When did you bathe LO

[DueMarch2nd]

I wanted to wait til the cord fell off. It fell off on Thursday... I still havent given the wee man a proper bath. He is 10 days old today. I think i will give him his bath today :/ I just feel like it will upset him because he hates getting his nappy changed and/or getting his clothes changed. Those are the things he gets most fussy about... anything else he is quite calm. So it stands to reason that a bath will p*ss him off! He doesnt even like getting topped and tailed. Of course, i cant put it off forever. Mw said yesterday to go ahead and give him a bath when i said i still hadnt. He just seems too small for that big tub (even though it is a baby tub it still seems so big for him iykwim)

Anyway, am i alone in this? how soon did you bathe your LO?
And also... any tips for making it go smoother?

 

[honey08]

morgan was a few days old,but they did him b4 in hospital , he HATED it screemed the house down so b prepared,but they do get use to it and like it,morgans cord was still on x

 

[mellllly]

I think Sophie was about 2 days old when I gave her a bath
She hated her first bath but I think I made it too cold.
Then her second one she absolutly loved and now gets all excited when its bath time

Just make sure that the room is nice and warm and the water is not too cold, put the towel on a radiator until you are ready to take him out,

 

[WW1]

Rebecca was bathed in the hospital as I asked them to do a demonstration (she was 4 days old I think) - she wasn't impressed (I've got a great photo of her in her first bath with the grumpiest face ever - one for the 18th birthday!)

It helps to keep the room as warm as possible and have a lovely towel to snuggle them into as quickly as possible. Rebecca is growing to like her baths but it is taking a while. She prefers it when DH and I both do it as I think she feels more secure with 2 pairs of hands holding her.

We also bought a bath sponge for her to lay on which we tried for the first time yesterday (I put too much water in the bath though so it floated a bit more than it should have done I think!) - hopefully that will add to her secure feeling and she'll enjoy it more.

Have fun!

oh - a pretty obvious one, but make sure you have a nappy to hand as soon as LO comes out of the bath

 

[DueMarch2nd]

Thanks girls.. Hunter also had a bath in hospital but i wasnt there I had to ask the nurse to clean him in the middle of the night because he had poo'd allllllll over the place and no amount of wipes was gonna sort it. I am sad i missed his first bath and i could hear him screaming down the hall. Poor thing! But i dont count it as his first bath til i give it to him! lol I suppose i have left it a bit late judging by the responses... woops... although id like to point out i have certainly been keeping him clean.

 

[lalitas charm]

B hated the bath until she was abou 12 weeks old!! It was pretty awful. You dont need to bathe him every day, a couple of times a week'll do while he hates it. When I took her out I would have her towel on me so that I could just wrap her up and cuddle her until she calmed down. B now really likes the bath now that she can play with the toys I have for her. She now just hates being dressed afterwards!! I blow raspberries on her feet which usually cheers her up.

 

[WW1]

I suppose i have left it a bit late judging by the responses... woops... although id like to point out i have certainly been keeping him clean.

At this age, baths really are more about routine than keeping clean. The bits that get dirty are being washed all the time anyway!

I'm sure he'll learn to love the bath - in the meantime prepare for grumpy faces!

 

[mum2b2009]

Aww your baby is soooo cute! congrats btw! i think my lo was a week old before i gave him his first bath... he hated it and screamed but with evey bath he had he liked it more and more..... have you thought about him bathing with you? he might feel safer?

 

[DueMarch2nd]

Aww your baby is soooo cute! congrats btw! i think my lo was a week old before i gave him his first bath... he hated it and screamed but with evey bath he had he liked it more and more..... have you thought about him bathing with you? he might feel safer?

Is it hygenic? It seems like everything for babies needs to be so clean... wouldnt a bath with me be too dirty? (obviously i know not to use anything in the bath but i am not at the minute anyway)

 

[mum2b2009]

Aww your baby is soooo cute! congrats btw! i think my lo was a week old before i gave him his first bath... he hated it and screamed but with evey bath he had he liked it more and more..... have you thought about him bathing with you? he might feel safer?

