Bathing a Newborn – What Do You Need? | Our Essentials

Bathing a Newborn – What Do You Need? | Our Essentials

Bathing a newborn can be quite daunting if you’re a new parent but you soon get used to it. Many babies don’t like bathing at first but soon most of them start to love it and really enjoy it.

My firstborn absolutely hated it in the beginning though so we kept baths very short. She loves it now and my second baby loves splashing around in the bath too.

There are a few things that help make bathtime easier and more enjoyable for everyone involved. Here are our essentials for bathing a newborn:

• A baby bath with a newborn insert or a baby bath support for a seat for your baby. We have a Flexibath that I bought when I was expecting our first baby. At the time we only had a shower so we needed a baby bath to be able to wash our baby and the Flexibath is really great if you’re short of space like we are. It just folds up! We bought a newborn insert too. Until this week when my second baby turned 7 months, we have been using our favorite baby bath seat. Now that she’s bigger, we are just using our normal bathtub. If you have a big bath and don’t want to waste water, you can use a Babydam — read my review here. A bath support for your baby will make it much easier to wash him or her as you don’t need to hold your slippery baby at the same time.
• A gentle baby wash. For the first month or so, you should only use water but after that you can use a gentle baby wash suitable for delicate skin. I love to use organic products when possible and love Weleda for both myself and the kids. The Weleda Baby Calendula Cream Bath is amazing!
• A bath sponge. Bath sponges make it easier to wash your little one and the 100% Pure Konjac Baby Face Sponge from the Konjac Sponge Co. is so lovely! It feels like silk and is perfect for newborn skin. Read my review here.
• A soft hooded towel. Hooded towels are great for babies and toddlers as they make it really easy to dry them. The hood helps dry the hair and keeps the towel on the kids to keep them warm while you’re drying them. If you have several children, you can get personalised kids towels to keep track of which one belongs to which child.
• A soft baby brush. This is not an essential for everyone but my second baby was born with a full head of quite long, ginger hair so we need to brush it. We have a wooden baby brush with super soft bristles similar to this one.

More tips:

• Keep the room warm as your baby will cool down quickly in the water or when you get him or her out of the bath.
• You can warm the towel on the radiator too for extra cosiness.
• Get everything ready before putting your baby in the bath — towels, toys, baby bubble bath and the things you need after the bath such as a nappy, moisturiser and clean clothes.
• You don’t have to give your baby a long bath. Short and sweet will keep everyone happy and warm. Just wash your baby and let him or her kick around for a bit and then you’re done.
• In the very early days it can be a good idea to have your partner or someone else with you to help out. More hands make dealing with a slippery baby much easier!

PR Collaboration. Contains a sponsored link.