Babies: All about taking baths and clipping nails

Many families discuss everything they can think of beforehand, one of these things is bathing a baby and clipping their nails. For some reason it seems that the dads have some superpowers and do extremely well in these two things. Quite often this becomes their part of the daily routine when taking care of the baby. If you have a new addition to your family, then please do not worry about getting a special bathtub for the baby and all those fancy accessories that are not necessary at all. If you plan to save some space in your already tiny bathroom and you either have a bath or a shower, then one option is to arrange a bath support (as shown on the picture), which is made of soft silicone. This can be placed both in the bath and in the shower, making bathing an easier and a more comfortable experience for the baby and for the parents as well. No more worrying that the baby could slip from their hands and this bath support would ensure a less stressful bathing session for both the baby and the parents. Be creative – you can also use any smaller tubs which have higher edges or a small bucket – these things usually found in own homes can work perfectly. The most comfortable option for the baby of course is not using any of the above, but to take the baby with you to the bath or under the shower. On this occasion I do have to stress that this shouldn’t be done alone, it is necessary for someone else to be present to hand you the baby and to take them away due to slippery surfaces. But please do keep in mind that this does give the baby more time they can spend against your skin. What should be the water temperature? I would advise around 37-38 degrees by Celsius.

How often should baby be bathed and what to use? Babies can be bathed every single day. Good time to do so is before dinner, more or less around 5-6pm. To ensure that this will be a smooth process and as least stressful as possible for the baby, before bathing I would advise to breastfeed the baby for about 5 minutes or give him or her around 30ml of baby formula milk. For washing the baby, you do not have to use any products. If you breastfeed, you can add around 20ml breast milk to the bathing water. This neutralises the water and makes the baby’s skin soft. You can use just water on its own as well as the baby is not in contact with bacteria as bigger toddlers are. If you do produce milk in larger quantities, you can add some to your own bath water as well – you can feel the difference immediately. Why bathe every day? If you make this a part of your daily routine, the baby will know that after a bath everything will be calm before sleep. Additionally, playing around in water is comforting and adding a baby massage on top of the bathing experience makes you want to take a nice relaxing bath as well. How long should be the bathing process? Sometimes it can take 30 minutes, another day 10 minutes – it’s totally up to you and the baby. When and how to clip nails? Quite recently I was asked how to clip baby’s nails, because when looking at the hospital bag list you are given, you can find scissors on there. Actually the baby’s nails are so soft that they break on its own. If you do wish to clip his or her nails, then using special clipping scissors would be the best – safety first!. Keep in mind that you should not clip it off too close. This does require you to be cautious, especially before the baby is given tetanus vaccination shot. More information about the tetanus vaccine can be found from the following page: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Tetanus/Pages/Introduction.aspx Tetanus – NHS Choices http://www.nhs.uk Information about tetanus, a rare bacterial infection, including how you get it, the symptoms, how it’s treated, and the tetanus vaccination.

Another thing I have noticed is that in hospitals they give you gloves or advise to pull socks over the baby’s hands to avoid the baby scratching himself or herself. I would advise against this as actually it is very important that the baby can place their hands into their mouth as a way to learn about their body and to calm themselves.