View Full Version : Giving baby a bath
BlessedMommy
08-29-2006, 03:21 PM
How do you give a baby a bath without giving them the chills? I just gave my DD a bath and I ended up with a blue and shivering baby. Scared me to death.
cjropher
08-29-2006, 03:24 PM
Sponge bath's maybe where you only wash a little, cover that up, and keep going? Move fast? It's really hard, the water is so cool to begin with that it's chilly by the time they are done. My 4 year old still shivers when he is done his bath. Sorry, no real advice on this one. Keep the room you are in warm and draft free and go fast I guess!
luvmy4sons
08-29-2006, 03:24 PM
Until their cord falls off they shouldn't be put down in bath water. Wash cloth baths till then. Keep them in a bath blanket and expose only one area at a time and then dry it before moving onto the rest. :D
danou
08-29-2006, 03:59 PM
my friend told me to use a small hand towel to keep them covered especially if their little tummies are poking out of the water. I've never bathed a small baby before- I'll be going in blind.
mom n luv
08-29-2006, 04:50 PM
I got boat loads of small recieving blankets so I just lay one down in the bath and set my little one on it wrap him up and routinely pour warm water over it as I bathe him. I've only done it twice but both baths were wonderful before that he screamed the whole way. He also happenes to be in love with being swaddled, he hates to be free so that is another reason the blanket idea helps us. With your little one being so young she might be missing the swaddle during bath time as well.
Also one other thing even after their cord falls off wait awhile for full on baths, with ds#1 I did a bath right away before his belly button had dried up and we ended up having to get silver nitrate to dry his belly button up because it wouldn't do it on its own.
BlessedMommy
08-29-2006, 04:52 PM
Maybe I'll try sponge baths. BTW, Leslie, her cord did fall off yesterday.
7thHeaven
08-29-2006, 05:23 PM
We mostly gave Sam sponge baths when she was that young. The first time we gave her a bath, she screamed and cried...I felt terrible, so until she got better we gave her sponge baths!
Hope everything is going good with little Hannah! [loveflag]
luvmy4sons
08-29-2006, 05:33 PM
BTW, Leslie, her cord did fall off yesterday
I am thinking it is 2 weeks after her cord falls off to allow full healing and drying out! :D
BlessedMommy
08-29-2006, 05:35 PM
Oh, okay. Thanks for the tip Leslie!
When I was in hospital the midwife did it like this... she wrapped baby in a cloth diaper and washed her hair first and dried it and then she took the diaper off and washed her body. She didn't go blue or shiver. Mind you, the maternity rooms are always so warm because they have the heaters on all the time. Do you have a small heater or something you could do to warm up the room for her? Even now with Abby I put the fan heater on and warm up the lounge before I undress her and I have all her clothes ready to put on as soon as I've dried her.
Unfortunately newborns don't have a lot of fat on them so they get cold really easily. :(
breezykc2
08-29-2006, 06:00 PM
I put a baby hooded towel in the dryer for 10 minutes before each bath when my son was really little and wrapped him in that and set him in the baby bath and then used the sprayer on the end of the shower of sink hose to keep them warm and rinse one unwrapped part at a time....in the winter, we put a small space heater in the bathroom while giving baths and got them dried and changed in there.
~Tara~
08-29-2006, 06:53 PM
I always sponge bathe for as long as possible. Babies just don't need frequent bathing ;)
I put a big fluffy towel on the floor, then another towel or receiving blanket. Have my bowl of perfectly warm ever so slightly soapy water to the side with a wash cloth. Keep baby covered, uncover one part as a time to wash and rinse (uh, bowl of clean water to the side is helpful too hehe) Then cuddle them all up when finished :)
ChamomileFriend
08-29-2006, 07:52 PM
I had the same problem as 7thHeaven - Alex screamed and cried when we tried to give him a "real" bath in his infant tub, so for a very long time would just get a warm soapy washcloth and wash him either in the infant tub when it was empty so he didn't get cold or on his changing table. Even then he was a little fussy, but not nearly as bad.
