Question About Baths and Lotion

I never got involved in lotions. My kids didn't need perfumes and chemicals on their skin. I didn't use "baby bath" and "baby lotion." I did bathe them almost every night, but I didnt always use soap on the younger one, who had eczema. I used a fragrance free soap when bathing them and when the eczema child was having a flareup, we used Aquaphor on that.

I found there was nothing more amazing than the smell of a baby, so I could never cover that up with a scented lotion or soap. I also feel that daily baths are to drying and unnecessary. So, no I did baths twice per week with unscented chemical free lotions and soaps.

At that age, we did not do baths every day because baby wasn't dirty. She didn't have any skin conditions, but her pediatrician said that it just wasn't needed and would dry out her skin. We also didn't use any lotions, especially those that had fragrance.

Not at all overkill. It is relaxing and bonding for you and your baby. Sounds like hubby is impatient for his turn with you, which is also normal. Tell him to chill out and let you enjoy your baby. He'll get his turn.

I only bathe my baby every few days. The natural oils in her skin keep her looking fresh and radiant. I notice that when I bathe and moisturize her (with CA baby unscented wash and coconut or olive oil), she doesn't looks as glowy and radiant. I'm a big believer in allowing our bodies to care for themselves. I don't like the idea of stripping away my body's natural oils and replacing it with something from a bottle, natural or not. Because of this, I only bathe her when I need to. When she gets really dirty. And when I do, I prefer to use plain water and only a little soap for the creases and crevices. HTH.

Another thing to keep in mind is this: Natural or not, the lavendar lotion is fragranced. Babies' sense of smell is one of their most powerful senses. It's how they identify mom early on, it's how they find the breast at night when it's dark, it's how they know where they are and who is holding them. Try offering your baby a freshly washed blanket and a blanket you've slept with overnight. She'll almost certainly choose the one that you slept with. By rubbing her down with scented lotion, it makes it more difficult to use her sense of smell to effectively find comfort in familiar people and things.

I fully agree with M. and Suz. Neither of my kids had any skin issues and my ped told us to bathe every few days. After my kids could stand, we switched to showers. I personally think baths are gross. You are laying in the dirt you just soaked off. On the rare occasion I take a bath, I always shower after and so do my kids. As far as lotion goes, I still don't put any on my kids. All those toxins are not good. Lotion can clog pores too depending on what kind it is. Then it will force you to "have" to use it in order to replenish the moisture in your baby's skin. My kids are 6 and 3, never lotioned and still super soft.

We did this when our son was a baby. He loved his "massage" and it was a nice part of his routine. If your husband is worried about fragrance or chemicals, you could try coconut oil instead of lotion. But routine wise -- not overkill at all!

Not overkill. I bathed my babies every night, not becuase of dirtiness, but because the whole thing becomes a routine and a trigger for sleep. Especially the smells. I used lavender lotion as well because I think it is a soothing smell. Any smell that you use all the time will trigger the sense memory... so they smell the lotions, feel the clean soft jammies,feel warm from the bath and ahhhh they are ready for sleep. So far I've been lucky with my babies going to bed easily. I think the nightly bath is a big contributing factor.

i don't think it will hurt a 7 month old baby to get bathed daily, especially if she has healthy skin. i'd go easy on the scented lotion, though. a little from time to time won't hurt most babies, but really, clean baby is such a glorious scent, why cover it up with chemicals? and too much *product* on their biggest organ is generally not a good idea. if you want a little moisturizer, a little unrefined coconut oil, almond oil or olive oil is probably better than commercial lotions which are mostly water, petroleum and fragrance.
khairete
S.

Nope, you are not alone. I bathe my baby nightly and she has been getting an all over massage since she was born. When the nurse came into my room to tell me my baby needed a bath, I said, 'Okay, but I'll give her a massage." And LOVE my lavender baby oil for her...it's my favorite time with her, besides every other time I spend with her. : )) Babies love it and it's relaxing, and it's a bonding time for you and your baby. Enjoy these precious moments.

