November 2013
67
clean his penis with soap and water
during normal bathing.
The eyes have it
These precious organs need proper
care and good hygiene. Dampen a
cloth or cotton ball with a little bit
of warm water. With the baby’s eyes
closed, gently wipe the eyes from the
inside to the outside corners. Use a
different part of the cloth or a new
cotton ball for each eye.
That new baby smell
Unless your baby’s nose is dirty, you
don’t need to clean it. You don’t have
to clear a stuffy nose either, but it
will probably make it easier for your
baby to breathe, eat and sleep. Get
a rubber bulb
syringe, which
generally works
pretty well. Start
by squirting a
little nasal saline
into your child’s
nose to moisten
and loosen
up the mucus
before you try to
suction it out.
Hear, hear
Simply clean
the outer part of
your baby’s ears
with a cotton
swab moistened with oil or peroxide,
or a washcloth moistened with warm
water during the bath. Never insert
a cotton swab or anything else into
your baby’s ear canal; you could
easily puncture the eardrum that
way. Earwax is nature’s protection
for the ear canal, and there’s usually
no reason to try to get it out of your
baby’s ears. If you’re concerned about
a build-up of earwax, ask your baby’s
doctor about it.
Say, “Ahhh”
To clean your baby’s mouth, wet a
clean cloth or gauze with clean warm
water and then wrap it around your
index finger. Using the cloth, gently try
to remove the white coating or patches
on your baby’s tongue (milk residue)
and gently massage the gums. Clean
regularly and thoroughly, but gently.
Bathing beauties
There’s no need to bathe your baby
every day. Instead, it’s typically OK
to bathe her two to three times per
week – any more often and you risk
drying out her skin. Focus on the
face, hands and nappy area, just
washing the dirty areas.
Because young skin is more
delicate, it’s more susceptible to
becoming dry. To prevent and help
dry skin conditions, cut bath time
down to about ten minutes. Use
warm water – not hot – and soap
up sparingly. Once you take your
child out of the bath, quickly pat
her dry with a towel, and then apply
moisturiser immediately. Applying the
moisturiser within minutes of taking
your child out of the tub will seal in
the moisture from the bath.
Heads up
Don’t wash your baby’s hair every
day – there’s just no need, particularly
with newborns. Aim for a quick
shampoo when you bathe your baby,
which doesn’t need to be more often
than a couple of times a week.
If your baby has cradle cap
– a common, but harmless, scalp
condition that will eventually go away
on its own – then you can massage
your baby’s head with your fingers
and baby shampoo to help loosen
the scales. Do not rub, or you might
irritate the skin. Before you rinse off
the shampoo, brush your baby’s hair
with a soft baby brush to remove the
loose scales.
Baby bits
As a general tip, change your baby’s
nappy as often as possible to avoid
irritating that sensitive skin with
faeces and urine. You can also use a
nappy rash cream to create a moisture
barrier to help prevent nappy rash.
Gently clean the skin with wet
cotton or wipes, from front to back
to avoid spreading germs. Be sure to
gently clean in the folds and creases
of their skin. If your baby boy is
uncircumcised, don’t try to retract the
foreskin. The foreskin may not be able
to retract for several months or even
years, since it takes this long for the
foreskin to separate from the penis. If
your baby boy is newly circumcised,
Aim for a quick
shampoo when
you bathe your
baby, which
doesn’t need to
be more often
than a couple of
times a week.
When teeth erupt, you should
start cleaning the baby’s teeth twice a
day. At first, just use a piece of gauze
moistened with water to wipe plaque
from your baby’s teeth and gums. Once
your baby has several teeth, you might
try using a small toothbrush with just
two or three rows of very soft bristles.
Once your child turns one year, you
can start using a stage one toothpaste.
Tiny talons
The best time to cut baby’s nails is
right after a bath, when the nails are
softest. Use a pair of baby scissors or
clippers made especially for use on
tiny fingers. Press the finger pad away
from the nail to avoid nicking the skin,
and keep a firm hold on your baby’s
hand as you clip.
While cutting tiny
nails, be careful not to
over-trim– keep a thin
white area extending
from the nail.
A little off the top
In some cultures,
parents shave a
newborn’s head; in
others, it’s customary
to wait until a child
can speak to cut
his hair for the first
time. So, there’s
no hard and fast
rule regarding first
haircuts. But, in general, waiting until
your baby is able to support his head
on his own while you hold him on
your lap will make that first haircut a
lot easier on everyone involved.
If your baby has a lot of hair and
you feel it needs trimming before you
want to take him for a professional
haircut, you can do the job yourself
at home. Just be prepared for a less-
than-perfect outcome. A good, clean
pair of shears will make it easier to cut
quickly and evenly – old scissors can
pull hair, causing uneven cuts.
Jeanne Hauguel is a mother of two and
doula who helps families through birth and
post-partum. To learn more tips like these,
join her Babies Essentials antenatal classes
in Causeway Bay. Learn more at
.
