After having seen that specific precautions must be taken when the baby is still wearing the clamp on the belly button, it is time to see how we bathe the newborn baby after the cord fall. This usually happens in the second or third week of life, so the baby is still very small and fragile.
However, the precaution of not submerging the baby's body in water no longer exists, and once the navel healing has dried completely we can fill the bathtub a little more.
This means that the immersion bath can be delayed up to two or three days after the cord falls, when the navel no longer shows mild bleeding or any secretion and the risk of infection is reduced.
Tips for the newborn's bath
Apart from the above considerations, the advice for the bath of the newborn baby is the same as we saw when we talked about bathing it before the cord fell off. After a few weeks of having "practiced" the child's bathroom, we will feel safer when holding and washing the baby.
For its part, the little one will also have become accustomed to the bathrooms and will be increasingly aware of them, generally showing his pleasure at the time of the bath. The fear of the unknown in the early days has given way to enjoyment.
- The water temperature must be adequate, between 34-37 degrees Celsius. We can check that it does not burn or be cold by introducing the inside of our wrist, the back of the hand or the elbow if we do not have a bath thermometer.
- We also have to take care room temperature, which should be 22 to 25 degrees Celsius, and avoid drafts.
- We must have everything necessary for the bathroom ready at our fingertips: sponge, towel, soap, clothes, brush ...
- We cannot leave the baby alone for a moment.
- Soaps and shampoo should be neutral and poorly scented, but we could bathe the baby with water only, especially in babies with so few days to live.
- The sponge should be natural and special for babies.
- The baby is stripped and the diaper area is cleaned before putting it in the bathtub.
- In the first few weeks it is not convenient to bathe the baby in a large bathtub, in addition to being difficult it is dangerous. The passage to the older bathtub will still take us a few months.
- The bathtub or the surface where we are going to clean it must be clean.
- It has to firmly hold the baby, while delicately.
- The best posture to bathe the baby if performed by a single person is to keep his back with one arm so that the baby rests his head on the forearm, supporting him by the armpit and shoulder; so the other hand is free and the baby is semi-incorporated.
- He order to follow for washing It is from top to bottom, starting with the head and ending with the genitals.
- The eyes, nose and ears have their own cleaning process, so you don't have to insist on them.
- If we talk to him during the bath, the baby will be calmer to hear our voice.
- After bathing, the baby's entire body must be dried very well, especially between the folds, without rubbing.
- For drying we can use two cotton towels, a larger one for the body and a small one for the head and sensitive areas.
- We remember the tips for dressing the newborn baby, as it is the next step after bathing, before the baby cools.
- Take advantage of bath time to check the baby to rule out rashes, inflammations or other problems that are otherwise more hidden.
- But above all, take advantage of bath time to enjoy it and feel us close.
In addition, I would add that not every day is necessary to bathe the baby, we do not have to worry if we skip a bath. Better to wait the next day than to do it if we don't feel like it or the baby is sleeping at the moment we can. The next day the bathroom will be the most anticipated moment.
Finally, we note that the newborn's bathroom It is a very special moment of contact between the parents and the baby, and has to be taken as an experience of relaxation and mutual knowledge.
