwind, because bathing for a newborn can be stressful.

Bathing a baby after six months

No matter how prepared future parents are for the birth of a child, questions still constantly arise as the child grows up. Fortunately, he can help you cope with almost any problem by giving practical recommendations. This time, Evgeniy Olegovich explained how many times a week and for what reasons you need to bathe your child, which the site will tell you in more detail.

Swimming for good and bad

Firstly, I divided the two bathing children into two different concepts. The first refers to harmful procedures. It's no secret that daily washing, and if it is also done using various chemical foams and gels, only harms the skin. Especially for children. The second relates to hardening. That is, it is necessary to bathe, or rather in this case harden, the child every day if you follow the instructions.

How many times a week should you bathe your baby?

As much as needed. Evgeniy Olegovich adheres to a healthy lifestyle, and is well aware and tries to convey to others that daily swimming is only harmful to health. If a child is washed every day, his immunity will weaken, the skin with such approaches will become hypersensitive, which can lead to chronic allergies in the form of unpleasant rashes.

Therefore, there is no need to wash the baby every day. Moreover, Dr. Komarovsky focused on the first year of children’s lives. During this period, from 0 to 1, babies can be washed a couple of times a week. An exception may be the recommendations of a pediatrician, that is, upon request.

When the child begins to move more often, he should be bathed when he gets dirty, and not just for show. You should not once again injure your delicate skin with low-quality tap water. Based on the above, you can bathe a child from one year old 3-4 times a week.

Daily hardening

If parents decide to systematize the hardening procedure, then daily dousing with water (or another chosen method) is inevitable. Considering that it improves blood circulation in the body, there will only be advantages to such “bathing” every day.

Bathing is a mandatory hygiene procedure for a baby. It is believed that you need to bathe a newborn every day. But in fact, a baby less than 30 days old does not need daily water procedures.

You can bathe your newborn every day from the age of one month.

Bathing should bring positive emotions to both the baby and his parents. After all, it’s not pleasant when a child screams furiously while trying to give him a bath. To avoid this, you need to follow certain rules.

After each procedure, the bath should be treated with mild cleaning agents and rinsed with clean water. Before bathing, you need to first lay out the things you need after taking a bath on the changing table: diaper, vest, cream, diaper.

Should you bathe your newborn every day? According to “grandmother’s” advice, the child needs to be bathed every day, from the first day of discharge from the hospital. But modern pediatricians do not think so.

The fact is that a newborn’s umbilical wound heals within 10–14 days, into which microbes can get in contact with water. Even boiling water cannot 100% protect an unprepared child’s body from harmful microorganisms.

You can bathe your baby after leaving the hospital using a thin diaper and a small amount of water.

But such a procedure can slow down the process of healing of thin and delicate navel skin, and therefore is not recommended.

Throughout the entire period of wound healing, pediatricians advise treating the newborn’s skin with a damp, thin diaper or napkins. If necessary, the child is washed.

A newborn does not need bathing until the umbilical wound has completely healed, that is, until 10–15 days from the moment of birth. It is enough to dry the baby, give him air baths and change him into clean clothes.

When the wound has completely healed, you can begin water procedures. The following should not be added to the water for the first bath:

• Potassium permanganate;
• decoction from a collection of herbs;
• flavored shampoos and shower gels;
• essential oils.

These substances dry out the skin, and the smell of such products can frighten the baby.

You can add a decoction of chamomile or string to the water, but separately. You can’t use different decoctions every time; if you start bathing your baby with chamomile infusion, then continue to use only that. Before using herbal extracts to care for your newborn, consult your doctor.

In addition to herbs, it is allowed to use neutral baby liquid soap, but not more than 2 times a week.

Pediatricians advise bathing your baby 40–50 minutes after feeding or 30 minutes before meals.

There is no need to subject a sleeping or crying baby to water procedures; this may cause unpleasant memories associated with water.

The first bath should be carried out in a small baby bath with a special slide. It will support the baby's back and head and free the parents' hands. The optimal water temperature is 36–37º C, duration is 10–15 minutes.

The bath is filled 2/3 full. During the bathing process, the baby is carefully washed from top to bottom without the use of soap or other hygiene products.

After taking a bath, the child is wrapped in a warm diaper and wet areas of the skin are blotted with it.