Bathing Too Much or Too Little

Every other day...in my opinion, that is WAY too much. I bathed my babies about once a week. Babies just don't get dirty enough to need a bath that often. If they spit up a lot, they may need a wipe down every couple of days, but I wouldn't use more than a tiny drop of baby wash. To be honest, I was so busy with two kids under the age of 2 that my second probably got a bath every 10 days or so.

I never used lotions on my babies' skin. I don't like the perfumy odor of the commerical brands. If I had to choose a moisterizer, I'd probably go with Burt's Bees or California Baby or something chemical free.

Hi L.,

I have a 2 yo girl and a 1 yo boy.
I bathed them both DAILY from the beggining so they would get a good sens of their schedule. They both started sleeping through the night far earlier than most kids I know.

I often soaked them in warm water and massaged their head without using any soap. I also used very mild soaps like mustela. I also sometimes just soaked them in an oatmeal bath from aveeno.

They don't have to have their hair and bodies washed so often at this age since they do sweat but don't really get dirty.

I did it and still do it - everyday - even if I don't "wash" them because it is a great source of relaxation.

If her little skin seems a little dry, don't use soap, or use very mild soap.
You can also just bathe her with a little bit of baby oil at the end to moisturize her, I put it while they're still in the water. :)

I'm not sure if the bathing frequency is the issue. You may need to change your soap. My daughter's skin dries out very easily. So much so that when she was an infant we had to use Head N' Shoulders on her hair and Johnson and Johnson moisturizing baby wash instead of the regular Johnson and Johnson baby wash. Thankfully, her head isn't dry like it was back then so now we just use regular baby shampoo now. But her skin still dries out very easily so we still use the Johnson and Johnson moisturizing baby wash...and in the colder months, I apply lotion/cream separately. I have fair skin, my husband has fair skin and naturally our daughter has fair skin...so we just have to apply lotion regularly...that's all :-)

I did every three days, with a warm wash cloth wipe down on the off days and lotion every night. I use Aveeno Bsby lotion unscented. As much as I love the smell of some baby lotions, I think they have too much perfume and aren't all that beneficial. I also may pt a bit of vaseline on her arms or legs. If I notice a dry patch, Iuse Aquaphor.

I gave mine once a week until older and actually getting dirty becasue of dry skin.... kept bottom area pretty clean though.

When my daughter was born last Dec she had trouble with dry skin too. Our doctor told us to just give her a bath every third day. And, he suggested using Eucirine Auquaphor lotion. It's more lot like vasiline than lotion and it only takes a little. It helped her a lot though! Good luck!

I think that probably is too much. My Ped. said once a week if not once every two weeks for a newborn. They are not really doing anything to need a bath. As long as your keep their bottom clean and so forth your little one should be good to go for a once a week bath.
M. T

Congratulations on your precious baby girl!! I have bathed my children every day since the day they were born. In the winter months, I use lotion on them as well so they don't get dried out. My daughter is one year old today, and she's squeaky clean!!!

You probably don't need to bathe her that often, but also, here's a great soap to try:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15741535

It's wonderfully mild and should really help. Also, you might try using a few drops of pure almond oil (you can get it at health food stores) for a massage after bath--that is a really good way to keep your baby's skin from getting dry. There are so many bad ingredients in lots of commercial soaps and lotions, but these two things are very pure, and shouldn't irritate, and should help.

I also like Burt's Bees shampoo bar for the baby. Good luck!

really every other day or even every 2 days is ok i gave my son a bath every other day but i didnt use baby wash on him(it dries their skin) just plain water and a rag believe me its all they need!!!

Have you tried fragrance free soaps? We use Aveeno fragrance free and it has helped with my son's dry skin.

When i brought each one of my four sons home from the hospital they told me never more then 1 bath per week until the age of 6 or 7 months. There skin is way to sensitive. I think you should cut way back

Little tiny babies don't really get all that 'dirty,' actually, I'd bathe my son every four or five days. You could just rinse her butt off to get the poop residue off and don't worry too much about the rest of her body, esp. since her skin is dry. Good luck!

