When you take that tiny newborn baby home for the first time, the newborn haze is still very much washing over you, and the thought of the unknown can be scary whether you’re a first time parent or not. There’s so many questions that spring to mind for everything you do in the first few weeks, months and even years.
Why are they crying? Are they ill? Why can’t they sleep? How do I cut their nails? How do I know when to feed them? The questions are endless.
But the good news is that no one really knows what they’re doing, you’ll be doing the best job you can and the fact is, none of us really know what is right or wrong when it comes to parenting and that’s totally fine! Plus, imagine what parents did over 20 years ago when googling their questions wasn’t even a thing, you just did what you thought was best and that was it!
One question that a lot of parents stumble upon in the first few days is ‘should I be bathing my newborn daily?’. With so much information at the touch of our fingertips it can certainly all become a little bit suffocating about what you think you should be doing.
The good news is, it’s really simple!
According to NHS UK, when they are a newborn, and even when they are older you don’t need to bathe your baby every day. Washing them 2-3 times per week is more than enough to keep them lovely and clean.
The reason that you don’t need to be washing them daily is because when they are a newborn their skin is very delicate and gentle. A baby’s skin is 30% thinner than adult skin which emphasises why you don’t want to overwork or damage their precious skin at a young age. There have also been various studies to suggest that bathing your baby everyday can cause skin problems such as eczema.
Instead of washing your newborn in a bath everyday you may prefer to wash them separately using a method called topping and tailing whereby you wash their face, neck, hands and bottom carefully instead.
When your baby is a little bit older there is absolutely no reason that you can’t wash your baby every day if they love bath time! Bath time becomes a daily ritual for baby that they will grow to love and there is certainly nothing wrong with that, it’s a perfect time for bonding with their parents too.
Don’t forget, it is whatever works best for YOU and your baby. Focus on your baby’s needs and act accordingly, parenting is new to all of us and you’ll find what works best for you when you get your gorgeous newborn home! Enjoy every second of it!
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