Baby's First Bath

Giving Baby their first bath is a daunting task for some. How much water do you fill the bath with? Hot hot should the water be? Which bubble bath should you use? So many questions. Plus, foremost, you'll be sitting your baby in the water. That's scary enough all by itself.

The best advice that I could give is to not freak out. Unless you're totally careless, nothing will go wrong. The water should be 37c and you only need to use a small amount of bubble bath. You can't go wrong with any of the Johnson & Johnson products but if you have the opportunity to get some Aveeno Baby Wash & Shampoo, do. The stuff is fantastic but unfortunately only available in the US. Don't fill the bath too high. About 3" in probably fine but you may want to go a bit less depending on the size of your baby.

Getting the temperature right is very important. We have the Philips Avent Bath & Room Thermometer. It goes from your nursery straight into the bath and will float on the surface as the bath fills allowing you to easily read the changing temperature. I would definitely recommend it. It's completely reliable and feels sturdy to use. It has a rubberised surround too so if it accidentally falls you won't break it.

When using a baby bath you can generally support your baby in your whole submerged arm but when you move up to the full bath you do need to use a technique. Sit beside the bath. Put your baby on its butt in the bath. Put one arm around baby's back and hold their arm or leg with that hand. By allowing baby to lie back against your arm, they will be snug and secure.

Make sure to have a towel ready beside the bath too before baby gets in. We generally let Beckett have a bit of a splish splash and have a few rubber ducks for him to play with. Do keep an eye on the water temperature though as it will drop fast enough. Meaning, you really need to get baby washed and then out and into clothes. We use a muslin cloth rather than a sponge for softness.

That's really that. All going to plan you shouldn't have any problems. If you do experience any 'surprises' though, and it will happen at some point, just stay calm. Quickly finish washing baby and get them out of the water. No fuss.