Hi L.. I have a 5 month old daughter and her Doctor told me that newborns only need baths every 3 to 4 days. I thought that it didn't seem like enough until the Doctor explained to me that babies skin is VERY sensitive and they aren't crawling yet so there is no reason to stress or dry it out more than what it is already prone to. Another thing I learned is that you shouldn't use lotions on the baby until they are about 3-4 months so that it doesn't clog the pores. I now give my baby a bath every other night, to every night if needed and use night time lotions. Her skin is smooth, moisturized and clear. Hope this helps you out!! Good luck!!!
S. W.

I was always told that a baby that young shouldn't be bathed but every 3 to 4 days because their skin is so sensitive and can dry out easily. Plus I always did bathtime before bed and massaged them with lotion it helps to put them to sleep a little easier.

my son has very dry skin he's 7 now but i used to bath him every other day in the summer and then every third day in the winter and use a baby lotion. even now once it gets cold and we turn the heat on i only bath them every other day and they use a lotion, and we've never had a problem with say body odor or anything like that if that is your concern. at such a young age as long as you are keeping the diaper area clean and the folds around the neck, i've seen kids get nasty rashes from drool and formula building up there, then you should be more than ok spacing out baths.

I would check with your pediatrician. I do recommend California Baby very sensitive shampoo and body wash (all one product), as it is free of sodium laureth sulfate, fragrance, and other potentially harmful and harsh chemicals. It is more expensive than average but is so gentle and concentrated, so it lasts a long time. They also make lotions and other products. Target carries some of them. Also check health food stores and online. Every other day seems reasonable, although I remember just giving my newborn a sponge bath on her changing table till the umbilical cord fell off. Good luck!

My doctor and nurses told me that every 2 or 3 days was all she needed when my daughter was born. If she had a accident or got extra messy then I would adjust for that. Once we were outside a lot and she became more active then I did every day or every other day. Now she is 1 1/2 and takes a bath or showers with me everyday.

It's not necessary to bathe your newborn every other day. Use baby lotion on her dry skin and try baths every 3-4 days instead. They dont' do anything to get "dirty", except in their diapers, so just make sure diaper area is clean.

Hi L., you can bathe a newborn every day. After the bath dry your baby then put lotion on the baby's skin all over except for the eyes of course. Warm it up in your hand for a fer minutes first. ( I like baby magic the best, but there are others to choose from. This will help put moisture back in your baby's skin & make baby smell good too.
Enjoy your sweet little baby!!

L.

I've heard not to use soap at that age. If you want to bathe them, every other day is fine, but don't worry about using soap, use it only use it on occasion when needed.
I don't agree with the advice not to bathe them daily until 6-7 months. Bathing babies as part of a daily bedtime routine helps soothe them and the natural calming that comes after a bath helps them sleep great. Why wouldn't someone want to take advantage of this natural way to help a baby sleep?

You may consider taking it 2-3 days out to see if her dry skin improves. Sometimes newborns get stinky neck from feeding, but all you would need to do is clean that with a washcloth instead of giving a full bath.

All my best,
D.

We bathed our child every other day. He had really dry skin, so every night he would get a nice lotion massage. I like to think he found it relaxing (I know if I got a massage every night before I went to sleep, I'd be in heaven!). Make the lotion massage part of the routine if you're worried about the dry skin.

Yes, every other day is good. Just put on some lotion right after the bath and maybe again in the morning if the baths are at night.

I usually wiped my kids down every morning with a wash rag but I only bathed them about every 3 days unless there was major spit up or blow outs !

I only bathed my babies about every other day till they were three months old. At three months I was told that's when they start recognizing schedules.
I hope this helps.
A.

I give my 7 week old a bath 1-2 x per week.
Of course, I wash him down and lotion him up more often than that, but yes I believe every other day could very easily dry their skin out.
My first one has eczema, so I have always been a little careful with dry skin issues =)

Our Ped. told us you don't need to bathe a newborn more than once a week - less if their skin is dry and/or irritable. My son had eczema and we only gave him quick baths once every other week or so. As long as she's not getting dirty, there's not much reason to do more than wipe her down with a wet wipe in creases of skin like neck and rolls on her legs. Some people do it every night as part of the bedtime ritual, but my son would have been one big red blotch if we had done that:( Lotion and oil just made it worse. The only thing that didn't irritate his eczema was purlan!

