Duration: 5:03
Detailing on bathing from Royal Women's Hospital.
00:00a warm bath for baby everyday is great00:03for your baby and for parents it's a00:06great way to bond with your baby bathing00:09baby isn't hard00:10in fact it's fun following the tips in00:14this video from the Royal Women's00:15Hospital will help you make baby's bath00:17safe and help you look after baby's skin00:20including protecting baby's skin from00:23allergies let's start with getting ready00:26[Music]00:35wit babies get cold quickly before you00:38undress baby make sure the room is nice00:41and warm you'll need things within arm's00:43reach like a gentle baby wash washcloth00:47or sponge cotton wool for baby's eyes00:50and a towel your baby will be wet and00:54you'll have wet hands so make sure you00:58have a clear area free of things you01:00might trip on mums and dads quickly01:03develop their own way of doing things at01:05bath time it's time to undress baby you01:15are going to wash baby's face and head01:17first so undress baby and wrap snugly in01:21a towel but leave the nappy on for now01:25you'll need to leave baby in someone's01:27hands while you get the bath ready or01:30put baby in a safe place where they01:32cannot fall like a change mat or a cot01:35babies feel safe when they're wrapped up01:38and warm and with their arms wrapped up01:41snugly you'll find baby easy to hold to01:45the water for the bath needs to be warm01:48but not too hot a baby bath thermometer01:51is handy but it's not essential it's01:55safe and easy to just use your wrist or01:57elbow adults hands are used to hot water02:01that's why we use a wrist or elbow to02:04test the temperature and be sure it is02:06just right for baby for baby's first02:09bath just use plain warm water after02:13that you can use baby bath liquid but02:16don't add it just yet the first thing to02:20clean is baby's eyes and you can do this02:23while holding baby or whilst lying on02:26the mat cotton wool balls are easy and02:28gentle but you can also use the corner02:31of a soft face cloth remember the bath02:35only has plain water for cleaning the02:37eyes wipe the eyes from the inside02:40towards the outside to stop any eye02:44infection spreading you02:46is a different cotton wool ball or a02:47different corner of the face cloth for02:50each eye - wipes each time with a new02:53cotton ball or a new corner of the face02:55cloth is enough for most sticky eyes but02:58if sticky eyes have really hard to clean03:00you should check with your Midwife GP or03:03maternal child health nurse now wash the03:08rest of your baby's face with cotton03:10wool balls your face washer or sponge03:13dry the face with an edge of your towel03:16or dry cotton wool if it isn't baby's03:20very first bath you can now add some03:23gentle baby bath liquid to the water03:25make sure baby is snugly wrapped in the03:28towel and hold their head over the bath03:30water with your hand or a sponge gently03:34pour water over baby's head if your baby03:38is a few days old and still has some03:40spots of dry blood gently use some03:43cotton wool babies have a soft spot on03:46the top of their heads called a fontanel03:49be gentle over this area the fontanel03:53will slowly close as your baby grows it03:55should be in line with their scalp and03:57be neither too sunken nor too full if04:00you're worried about your baby's04:02fontanel speak to your Midwife GP or04:05maternal child health nurse fold up the04:09tails hood or folded edge and dry baby's04:11head and hair will babies lose a lot of04:14heat from their heads so don't leave04:17them wet for long unwrapped baby from04:19the towel and remove the nappy giving04:22their bottom a clean if you need to with04:25disposable wipes such as chucks already04:27wipes or cotton wool and water rather04:30than commercial baby wipes because baby04:33girls have a shorter tube to their04:35bladder or urethra they can get bladder04:38infections more easily so clean baby04:42girls from front to back and of course04:45taking off a nappy can often be the time04:47babies do away so watch out for baby04:50boys wean upwards you can clean most of04:54baby before the bus and then clean the04:56rest once they're in the water04:58[Music]