My partners best mates girlfriend has just recently had a new baby and we heard that she has only bathed the baby 4 times since she has had it home and it is now 1 month old.. Is this incredible or what??????
2007-02-22 17:51:11 · 13 answers · asked by golden tigress 3 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
No most people over bathe their children, it's not like infants get that dirty, until the cord falls off you're only supposed to sponge bathe them, after that only every 4 - 5 days are they supposed to get a bath, it can dry out their skin unnecessarily.
2007-02-22 17:55:14 · answer #1 · answered by tylw85 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Well, the baby is a month old, is she a first time mom? She could be very nervous about giving the baby a bath. It scared me when I first gave my daughter a sponge bath, she would cry and I felt so awful for her. It can be a very stressful thing for a new mother who has never bathed a newborn before. She may just give her sponge baths which is all babies that age really need anyway. I mean a one month old baby doesn't do much anyway. They drink formula/breastmilk, they don't get around, they don't sweat very much, they don't even really stink, so they just can't really get dirty. And I've seen alot of mothers who OVER bathe their babies. Overbathing makes their skin very dry and babies need their natural oils to keep their skin softer.
Your friend is a first time mom, give her a break for now and don't be judgmental. She still has alot to learn and as the baby ages, she will feel alot better and alot less nervous about bathing the baby as well as other things.
2007-02-23 02:08:11 · answer #2 · answered by Alene 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
She is probably overwhelmed. I know I was at first. My husband worked midnights and slept during the day. So I had to do everything myself. Plus doing the house work, when I had time to do it or had enough sleep. Is she actually putting the little one into water and giving her a good wash or is she just giving her a sponge bath? I was giving my first a sponge bath every other night because I just didn't want to drop my baby while she was covered in soap. In time it got easy and now it's live second nature.
If you think the baby needs a bath, offer to give the baby one while the mom take a long soak in one herself. Maybe she just need a little helping hand.
2007-02-23 09:41:31 · answer #3 · answered by HAH 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Give the poor girl a break....were you actually at her house to count how many times the baby bathed? Newborns are overwhelming. Maybe it's not the way you or I would do things, but most people really do bath kids too often. They don't need a daily bath. I always tried to go every other day or even every 3rd day at first.
2007-02-23 01:57:56 · answer #4 · answered by java girl 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I remember not bathing my daughter until her umbilical cord dried up and fell off. I was told to just give her sponge baths until that happened. I honestly don't remember how long that took, but only bathing a baby 4 times since she was born does not seem like enough, unless she is giving the baby good sponge baths.
2007-02-23 01:56:56 · answer #5 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I guess it's not incredible to me that she has only bathed the baby 4 times but maybe she don't wanna dry the babies skin out or maybe she don't realize she needs to bathe the baby more and maybe use some baby lotion or a little bit of baby oil afterwards so the babies skin don't dry out.
2007-02-23 01:57:36 · answer #6 · answered by bad_azz_babygirl_24 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Totally not a big deal. Babies don't get that dirty; a swipe with a damp wash cloth is plenty to keep them clean between baths.
Now if she's not even doing that, then yeah, that's a bit irresponsible, but it could just be she's overwhelmed with the new responsibility, or a bit scared of handling a slippery, soapy baby, or maybe the baby makes such a fuss that she figures it just not worth it.
2007-02-23 02:25:18 · answer #7 · answered by a heart so big 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think its ok, and also depending on which part of the world she is. I live in Singapore, where the climate here is warmer and very humid. But if she stays at places where the air is dryer, i think there is no harm not bathing the little darling. But if its a baby girl, then the bottom is very important lest she gets a urinary tract infection.
2007-02-23 04:03:26 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
no babies generally dont need to be bathed more than once or twice a week its not unusual according to my pediatrician it is actually normal for most mothers as long as they are occasionally wiping down with a baby wipe in between baths
2007-02-23 23:47:06 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
i was told by hospital staff to only do heads and tails in the winter so baby won't get a chill,maybe this is what shes doing?
2007-02-23 01:55:47 · answer #10 · answered by jewel 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