How often do I bathe her?

Question

My baby is 5 days old and so far her only bath was the day she was born at the hospital. When should I bathe her? How often?

Answer 1

only do a wipe down until the umblical cord falls off and if shes not sweating or spitting up on her self all the time i would say every 2 days..but other than that i did every other day.. i used two basins one to rinse and the other to wash ..once my sons cord fell off i waited 48 hours to actually submerge in water...the best time to bathe is after the last feeding before bed..she will sleep so much better..when i started doing that my son slept for a full 6-7 hours at only a week and a half old..good luck and congrats..

Answer 2

You shouldn't bath a baby this young. There is no reason.
But, she will need a little sponge bath.
Fill up a medium sized bowl with warm water and a tsp of johnson and johnson baby wash. Place a baby washcloth in the water and get the baby naked. Place a huge fluffy towel down on her cleared off changing table. Get the baby naked and wrap her in a baby towel.
Unwrap a small part of the baby and with the wrung out washcloth wash just one area at a time.
Always start with her eyes. Work your way away from the nose, gently sweeping out. Then her whole face. Just one quick sweep over her forhead, cheeks, chin, behind the ears. Then under her chins, over the top of her head. (Rinse the wash cloth as you go along making sure it's wrung out well each time. ) When you are finished with an area such as the head, use the towel that she was wrapped in to dry that area immeadiately.
You want to keep her warm. I know that it's summer time, but you need to keep the room warm too during this bath. No a/c, maybe even throw the oven on for a little bit.

And you do that the whole way down. You want to wash/rinse her genitals and butt last, wiping from front to back and never back to front.

Babies this age are too young for baby powder, but not too young for a little bit of baby lotion. I would dress her in her onesie and rub just a bit on the top of her head to avoid cradle cap and a little bit to her torso and arms. Avoid crevices like armpits, or pudgy rolls where lotion can rub and chafe and cause a small infection.
Also you will only need to do this twice a week. Unless you have a particularly bad spit up or poop. And you can just wash parts of her using this method. Make sure you leave the umbilical cord alone (except the daily alcohol rub).

Good luck.
Sorry if this was too much information. I just wanted to be thorough.

Answer 3

Every week is enough for children up to usually 2 or even older.

You might need to sponge bath her with a little warm water and a wash cloth on the area where she is getting drity, like under her chin from eating, arm pits, neck and bumm. Everything else can be left alone until bath time.

Bathing baby everyday would be really bad for dry skin, but seeing as your baby has diaper rash you do want to wash her little bumm at least once a day!

Answer 4

You can wipe her down with a warm cloth, but do not put her in water yet. Once her umbilical cord heals and falls off you can give her a real bath...every other day is fine. I just give my son a "sponge" bath on the days he doesnt get a real bath. I am really weird about the smell of formula so I tend to wipe him down a lot.

Answer 5

You need to wash her face, hands, and especially neck everyday. I'm a RN that works in maternity and we tell our new Mom's every other day to give the baby a sponge bath until the cord falls off. After the cord falls off you can do every other day tub baths.

Answer 6

How often does she spit up on herself? How often does she poop?

Her skin is extra sensitive, so every day bathing might be too often, but I'd definitely sponge the kid off on a daily basis, and bathe her in her lil' tub every 2 ro 3 days.

Answer 7

You should only bathe her after he umbilical stump falls out, then it should be okay to bathe her whenever you want at most a few times a day.

Answer 8

A baby does not need a bath every day. Every 2 or even 3 days is fine. You should wash her face, neck and hands every day with just a wet cloth. Start with one eye and then use the other end of the cloth for the other eye and then work your way down.

Answer 9

At five days, she still has her umbilical cord stump, which shouldn't get wet. Don't bathe her until it falls off, but until then you can spot-clean her with a soft washcloth or sponge if she gets dirty. (Newborn babies don't, particularly.) After it falls off, anywhere from every few days to a week is usually fine until she starts eating solids, which she'll get all over herself in an amazing range of places: hair, ears, toes....

Answer 10

WELL IF SHE IS ONLY FIVE DAYS SHE PROBABLY STILL HAS HER OMBILICAL CORD STUMP. SHE CANT HAVE A BATH YET BUT YOU CAN GIVE HER A WASH WITH A RAG. YOU CAN WASH HER EVERY THREE DAYS OR MAYBE ONCE A WEEK! MAKE SURE TO FOCUS ON HER FACE UNDER HER NECK! DONT WET THE CORD ITS NOT SUPPOSED TO GET WET! ONCE THAT FALLS OUT SHE CAN BATHE FULLY!