Many children are very fond of splashing in the water, remember how fun the children play and laugh in the pool or on the beach, and with what joy they run to splash. The attitude of the baby to water depends on the behavior of the parents during the very first bath of the child. If everything is done incorrectly and rudely, then the child may forever have an injury and even a fear of water. Parents should prepare in advance and learn how to bathe a newborn. After all, this is a responsible event, as for baby and for his mom and dad. Parents can read literature about washing their baby, and a video of washing newborns can help you see how it works. To avoid daily tears before each wash and understand how to bathe a baby, you need to remember a few important rules, which we will now discuss.
How often should you bathe your child?
For a newborn, two or three times a week is probably enough if you keep the diaper area clean and wash your hands, neck, and face several times a day. If not rejuvenated or soiled, the newborn will not become very dirty. For larger children, bathing may be necessary every day since bath time becomes part of the sleep routine. This can be a great idea for your child to relax and unwind at night.
How to destroy a newborn
Before the umbilical cord falls the best option is bathing your baby with a sponge to prevent the cord from getting wet. If you accidentally get your umbilical cord wet, just use a towel to dry it slightly.
- Lay your baby down on a soft, smooth surface.
- Keep a container of warm water and a sponge or cloth handy.
- Keep baby warm and leave one end outside at a time and wash it.
- Dry with gentle touches of the towel on the damp area and start from the other end.
Bathing the baby does not occur on the first day after discharge from the hospital. Parents should not rush to accustom the child to water and wash it often. The first bath of the newborn should be postponed until the umbilical wound on the tummy is healed. Until then, the body of a newborn is simply not ready to meet the bacteria and microbes that live in water, even boiled. Bacteria will constantly get into the wound on the navel, and it may not heal for a long time. In the first two weeks, it is only recommended not to frequently wipe the child with swabs or a napkin soaked in water.
Either way, cover the bottom with a towel to make it softer and less slippery. It's also good that you have someone else nearby to help support your slippery little man. Gather everything you need ahead of time so you don't have to worry about bathing.
Large hooded towel Sponge or soft cloth Cotton pom-poms Baby or bath soap Baby brush or comb. You only need about 5 inches of warm water to give your child an effective bath. Try to put a warm cloth on your stomach so you don't catch a cold.
Basic Rules
Parents should definitely remember a number of important rules on how to properly bathe a newborn before moving on to the procedure itself:
- To wash the baby, prepare a special bath for bathing newborns, which is small in size and will always be clean.
- Water must be boiled. This should be done at least during the first month of a newborn's life. Many of the bacteria that live in tap water are killed if the temperature rises to 80-100 degrees, so washing will be safe for your child.
- To wash the baby, the water must be heated to 37 degrees. This temperature is considered comfortable for the baby. If you notice that the baby is uncomfortable in the water, you can reduce the degree to 36.6. Be sure to use a thermometer to measure the temperature.
- For the convenience of taking a bath, use a special slide or a small children's hammock. Such a useful device allows parents not to stand for 20-30 minutes in a bent position and frees their hands.
- For daily washing, do not use detergents. Bathing a newborn baby with soap and shampoo should be done only once a week or ten days. Washing newborns is prohibited with perfumed soap or aggressive antibacterial agents. For a child, a special shampoo, gel and soap are ideal, it is useful to use a cap for bathing babies.
- Water additives should be used sparingly and infrequently. Our mothers and grandmothers are sure that newborns should be washed in water with the addition of a decoction of chamomile or potassium permanganate. However, pediatricians do not advise adding them to water, as such additives greatly dry the skin of the child. If everything is in order with the skin of the newborn, then wash it in ordinary boiled water. When a newborn has diaper rash, it is better to add a little elecampane or a decoction of a string to the water.
Following these tips, your child will not only not be afraid of water, but will also fall in love with bath procedures very quickly, and the first bath of a newborn will be easy.
These first baths should not be too long or thorough, but they should be effective. Hold the baby firmly but gently, brushing away any traces of dirt or loose skin that has accumulated. You will have to hold your head and back while you wash it. While you are washing it, pay special attention to.
