Your baby depends on you to take care of all of her needs, and skin care for baby is no exception. Your baby’s skin is delicate, and there are many substances that can wind up irritating baby’s skin. It’s important that you understand how best to care for baby’s skin, especially when it comes to bath time.
Here’s what you need to know about your newborn’s skin and how best to care for it:
- Your new baby will be ready for his first bath around six hours after she’s born.
- Daily baths aren’t recommended for newborns; instead, every other day should be bath day.
- On days when it’s not bath day, you can wipe your baby’s face and skin down using a slightly damp washcloth. You’ll also want to wipe your baby’s eyelids, moving from the inside corner out.
- When you bathe your baby, you should immerse the baby’s entire body up to but not including the neck. This allows your baby’s body temperature to stay stable during bath time.
- Support your baby while she’s immersed, using only a few inches of warm water.
- Set the thermostat on your water heater to 120 degrees Farenheit or below.
- Newborns are particularly susceptible to skin irritations and infections. Using plain warm water is best.
- Make sure you change your baby’s diapers between two and four hours, and after your baby has a full diaper.
- The best thing to use to clean the diaper area is warm tap water and a soft cloth.
- If you choose to use baby wipes, pick some without any alcohol or lanolin.
- It’s best to let your baby’s diaper air dry at least once a day.
- When your baby gets diaper rash, you can use zinc oxide to help protect the skin from baby’s stool and urine.
- If a baby’s diaper rash doesn’t clear up in a day or two, you should consider a trip to the pediatrician.
Baby’s skin is delicate at this stage, and you need to take special care to avoid infections, rashes, and other conditions that will cause your baby discomfort.