Baby bath ??

[keelie_b]

well my grandmas been out and bought me the most gorgeous baby bath i have ever seen, it comes with top and tail bowl, hooded towel, thermometer and temperature guide, a soft little sponge, its gorgeous!!

I just need to know what i do with it ??
What happens with this top and tail bowl? i thought it would come with some sort of instructions but it doesnt and i really dont have a clue what it is????

I hope people are right that this whole looking after a baby stuff comes to you naturally because i really havnt got the foggiest!!

Thanks all xx

 

[daftscotslass]

Basically it has two sections for water - one side for the head end one side for the bum end It's easier not to give ickle newborns a bath at first and just wash the bits that get dirty. I just used a bowl of cooled boiled water and did her face before anything else. We got given a top and tail bowl as a present and it never saw the light of day

And you'll be fine, I promise

 

[Chrissy1]

I was exactly like you and didn't have a clue and trust me it does come naturally.


The top and tail bowl has two bits, one for water for the face and top bits and the other for water for the bottom bits. I have one and I've only used it a few times. I use it if she's done a particularly messy poops in the day rather than giving her a full bath and I sometimes use it in the mornings to give her a wash down just to freshen her up a bit.

I used it more in the first couple of days when I was a bit too scared to give her a bath. Since I've started her daily bath routine it's only been out a few times.

 

[trixipaws]

top and tail bowl: fill both with warm water- one bit is for baby's face, other is for baby's bottom- but i had 3 and tbh they never got used, not both sides anyway i just filled one side and did face first and bum last!

 

[Sherlock]

Never used one as we got a tummy tub or took LO into the bath with us.

Never used a top and tail bowl either. They tend to not be used by lots of Mums when washing baby. But what the others have said about its use. I just used a bowl of warm water (boiled and cooled down) and started with LO's face, neck and hands and then worked down from there. No need for a top and tail bowl.

Bath wise there is no need to bathe your LO in the early days. We waited about 10 days before bathing our son. Until then we topped and tailed him with warm water and cotton wool. Dried him off with a soft flannel.

Bathing a baby just takes a bit of getting used to. Depending on how confident you are you may want to wait till there is someone to help.

I'm sure you'll figure it all out as you go

 

[uncle_bens]

What about giving a baby a bath once he's born? They're covered in stuff

 

[Sherlock]

What about giving a baby a bath once he's born? They're covered in stuff

They are but its not 'dirty', its all natural. My understanding was it was good to let them dry off with a towel and to let their skin have time to get used to air and not bath them as soon as they were born or anytime afterwards. There is no need. Its not a medical requirement and I felt happy not bathing Galen during the days after his birth.

We bathed Galen at 10 days for the first time, he was topped and tailed daily with water and cotton wool but we didn't clean him all over each time. No need.

As it was his skin was lovely and he had that gorgeous baby smell for ages after he was born. Both OH and I loved cuddling him smelling that baby smell.

 

[JoAnn&Aimee]

What about giving a baby a bath once he's born? They're covered in stuff

Aimee was born at 11.15pm, they just wrapped her up in a towel. I was taken to the ward at 2am, at 2.15am a midwife came into the cubicle and told me they were going to take Aimee away to give her a bath. I wanted to go and see it but I was numb from the epidural and had a catheter fitted so I couldn't walk. I was quite upset at missing her very first bath. The first bath I gave her was 4 days later when a midwife showed me how to give her a bath.

As for the top and tail, got one with the baby bath but only used it once. I use it to store her baby lotions and talc in the bathroom now. I found the baby bath to be a bit of a pain to use. Started bathing Aimee in the big bath when she was about 8 weeks old.

 

[Noor~ul~Usman]

Farooq was wiped dry with towels at birth (could still see the odd blood smear in his ears etc) and washed the day after he was born by the midwives who went around the wards giving each mum a demo of how to do it when we got home.

He has a approx 1 bath a week in nothing but pure water (in a baby bath). I only do it more often if he's messed himself and it's leaked out of the nappy and ended up accross his back and tummy

I wipe his face and neck regularly with both baby wipes and warm (boiled) water and cotton wool balls to get off milk dribbles but to be honest I just try and do a good job of wiping his bum every time he gets changed (also with the above items) and so don't 'top and tail' as such

[edit for typo]

 

[lea m]

Aimee was born at 11.15pm, they just wrapped her up in a towel. I was taken to the ward at 2am, at 2.15am a midwife came into the cubicle and told me they were going to take Aimee away to give her a bath. I wanted to go and see it but I was numb from the epidural and had a catheter fitted so I couldn't walk. I was quite upset at missing her very first bath. The first bath I gave her was 4 days later when a midwife showed me how to give her a bath.

Aww thats horrible that they took her away to bathe her!!

 

[Magic Monkey]

We have never used a baby bath or a top and tail bowl! We have a tupperware container that we put water in (never bothered with cool boiled, as they didn't in the hospital) and just cleaned face first.

We gave Ella her first bath the day I left the hospital as they showed us how to do it and then once a week for the first few weeks, since then we do it every other day.

 

[Julie84]

What about giving a baby a bath once he's born? They're covered in stuff

My hospital don't like to bath babies either; just give them a rub down with a clean towel to get them dry and fairly gunk free. The main reason they gave was babies sometimes found it hard to regulate their body temperatures and so bathing was not advised even in warm water on a very warm postnatal ward (although I'm hoping for a homebirth but they won't bath her there either).