Is it hygenic? It seems like everything for babies needs to be so clean... wouldnt a bath with me be too dirty? (obviously i know not to use anything in the bath but i am not at the minute anyway)

lol i never even thought of that.... im sure its okay.. maybe have a quick wash first then have a bath with your lo?he will be fine hun what eva way you bath him... just make sure you have eveything to hand and keep it short and as warm as you can...good luck

 

[thechaosismex]

I did it at 3 days as she was still covered in uterus and top and tailing wasnt really doing anything she screamed the house down before and after but as soon as she touched the water she was silent! it was about 6-7inches deep and if i support her head and neck she floats around like in the womb again and co-bathing is brilliant too as long as you can handle the chilly water x

 

[Punky79]

My top tip is to make the water nice and warm (we do it much warmer than the books say!!) and wrap baby in a warm towel first and hold them over the bath and just gently pour water over their head first to get them used to it. Then put them in upright feet, then legs, then sit/lie them down.

 

[NuKe]

we didnt bath our lo until the cord fell off either! came off at 12 days i think, she still doesnt like getting changed, but can tolerate nappy changes now. and she loves getting bathed!! the first time she looked a bit shocked for a minute but once we started washing her she loved it!! even when we wash her face!! the only advice i have is dont feed him in the hour before his bath, it can make them sick! like swimming after you eat! oh and have a towel laid out ready to wrap him up very quickly afterwards! poppy shivers once she comes out of the bath, even though the water is warm. good luck!

 

[shayandbump]

We waited until Amy's cord had fallen off to give her a proper bath, I think she was about 12 or 14 days old. We got her used to the water before we put her fully in it, we wrapped her up in a towel so she was warm and washed her hair while keeping eye contact, smiling and making lots of soothing noises. We then put her in the bath slowly, first by letting her feel the water on her feet and legs and then sitting her in it, doing the same things as when we washed her hair.

We've been quite lucky I guess because Amy absolutely LOVES baths so it's not been too difficult. Now she's older she soaks us though lol

 

[divadexie]

This is quite interesting
When I had my son nearly 5 years ago the hospital wouldnt let a new mum go home until after they had given their baby a bath with the MW there.
In the hospital here there are baths so I guess if your in for longer than a day you do it there?
I'm worrying, as I have a problem with my left arm that makes it awkward to hold and wash a baby so hopefully I can just doit when I bring her home as we're getting the fisher price bath that has the hammock in it to make it easier for me.

 

[OmarsMum]

They gave him a bath everyday at the hospital & we did the same when we went back home. Omar loves his bathes since day one

 

[xolily]

I bathed Laila in hospital.. and have bathed her everyday since, she loves it. Just make sure you've got everything ready so there's no faffing around and make sure you're as confident as can be as LO will pick up on it if you're not and struggle more! (in my experience anyway) xx

 

[3Cherubs]

I agree that the warmth of the bath has a lot to do with babe's comfort in it. I test the temp with my wrist, not my fingers as my hands have become desensitized to temperature over time. Try it - you'll feel a difference in the water temp just going from your hand to your wrist. I turn the heat on and close the bathroom door to keep it nice and warm in there. Have a cup and a rag handy.

There is nothing wrong with getting into the bath with your baby. I did this with my first for every bath and I would hand her off to hubby when she was all done. I just bent my legs and she sat there, propped on them with her bottom resting on my pelvic area.

My first was bathed in the hospital against my wishes after a transfer from the birth center. My last two children were both water births so they had a bit of bath on their birthdays and I did not bathe them again until 2 weeks or so.

I say do whatever keeps him happy. At 10days it is so hard to hear them cry (hormonally). No need for undue stress. My girls love the bath but I don't know how much in part of that is from being welcomed into the world that way and how much of that is just their personality.

My babies always loved when I got in the bath with them, then if they get upset you can just pull them right up to the breast and nurse through the bathing if need be.

Make sure you take pics! And good luck!

 

[katekatekate]

We bathed Robyn at 1 day old because she had a big scabby mess of blood on her head that was infact from me and nothing to do with her at all. It was disgusting and I couldnt stand it. Anyway she hated it and cried but I think that's because myself and OH were terrified and we made the bath too cool and too shallow (neither of us had ever done it before). We gave her her second bath at around 7 days and ran it up to her shoulders with bubbles and she loved every second of it.

 

[welshwarriors]

Joe was 3 days old when I bathed him for the 1st time. Hubby and the nurse bathed him in the hospital.
Honestly I was glad that I had a baby bath at that point cause it seemed much easier than in the big bath. When he was about 2 months old we went on the body sponge from Mothercare in the big bath.

Joe always seemed to enjoy bathing....in the beginning he tensed up a bit, but I think that was because he noticed that we didn't feel very comfortable bathing him.

I think it helped a lot to introduce him to water and bathing that hubby jumped in the bath with him a few times. He would hold him then and would wash him.
It might be a good idea, if you got somebody around to help you to jump in the bath with him and give him that reassurance.