A bath at bedtime every night for a newborn?

Question

I want my son to know the difference between day & night so we have started giving him a bath b/w 7-8pm, using the sleepy time lotion, swaddling, feeding and then placing in bassinet. It seems to be going good so far (only be doing it one week) but I just wonder about giving a bath everyday. Could it be harmful at all?

Answer 1

you only HAVE to do it 2-3 times a week, but it helps astablish the bedtime "routine". The only harm i could see in that is his skin may get dry, but since your doing the sleepy time lotion thats not really a concern. The most effective way of helping your child destingish between night and day is to keep lights low and keep noise and play to a minimal. This includes making eye contact and facial expressions because you are your babys favorite toy.

<3

Answer 2

It can't "harm" the baby. Just be careful with taking him outside or anything after baths.

The only thing I can think of is that you may not want to put him to bed that way EVERY night. Just because if you are ever driving home from somewhere at night, or are unable to give him a bath one night, it might be difficult to put him to sleep.

Newborns don't really do much to get dirty, other then spitting up which can be wiped right up. My son is 4 months old, and I only give him a bath every other day.

My suggestion is not to give him a bath EVERY night, so that he knows that bedtime does come without bathtime on some nights :]

My son either gets a bath and fed ( I use the the bedtime bath and lotion too, it's great) or just fed, and I put him in the crib while he's still awake. Sometimes he cries, sometimes he doesn't, but he always puts himself to sleep, and I am SO glad that we are able to do that. He sleeps 10 hours a night too. It's good for babies to learn to self-soothe and put themselves to sleep, so do try and allow your son to do that.

Good luck!

Answer 3

If you aren't using soap every day it should be ok, but watch for dry skin and rashes. However baby's own oils are better than lotion.

Also I am going to go out on a limb and assume that the sleepy time lotion contains lavender. There have been some recent reports that infants and toddlers can absorb enough of these through their skin from common drugstore products to cause hormone imbalances which lead to developing breasts. Yes the breasts go away when they stop being exposed but what about the long term, and I don't imagine that increasing girls hormones is good for them even if they don't show immediate symptoms. A baby's skins is far more porous than an adults and they have more skin per body weight, their livers also do not function as well.
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/131/118124
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200702/s1838208.htm

Maybe these reports will be disproven in time, but why take that risk?

You also may be interested in the information here about cosmetic ingredient safety:
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php?nothanks=1

Answer 4

With some newborns getting bathed every day can dry out their skin or make it more sensitive. They say to only bathe them every 3-4 days. When mine were newborn and I wanted a bathtime routine started I'd just put them in the baby tub with warm water to rinse them off but with no soap. That kinda starts the routine without drying them out. I have 5 kids and this is the way we did it with all of them.

Answer 5

A warm water bath is fine BUT your baby does not need to be lotioned up with chemicals and chemical fragranced products. Best to just use water (he does not need soap at this young age) then swaddle and rock him.

Leave off the chemicals and also DO NOT use dryer sheets on any of his clothes and DO NOT use Glade Plug-Ins in the house as they are also very toxic.

Answer 6

It won't harm your son. But, it could dry his skin out. Why not try the bedtime lotion after his bath?

Answer 7

For a lot of babies, a daily bath dries out their skin. That doesn't stop a lot of parents. I think one poll that they did on here (Yahoo!Answers), more than half of parents do a daily bath. Not necessary though. Don't let it stop you if you enjoy doing it and finish with some lotion. If the baby's skin is fine, it's not a problem.

Answer 8

advantageous. My son has eczema and bathes each nighttime and has on condition that he replaced into an infant. once you're worried approximately dry pores and skin, positioned a squirt of unscented infant oil interior the tub interior the final 5 min and it will coat your youngster's pores and skin besides as lock in moisture from the tub. additionally, Aquaphor is your pal. that's sort of a greasy lotion/vaseline that works super to maintain a newborn's pores and skin delicate.

Answer 9

My doctor said to cut down on bathing during the winter months, but to make sure the personal area is kept very clean.

Answer 10

Might dry his skin out, keep the lotion on like you're doing. I salute you for having the energy to bathe him every night!