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How Often do You Bathe Your Baby?
November 25, 2008 at 1:12 PM by Cafe Suzanne - Comments (13)
photo by akme10607
Most of us take showers every day, but I just found out from my friend Cafe Kristen at the Healthy Living Buzz that taking a daily shower isn't necessary. And if you do take one, you should make it a cold one to prevent the flu! Brrr. Who knew? Thanks, Kristen!
So I was wondering just how often we should be bathing our babies.
And so were some of the other Baby Mamas on CafeMom. BabyGirl5808 asked members of the Pregnancy group if there was such a thing as bathing your baby too frequently, since it can dry out the skin. She gives her daughter a bath every night.
Mommny6 gives her kids baths every other night.
AudreysMom0307 gives her baby a bath 3 times a week. "Bathing is supposed to dry out their skin even with lotion. I give her three baths a week, but put on lotion every day."
Samanthamommy says everyone is different. "I give my son a bath every night, but he's 20 months old, At 2 months, I was doing it 3 or 4 times a week because he wasn't going anywhere so he wasn't getting really dirty."
mrsray45 says, "I think as long as your child is not getting dried out skin and is not showing any signs of irration that you can bathe as much or as little as you want. It is a personal decision. Babies don't 'need' a bath every day but we used it in the bedtime routine. It help relax and soothe my son when he was being fussy."
So how often are we supposed to bathe our babies? According to Cafe Kristen's interview with Katherine Ashenberg, author of The Dirt on Clean, giving your child a daily bath is bad for their immune system.
Alan Greene, M.D., a pediatrician and medical expert for the book The Parent Soup A-to-Z Guide to Your New Baby, says if the baby loves the bath, make it part of her daily routine. If not, it isn't necessary to bathe her daily. But when you do bathe your baby, he says to use a few inches of warm (not hot) water and to use a gentle soap (sparingly and avoid scrubbing). And Dr. Greene says, "If your baby's skin is drying out too much, cut back on the frequency of baths and apply an alcohol-free, unscented baby lotion daily—and especially after each bath."
What's your bathtime routine?
FILED UNDER: bathtime
Comments:
3 times a week. Bathing too frequently can break down the skins natural oils. It is not necessary to bathe daily even for adults & older children. Well with the exception of them being obviously dirty.
My son does not get bathed as often as I'd like him to, but he also really doesn't get dirty! I was him off good with a washcloth every morning and evening on days he doesn't get a bath. He loves to bathe with me, as I hold his head above water and just let him kick and play and float in the tub--he gets so excited! I only do this when my husband is home so he can wash Baby while I hold him still, and then he takes him and gets him ready for bed while I take my shower. It works great...except when baby falls asleep before Daddy gets home and misses his bath!
my son is almost 6 months so i bathe him about 4 times a week
My daughter is 7 months old and I give her a bath every other night. My son is 5 1/2 and he gets a bath normally every night just because he goes to school and plays and gets dirty easy.
we give our daughter a bath every night (well we try to ayway) she loves the water (she was born in a tub) and her skin isn't drying out. We don't wash her hair every night though.
Once a week. Bathing too often can lead to dry skin, excema and other skin issues. Of course, if they get dirty, then obviously a bath is needed. Between bathings, a simple cloth wash is fine.
From Dr. Sears' website:
How often should we bathe our baby?
Bathing is primarily playtime. Babies don't get dirty enough to need a daily bath. For busy parents this is good news. Twice a week (especially in the winter) is enough bathing, providing you clean your baby's diaper area sufficiently well each time there is a bowel movement. Daily spot-cleaning in areas that get particularly sweaty, oily, or dirty, such as behind the ears, in the neck folds, in the creases of the groin, and in the diaper area are helpful.
My baby is almost 16 months old. I bathe her three times a week... She is a slow walker so she is still crawling and her knees get so dirty so I wipe her off at every diaper change. I'm not big on lotion, maybe i just haven't found the right kind. But this seems the right thing for us at this time.
my baby's a year old, she gets a bath once or twice a week. she's an abnormally clean baby... I do'nt know how she stays so CLEAN. But I use two wipes when I clean her after a diaper change. once to clean, and once to double check, get in the little folds and such. my oldest is almost 4 she gets a bath twice a week. she's not in school yet, and she doesn't really get outside now that it's really cold to get dirty. but she washes her hands A LOT to keep from spreading germs around the house.
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In the summer when we are swimming and outside getting dirty I bath my little girl every night. Now that it is colder and she isn't doing as much outside I do every other night and sometimes I will even push it to one more night. She hates the bath so if I can find a reason to skip it, I do.
Peajewel Nov. 25, 2008 at 2:55 PM