Hair and head care
If dirt accumulates around the eyes, use a cotton swab to clean. Armpits: This is where you can accumulate lint from your clothes. Behind the ears.
- Genital areas and diapers.
- Arms and legs.
- He also looks between the legs and arms.
- Wrinkles on the back of the knees, neck and hips.
Items that are needed
Each parent should prepare a list of items that you need to have for a successful wash. baby.
Basic steps
By repeating these actions often, parents will quickly remember their sequence. However, when the first bathing of a newborn is planned, every mother experiences excitement and she can and even needs to be told what and when to do.
Baby bath water temperature
Wash your child's hair at the end so you don't have to come into contact with soapy water. Your baby's skin is more sensitive than yours. As a result, bath water that sits well for you will be too hot for him. Before putting your baby in the water, try the back of your wrist or elbow: these areas are more sensitive to heat than your hand. The water should be warm, but not hot.
Finally, don't be surprised if your baby cries during their first baths. He reacts only to an unknown sensation. Keep the temperature warm, bath water pleasant and calm with caresses and songs. Soon you will learn to enjoy your bath time.
Hardening the baby
Do you know that while taking a bath, the baby can be tempered, normalize his sleep and improve his appetite? This will help the baby fall in love with water, get a boost of joy, improve health and get even closer to their parents. How to properly bathe a newborn baby in order to temper it, you will now learn. For successful hardening, you will need to have several items:
Experts advise that the baby's first bath should be performed after the fall of the umbilical cord between the 7th and 15th birthdays. Expert: Claudia Reyes, matron. This special moment has come, the baby's first bath, and therefore you must be prepared for this occasion with all your little ones to enjoy this water experience.
What precaution should I take? How can I keep it? What is the proper amount of water? These are just some of the doubts that parents have during their baby's first bath, especially first parents. The baby's first bath should be done between 7 and 15 days after birth, as soon as the baby has rebounded, because this prevents possible infections in the navel.
- Regular large bath.
- A small inflatable circle for a child's neck.
- Thermometer.
A special inflatable ring can be purchased at a children's store. This device is put on the child's neck and supports his head while washing over water.
To start hardening, fill a large bath of water. Her temperature should be 37 degrees. In the future, with each new wash, the temperature will have to constantly decrease by 1-2 degrees until it reaches 26 degrees. However, such a temperature is only allowed if the child is active and constantly moving in the water, and not just lying in the arms of the parents. The time of such washing should be from 5 to 40 minutes. Often it is not necessary to harden the child, if you wash the baby daily, then lower the temperature by a degree per day.
For your first baby bath you will need
You need to make sure that this is a moment of entertainment for you and the baby, and not just an instant cleansing to pull dead cells out of the baby's skin. A closed and uncrowded room, such as a bathroom or a child's bedroom. Cotton to clear small eyes. Swabs to clean the baby's ears and nose. Pure alcohol. 2 towels: one to keep the baby up to and if he gets dirty during the bath, and the other to dry him when he is taken out of the water. Diapers.
- Bath, the simpler the better.
- The area where you need to undress the child.
- Baby changer.
- Hypoallergenic soap or oil Vaseline, preferably liquid.
After such a fun procedure, the child will sleep peacefully for at least 6 hours, which is very important for both him and his parents. In the process of such hardening, follow the reaction of the baby and be sure to listen to his opinion. If the child will always scream, then he does not like hardening and it is better to wash him in the usual way. However, when the baby is happy to hear about washing and smiles in the bathroom, of course, everything suits him.
When can I bathe a newborn after the hospital?
Thus, it is more comfortable for the mother and the baby is not exposed to so many temperature changes. The ideal water temperature for a baby is between 36º and 37º. The matron, Claudia Reyes, recommends testing the warmth of the water with your elbow and forearm because the hands are used to temperature changes.
The amount of water can vary from 25 to 30 centimeters, so that the baby leans in the bath, can move and wet wet, but if it slips out of the hand, that says she will not drown. The correct way to take a child to put him in the bath is under his armpit, the bather's forearm must support his head, and the same hand must go under the child's armpit. The mother's other hand should support the baby's back.
