How to: Bathe a baby

Got this information from Mami&Baby, Oct 2009 released. pg. 76. For a person who never had any close encounter with bathing a baby before... this comes out EXTREMELY handy !! Oh, by the way.. the article advises that a newborn only needs to be bathe a few times a week and not every day. Quite true if the baby is placed in a well air conditioned room, I supposed ...

Steps:

1. Locate a place which is not too cold / not too windy for the bathing process (this is to avoid baby from shivering before.. during and after the bathing process).

2. Filled in basin / baby bath tub with 3/4 of warm water (use own wrist / elbow to check the water temperature).

3. Undress the baby. Wet a small clean towel, rinsed it and wipe baby's whole body (by giving extra attention to clean the baby's back of neck, behind ears, toes and hands). For newborn, normally soap is not a requirement. However, if desired.. have to avoid anti-bacterial soap and foamy shower bath (can cause urinary infection) !! Use a mild shampoo for baby's hair.For newborn, use wet towel to wipe baby's body until the umbilical cord fell off.

4. Use a dry clean towel to dry the baby by light dabbing to avoid skin irritation.

5. Avoid massage lotion / oil which contains petrochemical or mineral base (can cause irritation) !!

6. Avoid using talcum (can cause irritation and cancer) !! Instead.. do regular diaper changes to ensure baby's bottom always clean and dry.