First bath?

[too_scared]

My hospital has changed their policy to not bathing newborns until they are 24 hours old. I think that's a wonderful step! (they also do delayed cord clamping and immediate skin to skin too! Such a change in attitude since I had my son 2 years ago)

I would like to wait longer to bathe dd but I'm not sure how long is best to wait. I'm hoping we'll be discharged today. She just turned 24 hours old about 20 minutes ago but we have to wait on blood work and other tests before being discharged, she was born 6:23 am so I'm guessing blood will probably be taken around 8 when the new shift starts.

I'm hoping to wait until we get home to wash her. Should I wait a day or 2 longer? She was very sticky when she was born because she was 2 weeks early. Most of that is rubbed in now. He hair is still yucky.

Also, should I only give sponge baths until her umbilical stump comes off? I was hoping to bathe with her.

Thanks! You wouldn't think I had a baby 2 years ago... I forgot so much!

 

[EcoMama]

I thin I waited a couple of weeks for full on bath. Then I only used water for 1 3 months. In the 1st couple weeks I would cotton wool with water under chin and armpits mainly.
I think you need to keep stump dry to aid healing x

 

[too_scared]

Thanks

With my son I think we did just water and baths only once a week for 6 months or so. Until we started blw and things for messy. Haha!

 

[EcoMama]

Oh the joys of blw!

I bought some lovely organic baby bath from a website, which we used from 3 months..... Id never touch johnstons, even on my own skin!

 

[too_scared]

No way! Our son has such sensitive skin that I can only use unscented Dr. Bronner's castile soap or soap I get from a local lady. I'm allergic to "soap" so I get my soap from her. She's an aromatherapist and grows mostly everything she uses for the soap. It's so nice. I'm guessing dd is going to have the same skin as me and ds.

 

[MindUtopia]

I think wait as long as you want. I think we waited about a week or so. I would have probably waited longer, but we had to go in to hospital for some tests and evaluation and I felt icky about not bathing her after that (I'd had a home birth so wasn't really planning on her being in a hospital environment at all). If you feel the same, go ahead and have a bath when you get home. If you want to wait, yes, you can totally wait longer.

 

[too_scared]

Thank you I may give her a little bath in with me tomorrow. Her hair is still yucky but her skin is mostly clear now. If it wasn't for all the vernix in her hair I think I would wait a little longer. I think she would really enjoy a warm bath on my tummy, though.

 

[misspriss]

I declined baths for her at the hospital. We stayed about 36 hours as she was born late at night. She did not get a bath until she as 2 weeks and a few days old, as we waited for her stump to fall, and saw no reason to wash the vernix off or anything.

We have since bathed her using warm water only. She smells delicious. We wipe up any spilt milk or anything on her with warm water and a washcloth.

 

[too_scared]

Thanks

Maybe I'll leave it until before (or after) her first doctor appt next Wednesday.

 

[lisaalove]

Sorry if you feel I'm hijacking your thread just interested as to why none of you would touch J&J? With my first I was 15 and just went by what my mother did, this time I'm trying a more natural type of parenting and we gave him his first bath at around 6w should I not be using soap on him since he's so little or is it just something about j&j?

 

[too_scared]

Babies don't need soap, warm water is enough to clean their skin. Until they start getting dirty (like with weaning) then water is all they need.

I wouldn't touch j&j because I don't like using products with tons of chemicals like that. I don't use them for me and I don't use them for my babies. I prefer things with more natural ingredients. I use coconut oil on skin instead of lotion and my soap has only a few ingredients that I can pronounce instead of 20 long chemical names. Also, I find most commercial products like that, baby products or adult marketed products, are so stinky. I don't like scents like that, I get headaches or allergic reactions to them.

That's my reasoning for no j&j (or any product like that)

Also, my son gets a horrible allergic rash from anything like that. He has cradle cap that I swear is never going to go away. I got desperate and bought the mustela cradle cap shampoo. It gave him such a rash that I had people not believing me when the accused me of leaving him in the sun to get a sunburn. that was last summer. This year I had to buy sunblock here while I was waiting on the natural one I ordered to get here in the mail. He had it on him for all of 5 minutes before I had to rush him to the bath and get it off. Again he looked like he had an awful sunburn and we hadn't even gone out yet! Poor guy got his mom's skin.

 

[lisaalove]

Awhh I'm sorry that's horrid. I understand the cradle cap worry of it never going away my oldest still has it but with his blonde hair you can't really see it and he's not bothered by it so I've given up. I have eczema and my oldest does as well that's more of why I was wondering about the soaps, not many things agree with our skin soap and lotion wise. I can't use any kind of lotion on my own body including coconut oil because anything I try just makes it worse. So far I haven't noticed DS2 having any skin problems, his cradle cap is even gone for the most part it seems (really suprised about that!) But thank you for answering!

 

[too_scared]

Kiddo still has cradle cap. He also has light hair and you can't really notice it unless you look through his hair. It is the yellow kind that is stuck in good. Every now and then a piece will lift off by I don't bother with it anymore.

I don't have eczema, thankfully, but I have the most sensitive skin. It sucks. I'm so sorry you and your son have to deal with it. My bil has it very bad and is in the process of stopping steroids and trying to find a more natural way to heal it. Hopefully you can find something that works well for you soon.

 

[lisaalove]

Steroid cream is the only thing that ever worked for me, though on the bright side moving to vegas has helped (I thought moving somewhere dry would have made it worse but it's virtually non existent now and only flares up in the winters here) I just have to let it take its corse when it comeson now and put a lot of ice o it to keep me from itching.

 

[too_scared]

I'm glad you're having less trouble with it now

 

[minties]

They don't bathe babies at all in the hopitals and birth centres I have been to in New Zealand. Nothing was done to my babies and nobody touched them without asking for permission - very respectful as it should be.

I didn't wash Sophie until she was a few weeks old I think. I did dampen Thomas's hair and wiped it as he had some meconium in it.

 

[too_scared]

That's really great! I had to decline the bath for her. They do it at 24 hours.

I brushed her hair today and the got the rest of the vernix out so I plan to just leave her until after her doctor appt next week.