After his bath we wrapped him up tight in a hooded towel until he calmed down and then we would dress him. He didn't seem to like being naked at all, even when he was dry. It was only after the first time I took him swimming in at the pool last summer (he was about 10-11 mos old and I had him in a swim carrier) that he started to like real baths at home. You don't have to rush it :)
I never read the thing about the cord...
My midwife never mentioned it. She bathed her for me at the hospital and she still had her cord when she had her first bath (day after her birth). Hers fell off on day 3 I think. My midwife was surprised at how fast it fell off. :shock:
kanaclark
08-29-2006, 09:15 PM
most experts say to wait until the cord stump falls off but once it's off, it's ok to put them in water. no need to worry about drying for a week. I've never heard that.
But honestly, we put Bri and Gabe both in water tub before. As long as you make sure to dry it out well. we used a hair dryer on low cool to blow dry it out. He loved it. I don't know if it was the heat or the low lull of the dryer. we had no problems.
most experts say to wait until the cord stump falls off but once it's off, it's ok to put them in water. no need to worry about drying for a week. I've never heard that.
But honestly, we put Bri and Gabe both in water tub before. As long as you make sure to dry it out well. we used a hair dryer on low cool to blow dry it out. He loved it. I don't know if it was the heat or the low lull of the dryer. we had no problems.
:? I think things must be done differently here in NZ. I've noticed quite a few differences lately...
7thHeaven
08-30-2006, 10:35 AM
We have a space heater in Sam's bathroom for when winter time comes around. She doesn't seem real concerned lately, since it summer...running out of the bathroom with not even a diaper on! :lol: :lol: That Child!! :lol:
We have a space heater in Sam's bathroom for when winter time comes around. She doesn't seem real concerned lately, since it summer...running out of the bathroom with not even a diaper on! :lol: :lol: That Child!! :lol:
:lol: as long as she doesn't do what I did... one time I went outside and took all my clothes off and sat down on the frosty grass at the front of our section. I think I was about 2 then. :oops: :lol:
Have you tried just top and tail? Bubs really are not dirty creatures - so some nice warm water to wash their face and then their bottom will do :wink:
I did that lots of times with the twins being far easier than setting up a full bath.
BTW leslie is that a new thing about the cord stump and all? When I was in hospital with the twins the midwives said nothing about that and were giving the twins full baths and never told me to stop when it fell off, just to ensure I dried it thoroughly afterwards - mm guess it was lucky we top and tailed.
ewww the cord stump makes me feel ill! DS hung on for ages and it would make me cringe when I saw it. Some people keep their babies cord stump for sentimental value. ewww.
cjropher
08-31-2006, 07:39 AM
Some people keep their babies cord stump for sentimental value. ewww.
Aussie-Mum, this is your fault that I have to tell this story that's entirely OT. My brother's wife had a friend whose Mom kept their stumps. Years later, the kids and friends were looking through a box of baby stuff and one says, oh look, a raisin and popped it in his mouth and ate it. It wasn't a raisin...
mom n luv
08-31-2006, 08:53 AM
[whatblah] [whatblah] [whatblah]
EWWWWW!
Oh, just make me gag, Jaylene! :wink: [whatblah] [whatblah] [whatblah] is an understatement!!!
luvmy4sons
08-31-2006, 10:52 AM
My brother's wife had a friend whose Mom kept their stumps. Years later, the kids and friends were looking through a box of baby stuff and one says, oh look, a raisin and popped it in his mouth and ate it. It wasn't a raisin...
[whatblah] Oh...my! That is just simply awful to think about! Some things need not be kept! [whateww]
Donna B.
08-31-2006, 10:55 AM
I'm not eating raisins again :(
JeanineAnne
08-31-2006, 10:59 AM
[weirdthreadsign]
I think the baby bath thing has taken quite a bizarre twist....
luvmy4sons
08-31-2006, 11:03 AM
[weirdthreadsign]
I think the baby bath thing has taken quite a bizarre twist....
