Tips for Bathing Your Newborn After Their First Bath: How Often and Best Practices

Just like any topic that has to do with caring for a newborn or any child for that matter, the topic of bathing has lots of intricacies and best practices, often with competing schools of thought. In today’s article, we’re going to help deliver a clear and concise set of tips that is designed to help put parents of newborns or expecting parents at ease at least when it comes to this area. Please feel free to share your tips or experiences in the comments! 

When Should You Give Your Baby Their First Bath?

We’re just going to briefly touch on this, but it bears mentioning that you should wait between 24 and 36 hours after the baby has been born to give it its first bath. This helps preserve the natural skin protectants that are covering the baby and helps to not add too many new stressors during those hectic first hours of life outside the womb. If parents prefer to wait longer, there is not harm in doing this. I’ve personally had some families practicing cultural traditions wait up to 30 days for a full bath for baby.

After Their First Bath, How Often Should You Bathe a Newborn?

While the same isn’t true for adults, however, “less is more” when it comes to bathing newborns. They don’t produce sweat like grownups do, so there is less reason for frequent full body cleaning. They don’t need daily baths, but it is a good best practice to spot clean them as necessary. 

• Newborns don’t need daily baths
• Between baths, it is recommended that you use a warm, damp cloth for a quick “sponge bath” style of cleaning
• Make sure to get their face, hands, feet, armpit and neck folds as well as the diaper areas
• For the first few weeks, try to bathe them no more than 2 to 3 times per week
• When to bathe more often: if they are experiencing excessive spit-ups, blowouts, or other issues in which they may be getting dirtier than normal

Common Bathing Mistakes to Avoid

If you’re worried about making a mistake when bathing your baby, don’t fret, you’re in good company! We all have those worries and it is perfectly normal. Here are some quick tips to help you through it.

• Be very mindful of the water temperature. Babies don’t like to be cold, but you don’t need hot water. Ideal temp is 99-100 degrees.
• Don’t bathe too frequently! If you notice their skin is getting dry or irritated, then you may be bathing too often.
• Don’t use bathing products for adults. Make sure all of your shampoos and soaps are specifically made for babies. They will be gentler and geared toward the optimal strength for their sensitive skin. You can skip these every other bath and just use water.
• Always make sure their head is fully supported and never submerged.

Before You Go

We hope you enjoyed learning about tips for bathing your newborn. If you would like to know more about this, our sleep learning, consulting or training programs or any of our excellent newborn care services or overnight newborn support, we are happy to help. Just contact us and we can go over your options and help you find the best path for your little one. We hope these tips have helped you along your journey. If you have any questions about helping your baby to sleep better, or about your baby in general, please reach out to us HERE. We are experts in all things baby and sleep and would love to help!

Katie B.

Expertise You Need:

• Certified Master Pediatric Sleep Consultant
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• Board Certified Holistic Healthcare Practitioner
• 16 years professional childcare experience
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