As for a bath every night, when they are newborns, a nightly bath is not really practical because they really don't get "dirty" enough to warrant a bath and then the belly button stump is always an hindrance. A sponge bath every three days is good enough for a newborn but after a month or so, I like to give a nightly bath.. I love a clean sweet smelling baby. : )

At that age a nightly hose down was necessary - between crawling and somehow getting baby food in the darndest places! I didn't use soap every night though since it was too drying for my son's skin.

I did the same, even with my youngest who HATED baths until he turned 2 last year, so about half of his were sponge baths, followed by the nighttime lotion. And once they start crawling and touching everything in sight, a bath is a very good thing.

Tell your husband that the sooner a baby gets into a regular bedtime routine, the easier it is to get her into a regular sleeping pattern, which will be particularly important throughout the next few years ; )

Every other night is sufficient for baths. And lotion whenever you want.

Not an overkill at all..........we have given our little one a bath daily since he was 3 months old. He had sensitive skin so we could only use cetaphil
Lotion. He now bathes every morning and we also have a nighttime rituAl with lotion and bedtime clothes!

We bathed our daughter every second night from the get go unless otherwise needed. But yes even to this day (she is 2 yrs old) we still give her a bath every second night and I cover her from head to toe in Johnson and Johnsons nighttime cream. I know after I have a bath or shower that I like the feeling of lotion all over so that my skin feels nice and in the cold winter months ts even worse so why wouldnt or shouldnt my daughter get the same?

I did that w/ my first. It was just a nice part of our day.
Enjoy your special time together. :)

we used to rotate between full bath and washcloth wipe down.
now that my kids are older (5+) we've been doing nightly showers.

We bathe our 4-year-old every night and have since he was two months old. He had mild eczema and our ped told us to bathe him nightly and put on cetaphil lotion immediately out of the bath - skin toweled off but still damp. Now it's just put of his bedtime routine. And we still slather him up while he's damp. :)

I love lotions because little ones can't produce their own body oils! When my 6 year old was a baby I bathed her everyday...now I realized that was too much for her skin since no matter how much lotion I put on her after her baths her skin would get dry. Now I have a 5 week old and I bathe her every 3 days like her Dr. suggested and I don't have that problem with her anymore!

I think that babies need routine, I did this with both my kids and always put lotion on them. They are now 2 and 4 years old and we still give them baths and lotion them everyday for the most part. Babies need routine, keep it up. :)

At that age I only bathed my little man every few days. Water and soap can be drying to the skin, but everyone is different. I am against the lavender lotion, but I am from a family with a history of breathing problems. My nephews often had the croup and my sister finally read on her bottle of lavendar lotion that it shouldn't be used if any breathing problems exist. She had never heard that before. I just learned from someone elses experience. It's all a personal preference though. That time is precious and if your little one is good with it... go with it. Maybe your hubby is just jealous since he's not getting the bath!!!

i always gave my babies baths nightly until they were around two... now its tapored off some... but i think nightly baths helps them relax, i mean its normal for adults to take a daily bath, right? so why is it wrong for kids?

No lotion, my son's skin didn't need it.

Yes... baths every night. It was part of our wind down ritual.

Occasionally in the daytime as well. Poop from bum to nape of neck, for SURE it's bathtime! As he got older (6mo/7mo) some baths were just fun time. I didn't have a bathrub when he was little, but I had a big toy bucket with rope handles. I'd half fill it with warm water and bubbles and I'd drag it and him room to room with me while I cleaned/ read/ etc. Water baby! On those days, we STILL did a bath at bedtime.

Some people have very dry skin, or dry skinned babies and will SCREAM not to bathe your child every day/ say you shouldn't/ no one should, etc.. Thing is, that applies for THEIR kids... but not everyone's kids. But people with dry skin tend to forget that :)

We never bathed our son that often, but mostly because bathing too often would dry out my son's skin really badly, and lotion didn't help at all. If it works for you and doesn't bother her, go for it, but it is not necessary.