Bathing a baby turns into a fun process if done right. When parents are prepared and confident in what they are doing, the baby will definitely fall in love with bath procedures. There are many resources for parents to learn about bathing. There is a sea of literature and video clips where newborns are bathed. Be sure to watch the video and read interesting articles and everything will work out for you.
Tips for baby's first bath
It is recommended that the duration of the baby's first bath be short, no more than five minutes. First armpits, neck, arms, small and finally legs. You can use a hypoallergenic soap or oil to help prevent eye or skin irritation. In case of urination or cracking in water, it should be removed from the tub and washed.
The child's eyes should be the last thing you wash because they don't like it very much and tend to cry. In addition, special attention should be paid to the eyes: they should be cleaned with cotton balls soaked in clean water rather than bath water after bathing the baby. To wash your eyes, the cotton balls must come out from the inside to the outside, that is, from the tear to the other side of the eye.
The birth of a long-awaited baby is an incomparable happiness. Mom has daily worries that help the baby adapt to life.
Caring for a baby involves many factors, one of which is bathing. This process must be safe and properly organized.
First bath
The first bath of the baby after the hospital depends on when the TB vaccine was given.
The child should always hang on the forearm of the person who bathes him. To wash his back, he gently turns with his free hand and holds the other under his arm, although this time he rests on the baby's chest instead of on his head. Once you have finished washing your baby back, you can remove him from the water and wrap him in a clean towel.
In order to dry the baby, you must pay special attention to the folds of the skin and thus prevent moisture from getting into any type of infection. Do not wipe the baby's nose or ears with a towel, they are cleaned with cottonites as soon as the baby is already dressed.
If the child suffered it the day before, then you can swim on the day of arrival home. A vaccination on the day of discharge requires a postponement of bathing until tomorrow.
The bathing process should be organized taking into account small conditions:
- Correct if for water treatment a constant time will be set;
- You need to bathe the baby before feeding.
Swimming preparation
Organization of the premises
Cleaning the navel, ears and nose
When you have dried the baby well, you should change it to a dry towel and put on a diaper. In the case of its preparation, you apply a protective cream. To clean your belly button, you wipe a cotton swab with alcohol, and index finger and with your thumb open the belly a little, gently insert the cottonito and twist it to remove the remnants of the cord. Now you are wearing very cute baby clothes!
But even the first bath is not over, she still needs to clean the baby's nose and ears. With cottonite it is cleared outside of the nose, and with other ears, never inside, as its hardness may do some harm to the child. Now your child is ready. Though it's likely that you won't be able to give it away immediately because the bathroom tends to open up the appetite and makes them very sleepy.
Based on the living conditions, parents should determine where it is more convenient for them to perform the procedure.
Someone equips a bathing area in the bathroom by installing a baby bath in a large one. Others believe that the kitchen is more suitable for this.
Before placing the child in the water, you need to make sure that there are no drafts and that the room has a suitable warm air temperature - approximately 24 degrees.
If your time has come to take care of a puppy's navel, there is nothing to be afraid of: it is important to have attention and dedication. Cleaning and drying are essential to ensure the health of your little one. The umbilical cord attaches the baby to the mother's placenta and is cut by doctors at the time of birth. After that, a small stump remains in place until it heals and falls - usually 7-15 days after the little ones come into the world. While the umbilical cord is in the puppy's belly, and a few days after his departure, parents or other caregivers should clean the newborn's navel daily.
bathing area
The area where the baby will directly bathe must be carefully prepared. Need to stock up:
- Soap for children, or a product intended for bathing babies (open in advance);
- Towel or diaper;
- A thermometer for measuring water temperature;
- A pitcher in which pure water is poured.
Water according to the rules
For bathing the baby at first, boiled water is required, since there is a high risk of microbes getting into the umbilical wound.
This care causes inflammation and infection, which should be avoided - tetanus, for example, is a serious problem at this stage. What attention should be taken to properly clean the baby's navel? Cleaning a baby's navel is a very simple process, but it needs to be done with all the steps taken into account for it to be done well.