I bathed my children daily and used baby magic, johnson's baby lotion, etc., on them. Water alone can dry out your skin, add soap, bath gel, whatever and it can dry it out more. Cleanliness is very important to keep the germs and bacteria that just float around and attach to our skin and hair from transferring into our systems so I wouldn't say you are bathing your baby too often. I would just make sure to remember to put lotion, oil, cream back into the skin to keep it soft and moist.

my dermatologist suggested using cetaphil to clean the skin, and just wipe it off with a washcloth, rather than soaking in water.

I did every 2 days as a newborn. They dont need to be bathed that much. Their skin is very dry and sensitive at this stage. I hated waiting but it worked better for his skin.

My daughter was getting dry skin when she was a newborn & the Dr. told me not to use water based lotion & to only bathe her a couple times a week. She suggested we use Aveeno lotion. Not all Aveeno is made the same so check the ingredients... the Aveeno Baby in Lavender scent is great. My daughter is 2 & I still use it on her & we keep the dry patches away.

Good Morning L.. I think every other day is fine for a new baby. I would put lotion on her after every bath and maybe another time during the day to give her skin some more moisture. Congrats on your new baby.

Hi L., are you putting baby lotion on her every time after you give her a bath? I know that kept my babies skin from being dry. I remember as I was putting on the lotion I would give them a light massage as I was applying it to their body and they would always take a nap afterward because they were so relaxed. I gave my babies baths everyday and their skin wasn't dry so your not bathing her too much. I really miss having a baby. I better not let my husband hear me say that. lol
Well, I hope this helps. Take care and I hope you figure out whats causing the dryness.
L. M

Every 2nd or 3rd day I think is fine. Babies and little kids sometimes don't have much oils or dirt accumulating. I kind of gauge it by whether they had an accident, spit-up on their clothes or became dusty from being outdoors.

My little guys always had fairly dry skin as well. I have used shea butter, cocoa butter, tea tree oils, oatmeal lotions, anti-itch and calming lotions like Aveeno. It's best to put lotions and oils on within 5 minutes after baths. That helps seal in the moisture from the bath. Sometimes I put on lotions and oils everyday when they are really dry, but I always use them after baths. My kids have slightly darker pigment, so the ashy-ness shows up a bit. Plus, it reduces the itching from normal dryness or eczema.

I have also used bath soaps with moisturizers in them for their baths such as Dove and Caress. Cheaper soaps like Tone have moisturizers in them such as the shea butter, cocoa butter and skin conditioners as well.

our ped. told us every 2-3 days especially when you are washing the really dirty parts every time you change there diaper.

I have heard that every other day and even every three days is okay. I have a 2 month old and even the hospital confirmed this and said every day is too much.

Of course if they get dirty or spit up all the time you may have to increase it time to time.

Hope that helps!

I am a medical assistant and actually work in pediatrics. they advise that you should bathe about every 3rd day. Until they start moving around more, like crawling and such, then maybe about everyother day would be fine.

giving a bath every other day is fine for their skin (or we even do it every night for our two daughters, ages 2 & 6 weeks). we don't wash them every night, though, just let them soak in the water...which will hydrate their skin, if you get a lotion on them soon after getting out of the water b/c that will block the moisture in. this was recommended by our ped & our daughter's skin became less dry once we started this daily routine, including a bath. we use a johnson & johnson lavender lotion & soap & sometimes aquaphor where it seems to be getting dry (we have terrible, rashy skin!). i know it seems to go against what most say, but this has really helped our daughter's dry skin problem.
congrats on your new little one!

My daughter is 4 weeks old today. I am bathing her once a week and even that is drying her skin out. I just can't put enough lotion on her. I would just use a wipe around her neck or where you need to clean from spit up/milk drippings.

I bathed my girl every time her hair got dirty looking, she was born with a lot. Perhaps ever third day or so? She's 2 now so it's hard to remember. Baby lotion is a good idea too, also a good excuse to give your baby a long loving rub down. To this day my girl will very willingly bring me the lotion and lay on the floor for me. Good luck!

If her skin is dry I'd cut back. You can "top and tail" her when she needs it, that is, do her face and neck with plain water on a washcloth, and her diaper area with a wipe. You could add a nice massage with some lotion to her daily routine as well.

L....Bathing every other day is not too much. Do you use a baby oil after her baths? Do you use ivory soap? Her skin shouldn't be dry if you "oil her down".