Sponge Bath Your Baby – Every Thing You Want To Know

1. Wash your hands thoroughly before bathing your baby. Infants are highly prone to infections, hence washing your hands before touching a baby is crucial
2. Irrespective of the weather, always use lukewarm water to wash or bathe your baby. Cold water can give your baby the flu or cold
3. While handling and bathing your baby make sure that you are gentle. Babies don’t need to be scrubbed since they don’t get dirty. Also, they have sensitive skin and their body needs to be handled delicately
4. Always use mild shampoos and soaps. It is recommended that you use shampoos and soaps made specifically for babies. Another thing to keep in mind before purchasing these products is to make sure they are paraben free, alcohol-free, and have no perfume.
5. If your baby is premature, he doesn’t need a bath often. Premature babies have extra dry skin and bathing them regularly can damage their skin and cause irritation
6. Make sure you don’t take a long time to bathe your baby, your baby might catch cold if exposed to water for a long time. If you are sponge bathing your baby in a room, ensure that it is comfortably warm
7. It is a good practice to use separate washcloths for each area such as one for the bottom, one for the head, one for those tiny weeny legs, and one for the face

10 Steps To Sponge Bath Your Baby Easily

Sponge bathing is a pretty simple technique to keep your baby clean and fresh. We bring you 10 steps that will make sponge bathing your baby super easy.

Step 1: Select Area

Sponge bathing can be done anywhere, just make sure the area is spacious and not cramped and the room in which you are sponge bathing needs to be slightly warm

Step 2: Keep This On Reach

Bring out all the things you might need like soap, washcloth, sponge, soft towel, clothes, diaper, cotton pads, etc, and keep them together. You cannot be running to get things while leaving your baby unattended

Step 3: Check Water Temperature

Lay your baby on a flat and clean surface, preferably on a soft mat (durrie or chatai). And keep the bucket of lukewarm water close by. Make sure to check the water temperature before bathing your baby. Always, always keep one hand on your baby. Let your hand act as a safety belt for the baby

Step 4: Make Use Of Cotton Pads

Moisten the cotton pads and gently clean your baby’s eyes with them. Even if there are stubborn specks stuck in the eyes, use a gentle hand to take them out. Then take cotton pads or a wet washcloth and wipe your baby’s face, neck, and ears. Make sure you do not insert anything in the nose or ears just wipe the ear lobes and nose gently

Step 5: Using Sponge

Moisten another washcloth or sponge and wipe down your baby’s limbs. Make sure to clean between the finger webs, toes, and elbow and knee creases. Also, make sure you wipe down the armpits as well. These folds of the skin are often sweaty and dirty and easy to miss out

Step 6: Wiping Torso

Take a fresh wet washcloth and gently wipe down your baby’s torso. After sponging the front part, that is, the shoulders, chest, and stomach gently turn the baby and wipe down the back as well

Step 7: Wiping Genitals

Take some clean and fresh cotton balls or pads and moisten them. Very gently wipe down the baby’s genitals and bottom, but only from the outside. If your baby boy has been circumcised you need to be extra careful. Don’t push the foreskin and just clean the surface gently

Step 8: Wiping Umbilical Stump

Take another fresh cotton ball and clean the umbilical stump lightly and gently. It is advisable to consult a doctor, he or she will guide you accurately on how the umbilical stump needs to be cleaned. Click here to read on taking care of the baby’s umbilical stump.

Step 9: Hair Wash

If you want to wash your baby’s hair while sponge bathing. You can pour a little lukewarm water on your baby’s head and massage gently. You also use a mild shampoo if you wish, but dilute the shampoo with water. Apply the diluted shampoo and rinse your baby’s head with minimal water until it is thoroughly clean.

Be extra careful while massaging the fontanels or the soft spots on the baby’s head and make sure you don’t apply pressure on them. Read more on soft spots on your baby’s head here.

Step 10: Drying

Once you are done sponge bathing your baby. Take a fresh, soft towel and dry your baby. Make sure you wipe the underarms, inner thighs, neck, etc., thoroughly, but gently. If your baby’s skin feels dry you can apply a mild baby cream and if the weather is warm you can dab some baby powder on your baby before putting on the clothes and you are done.

If you have a maalishwali who is bathing the baby, it might be a good idea to keep a watch on her so that she does not apply too much pressure and cleans the folds of the skin which generally are sweaty and go unnoticed.

Is it safe to use baby powder for your baby? Find out here.