Steps to Bathing a Newborn

In the early days of bathing your baby, you will be doing sponge bathes until the umbilical cord falls out and then you can move on to submersion baths. I like to think of sponge bathes as less is more- after all, the baby (s) are not outside running around and getting dirty! So, to do a sponge bath, I take a baby washcloth, run it under warm water, squeeze out excess water and then wipe down from head to toe.

A submersion bath is a little bit more involved, so I like to make sure my supplies are all setup first!

Supplies:

Soap/Shampoo

2 washclothes

2 cotton balls if you have

Receiving blanket if you have

Towel

Process:

-Fill tub with as much water as you would like baby in

-test temperature to make sure warm

-begin by washing each eye with a moist cotton ball starting from the inside corners outward

-Use damp washcloth with soap to wash baby's scalp and rinse with washcloth

-Wash baby's arms and armpits and rinse

-Wash baby's legs and feet and rinse

-Support baby with hand to lean forward to wash back and bottom, then rinse

-Be sure to wash all folds and creases in neck, arms and legs

-Wash genitals last

Extra's:

Talk or sing to baby while in bath and lay warm wet washcloth on chest/stomach area when not using it to keep baby warm