The long-awaited child after birth brings a lot of changes to the life of their parents. Moms and dads, confronted with their children, are often lost, not knowing how to behave, what to do with a new family member. It is worth reassuring especially nervous parents - such an emotional storm is found everywhere, because they face many questions regarding the care of the baby, especially if the child is the first. What to feed and when? How to reassure? How often to bathe a newborn baby? All these questions rummage in the heads and do not give rest.
Clean baby
From this publication you can learn the basic rules of hygiene and bathing a baby, as well as get an answer to the question of how often to bathe a newborn baby. Pediatricians recommend fully bathing the baby daily. Such advice will seem strange to someone, because why wash a child if he does not get dirty? But at this age, water procedures not only perform the function of cleansing the skin from impurities, but also contribute to harmonious physical development, muscle relaxation, and the removal of nervous tension in a child. In addition, water treatments are a great way to temper your baby.
The first "swim". When to start water procedures with the baby
The process itself frightens many parents, and the first bath turns into a real stress for all participants of the exercise. The baby reacts very sharply to changes in her mother’s mood, therefore she is obliged to keep herself in control and, if there is any doubt about whether she will be able to perform such a procedure on her own at first, it is best to enlist the support of a loving grandmother, a more experienced friend or a patronage nurse. They will be able to demonstrate clearly how to hold the baby, tell the main subtleties regarding the indoor microclimate and tell you how often to bathe a newborn baby.
The first bath is baptism of fire. It is very important to foresee all the nuances and initially properly conduct water procedures. The child in the womb was in the aquatic environment, because for him swimming is partly familiar, another thing is that it is necessary to provide comfortable conditions, as similar as possible to amniotic waters.
Traditions or medical advice?
Many argue about how to bathe a newborn for the first time at home, whether it is worth doing it on the first day after discharge, in what water the baby will be best, what temperature in the room is the most suitable.
And it is at this moment that the first generational conflict appears. According to the recommendations developed by the leading pediatricians of the country and the world, the first acquaintance of the baby with water should be done on the day of discharge from the hospital (an exception may be if the child was vaccinated on the same day). Previously, they really adhered to different tactics, and mothers performed a similar hygienic procedure after the navel fell off. Of course, this is a purely individual issue, and everyone has the right to independently decide how to care for his own child, but bathing immediately after birth is a normal process.
According to the norms of pediatrics, the temperature in the room should be within +22 0 ... 23 0 for full-term babies, those who were born a little earlier than the term should not be chilled, so it is best to warm the room to +25 0 ... 26 0 C. Water also has different temperature values. A healthy, strong baby will be quite comfortable at +37 ... 38 0 , while a premature one needs to raise this value by a couple of units. But in any case, too hot water should not be made. Overheating adversely affects the health of the baby, because its thermoregulation is not developed as in adults.
Cold water, well ...
A lot of controversy arises not only about how often to bathe a newborn baby, but also what water to use for this. There is no single answer to this question. Doctors for reinsurance advise to use boiled water in the first month of life to disinfect it. By this time, the umbilical wound will probably heal completely, and from then on it will be possible to bathe the baby in the tap water.
If you have one hundred percent confidence in the purity of water, you can not boil it, but add a few granules of potassium permanganate to it, slightly staining it with a pale pink color. A concentrated solution can cause chemical burns to delicate skin, so in no case can you use a lot of potassium permanent!
But herbal decoctions are a means tested not only by time and many generations, but also approved by doctors. It is worth considering the different properties of herbs, as some dry the skin (chamomile), some relieve irritation (succession, calendula), while others have sedative properties (mint, special soothing fees). Before using them, it is better to consult with your local pediatrician or doctor.
A little bit of good
No matter how useful it is to swim, in everything you need to know the measure. First of all, this concerns the question of how much to bathe a newborn. The first days are purely symbolic, and swimming takes no more than five minutes. But over time, it can be made longer. And when the baby grows up, sits independently, is in the water with great pleasure and can play for a long time, then spending in the bathroom for 20-30 minutes is not only pleasant, but also useful.
Important points
How many times to bathe a newborn depends on the season. It is impossible to ensure a stable temperature in the house all year round. It’s rare that anyone can boast of a warm house when frost is cracking on the street. And if it’s a problem for the child, he doesn’t like such coolness, gets very cold after swimming, it is not necessary to do water procedures every day.
In the summer, in order to alleviate the heat, you can splash in cool water not only before bedtime, but several times during the day. Many people worry that frequent bathing can dry out the baby's skin. But actually it is not. The main thing is not to overdo it with detergents.
Even specially designed baby soaps, foams and shampoos are best not to use more than once a week, and after bathing you can use moisturizers.