AMEN!
pa_wife
08-31-2006, 12:07 PM
[whatblah]
Okay, that was disgusting! Now,I do have to admit that I kept both of my babies dried up stumps, but they don't look like raisins. My mother took them to her jeweler, with the first tooth each of my babies lost, and had them dipped in gold. She had a bracelet made for me from them, it just looks like a very simple bracelet with 4 little gold nuggets on it. I love it, and my kids love it. I wouldn't go around with the teeth and stumps bracelet if it weren't made that way though, just in case someone got hungry! Did they not know that raisins aren't supposed to be crunchy? yuck~~
I just asked dh about the bathing and cord, he said that all the docs have a different opinion on just about everything now. We gave ours a bath after they came home and just put a little alcohol on a q-tip and smeared the end of the stump with it.
[rofl] Well in NZ Maori families keep the placenta and plant a tree and bury it under the tree.
Didn't Mel Gibson say something about eating the placenta... eww now that's gross! Cats eat the placentas but I don't think I'd go that far....
BornInSeptember
09-01-2006, 01:18 PM
Re:belly button stump- not all hospitals recommend sponge baths believe it or not! My friend just had her baby, and they gave the baby a real bath, in the water and everything. They will give the baby real baths at home as well. So strange don't you think? They used to say to use alcohol, and no water, and now it is no alcohol and water. They should make up their minds! Every hospital is different as well, so you basically just do whatever they tell you.
breezykc2
09-01-2006, 01:39 PM
Some people keep their babies cord stump for sentimental value. ewww.
Aussie-Mum, this is your fault that I have to tell this story that's entirely OT. My brother's wife had a friend whose Mom kept their stumps. Years later, the kids and friends were looking through a box of baby stuff and one says, oh look, a raisin and popped it in his mouth and ate it. It wasn't a raisin...
O Lordy! My pregnant gag-reflex just went into overdrive! Yikes! I may never be able to eat raisins again! :shock:
BlessedMommy
09-01-2006, 02:41 PM
Speaking of eating placentas, my husband looked on the internet and found placenta recipes! EWW! Like placenta lasagna, placenta cocktail, etc. Our midwife let us keep our placenta and my husband burned it.
Some people keep their babies cord stump for sentimental value. ewww.
Aussie-Mum, this is your fault that I have to tell this story that's entirely OT. My brother's wife had a friend whose Mom kept their stumps. Years later, the kids and friends were looking through a box of baby stuff and one says, oh look, a raisin and popped it in his mouth and ate it. It wasn't a raisin...
O Lordy! My pregnant gag-reflex just went into overdrive! Yikes! I may never be able to eat raisins again! :shock:
[rofl]
Speaking of eating placentas, my husband looked on the internet and found placenta recipes! EWW! Like placenta lasagna, placenta cocktail, etc. Our midwife let us keep our placenta and my husband burned it.
[rofl]
CJ ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
Did they get sick?
I never even saw the twins placentas but when my friend Irene took her baby home she took the placenta too and buried it and planted a "special" bush over it to commemorate her son. I think it's quite common. Wonder if she'll dig it up when she moves - might look like a raison by then too, I hope the mistake is not repeated with her there LOL LOL... that is so off.
Oh poor Blessedmommy, posted this thred in earnest need of advice and she comes to find this stuff about eating cord stumps and taking placentas home ROTF and placenta recipes. ewwwwwwwww!!!
pa_wife
09-02-2006, 09:27 AM
she took the placenta too and buried it and planted a "special" bush over it
I wonder if raisins will grow on the bush? [rofl]
cjropher
09-02-2006, 10:48 AM
[weirdthreadsign] Sorry all, I know that this is entirely my fault... with a small dose of Em (AussieMum) because she made me remember that story!
Ruth, as for baths, here's some advice (I took this thread off topic, I'll try to bring it back LOL)I would keep giving them to her though because when my babies were babies, I would hate how cold and upset they would get. So I would bathe them only when necessary. I wound up with two boys who hated water for the longest time. D is a year and finally is liking his bath but he would scream everytime he went it. I think if you are consistent in giving baths, they will like them more. Don't know for sure because both mine were water haters, but I wasn't that consistent either.
vBulletin® v3.8.4, Copyright ©2000-2010, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.