When should I start using soap and shampoo on my baby?

Darci - posted on 09/12/2011

yes use soap. Babies spit up and are pooping, sometimes the poops explodes and goes up the back. Why would you never soap your child that is crazy to me. Babies dont need to be soaped down every day of course, but twice a week is good. I give my kids baths everyday since they were 2 months old. I like to give them a bath before bed. It sets a schedule and lets them know its time to relax and get ready for bed. I of course dont soap them down every day. Although I do think you should be soaping down the areas that need it every bath like their bums and hands and neck. wiping off their face with just a wet wash cloth. My 5 month old is always puking on himself getting it in that neck area. He would just smell like puke if I didnt clean that every bath. You could just shampoo their hair like once a week. Although I like to shampoo their hair every other bath time. But its really not that necessary, once a week on shampoo is sufficient.

Ashley - posted on 09/08/2011

I like to shower everyday so i bathe my kids everyday and have since they came home from the hospital. I used soap on them from day one everyday and washed their hair every 2nd day. After their bath i put baby powder on them as well. To me anyways they are pooping and peeing and their bums get dirty. Even with wipes i still felt they needed that bath everyday. They are 2 and 3 and both get bathed everynight and hair washed every 2nd night. Especially at the ages now where they are outside playing the get more dirty than i do. As babies they still get dirty from spitting up and even just sweating. I guess it's however you want to do it but i know myself i wouldnt do it any other way.

Kristy - posted on 09/06/2011

This is all very interesting to me. I have a 11 month old and 4 year old. We do bath every other night for the four year old and everyother to every three for my son. I didn't realize that there was a science to any of it. We just kinda fell into the routine of every other night or when we have time. The only thing I can say we asked the doctor about with my daughters dry spots and he recommended regular Dove unscented soap and that seems to solve the problem and it has never come back.

Stifler's - posted on 09/06/2011

It's bad for your hair, makes it frizzy and yuk.

Julianne - posted on 09/06/2011

Yea, i use to get hot hot showers too. Then i found out how bad it actually is.
http://www.ineedmotivation.com/blog/2008...

Laura Zoey - posted on 09/06/2011

Ooh I love hot hot water :) maybe I should tone it down, not wanting wrinkles too soon!

Julianne - posted on 09/06/2011

Yea, I read washing with soap daily, especially with water that's hot enough to make your skin flush, causes wrinkles and a lot of skin damage.

Stifler's - posted on 09/06/2011

And we didn't shower the residents at the home every day for that reason, it's bad for their skin to do it every day. I never use bar soap either never have in my whole life, always body wash.

Stifler's - posted on 09/06/2011

I only ever bath Renae every 3 days max and just wipe her down with a washer she is always throwing up too and if I was paranoid about germs I'd be bathing her every 5 minutes. Logan gets dirty from playing outside so he has a bath almost every day.

Julianne - posted on 09/06/2011

They teach you in the hospital and baby care classes that your not suppose to bathe a baby everyday because natural oils are suppose to be on the skin to keep it healthy.

Teresa - posted on 09/06/2011

My son, at 3.5, gets a bath every day to rinse off sweat and stuff, but we only use shampoo 1-4 times/week and soap 1-7 times/week depending on his level of filth. He's almost never sick....

Katherine - posted on 09/06/2011

no cradle cap here, other the one tiny spot less then the size of a dime...a bit of baby oil and daily baths and nothing!! no exema either

too each their own

when in the hospital i asked how often i should bath my babe and the nurse told me it was up to me, some ppl do it daily, twice daily, weekly, a couple of times a week etc, it's all up to the parents

Laura Zoey - posted on 09/06/2011

Well my son was washed with soap in the hospital and he got cradle cap, my daughter didn't even get water on her head for two weeks and her cradle cap was less then my sons. I don't think teaching hygiene happens for a few years tho :) my dr said once a week is great. That's what he recommends to all parents.

Rosemary - posted on 09/06/2011

have you asked a pediatrician about this? cuz sometimes its just to hear input from someone in the medical field.
a co worker of my kids' dad said that by not bathing the child is keeping the child from not getting sick. but that hasnt been the case in my home. i barely bathe my son and he's always sick.
just cuz your baby doesnt have hair doesnt mean you shouldnt clean it. its to keep the baby from getting cradle cap. thats why you Should do it. its even mentioned in pregnancy books, mags and your pediatrician should tell ya that too. when i had gloria, she always had baths but then again she had cradle cap ( due to not being cleaned in the hospital) and she also was orangy. i cant think of what its called right now. so she always had baths. but they didnt become well into the ritual until she was a couple of months old. i did wash her down. and you have to remember that by giving them baths is also teaching them about hygiene.
so my opinion is to speak with a pediatrician and ask for that person's opinion. that should help because that person can list all medical reasons for why and why not to do it.

Julianne - posted on 09/06/2011

The less products you use, the better. When you start using soap your best bet is to go with something that does not have SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate). Its really bad for skin, especially if eczema runs in the family. I quit buying SLS based soaps and i dont get regular breakouts. I just get a touch of it in the winter.
Gabby still only gets bathed once a week. She will be two in December. I only use soap on her if the water doesn't wash off the dirt. The amount of chemicals used to treat tap water is enough to kill any germs as it is.

Laura Zoey - posted on 09/06/2011

I only bathe the kids once a week or so. Whenever erics hair looks dirty or whenever timing works with Fierna. She always smells of spit up with the reflux so I'd be bathing her a few times a day if I did it very time she smelled of spit up :)

Katherine - posted on 09/06/2011

I think it all depends on the family and babe. I bath my son every night (if able to) and I use bubbles in the tub, lather him up and use shampoo, every night!!! We also use cream every night, it's part of our routine.

Stifler's - posted on 09/04/2011

I put baby wash in the water and just wipe Logan down with a washer and shampoo his hair and let him soak even at 18 months I never lather either of the kids up with soap. I hardly ever shampoo Renae's hair either and she's 3 months.

Teresa - posted on 09/04/2011

My opinion is that if she's not dirty or smelly... do what you want. ;)