Step 1: First of all, when cleaning or placing your hands on the baby's umbilical cord, rinse them first. Cleaning them well is necessary to maintain the health of the little one and does not pollute it. Step 2: Separate all items needed to clean the baby's navel before bathing and diaper changes - when hygiene usually occurs. Always leave cotton, flexible stems and 70% alcohol by hand - a small vial that can be found in any pharmacy.
For 20 days, while the wound heals, pre-boiled water must be cooled to 38 degrees.
Before immersing the child in water, dilute a few drops of potassium permanganate in it until it acquires a light pink tint.
Place to dress
In order to avoid unnecessary fuss when bathing, it is necessary to prepare all the necessary items in advance, thinking through the whole process.
Step 3: Place the small one in the tub and clean the stump with soap and water - preferably choose a liquid and neutral soap. Make gentle movements so that you do not hurt or frighten the puppy. Step 4: After taking your baby out of the bath, thoroughly dry your entire little body, including the navel.
Is it permissible to use potassium permanganate?
Step 5: Apply 70% alcohol to the tip of the flexible rod and start cleaning the little one's navel to remove the dirt that accumulates there. Always start hygiene from the base, carefully moving it around and laying cotton around it: this way you can remove all waste. Take the other end of the flexible rod, dip in alcohol and wipe off the rest of the stump. Important: Do not reverse the movement by wiping the tip of the stump onto the base, as this can introduce bacteria into the region that is most susceptible to infection.
It is necessary to organize in advance a place for dressing the baby: spread out the diaper, where you can put the baby. Next to put all the things in which he will be dressed, not forgetting about the diaper:
- Diapers: thick and thin;
- Undershirts: light and warm;
- Hat, or bonnet;
- Socks.
It will be more convenient if the clothes are unrolled in advance to make dressing easier, since one hand will hold the child.
It should be remembered about the hygiene products that treat the skin of the baby and the umbilical wound. They should also be next to each other:
- cotton swab,
- cotton wool,
- Zelenka,
- potassium permanganate,
- Baby cream.
A solution of manganese must be prepared in advance by dissolving the crystals in water to a dark purple hue.
bathing process
Bathing should become a daily routine, and it is desirable to set a constant time for it.
It is desirable that one of the relatives help the mother when this happens for the first time. If there is no one to help, then it is not difficult to atone for one.
The presence of a diaper at the bottom of the bath is not mandatory in accordance with the modern requirements of pediatricians, so you can not put it.
You should take the child so that he lies with his head and neck on his left hand, and his buttocks on his right. Lower the baby into the water so that the legs and back are immersed in it with the lower part.
It is necessary to ensure that the head and shoulders are raised above the water, this requires the support of the left hand. The right hand at this time waters the protruding surface of the baby's body.
At the next stage, the right hand is filled with a bathing agent, then it is carefully distributed over the child's body with soft, gentle movements. Wash away.
Rinsing occurs in this order: you need to turn the child on his tummy, supporting him with the palm of his left hand. AT right hand- a pitcher filled with pure water. Pour the baby from the jug and cover the top with a towel or diaper. Wet the baby's body, then put it on the prepared unfolded diaper. Wipe the skin with gentle touches, especially carefully in the folds.
In general, the first bath should last no more than 3 minutes, as the child may get tired.
The next step is to treat the surface of the skin and umbilical wound. To lubricate the folds, use baby cream or oil. The wound is treated with brilliant green, or concentrated potassium permanganate in solution.
After that, the baby needs to be dressed and swaddled.
Bathing products
The product used when bathing a baby should not contain alkali, alcohol, and other substances that may be responsible for an allergic reaction.
At first, bathing a baby is best done in water with herbal decoction.
For a decoction, a string, chamomile, oak bark, or a combination of them can be used.
The use of herbal decoction provides antiseptic and anti-inflammatory protection. The decoction promotes tissue repair and soothes the skin.
You can later switch to using special means, or baby soap. It is first necessary to test for the presence of an allergic reaction, trying the remedy on a small area of the body.
Video
This video discusses existing contraindications related to bathing an infant. How much time should be devoted to this procedure, how often and other subtle moments.