Gear: Bath and Health

Bath time is the best time! Well, maybe not at first, but you'll get there.

Squeeee! She was so tiny! She's now way too big for sink baths.

A quick word on cleaning babies. Babies don't sweat like adults, so it's not like they get hormonally fueled BO. In fact, babies are notoriously sweet-smelling! You can clean your baby with entirely unscented products and she will still smell delicately and wonderfully like a baby. But they do build up skin and lint and food and gunk in their creases. And the gunk does stink. Babies have a lot of creases, from the folds in their necks to their chubby little armpits to the many, many folds hiding underneath the diaper, and it is of utmost importance to clean them all.

I read the saddest thing in my favorite potty training book, that little girls are often not adequately cleaned because of the timidity of parents. They can get sick from this. Do not be afraid to clean your child's genitals, no matter what the sex of your baby. It isn't sexual abuse to touch your child in this way, it is basic care-giving, and it is important. Obviously a baby's genitals are sensitive and deserve to be treated carefully, but they must be cleaned, delicately but thoroughly! Poop goes everywhere under a diaper, and your baby can't clean it out for herself. Obviously you don't have to go into the vagina for anything, as a vagina is self-cleaning, but you shouldn't shy away from labia folds. If it's dirty, clean it gently but not timidly, just as you would her neck creases.

Treat her diaper area just like the rest of her body, and it will contribute to her good health, hygiene, and good self-esteem. Babies can sense our discomfort. What message do we send when we're too uncomfortable to properly clean one specific body-part? Perhaps that it is dirty (which it is if you're not cleaning it) or bad or a source of shame. That's not what bath-time's about! Now I'll get down off my baby-feminist soapbox and give you the list.

Here's my guide to all things hygiene and medicine.

For baby grooming:

• Infant bath form -- The cheapest is the best! Simple, effective, good for bathing the baby in the kitchen sink. Now if only it didn't have that horrific warning on it that reminds you about drowned babies every time you go to bathe your little one. They somehow don't show that in the product image on Amazon.
  
• Baby wash clothes -- I linked to my favorites. Unfortunately, they're expensive. You can make your own out of bubble gauze or flannel, or you can buy cheaper ones, but go for 100% cotton. The synthetic terrycloth is really awful. I wouldn't use an adult washcloth on a baby unless it is really old and very soft -- one from your grandmother's linen closet might work. Otherwise, buy something specific.
  
• Cetaphil -- The dermatological nurse I saw during my breastfeeding saga told me, "cetaphil is the only cleanser you will ever need for your baby's skin." She was right. Baby washes of all brands dried Elsie's skin out terribly and gave her a rash, but cetaphil never does. It's now what I use on my own face and body, too. So gentle. So effective. So reasonably priced.
  
• Baby shampoo -- For when your baby gets hair. Something that won't make her eyes tear up. You don't need much. Just a drop is enough to take the spitup or food out of a baby's hair. I have an 8 oz thing of california baby that we're only half way through. If you want that classic baby-product smell, no more tears is what you're remembering, but get a small thing of it, because it lasts a loooong time.
• Surgical brush -- These things are awesome. I use them on my own hands and feet, and on Elsie's head to prevent cradle cap. They're very delicate, appropriate for cleaning wounds, but they get scrubbing jobs done. Elsie had such fine hair that we even used this as her hairbrush for a while.
  
• Towels -- I don't really see the point of the hooded towels. It's hard to get them situated right, and I never ended up using the hoods. I think a normal bath towel works fine for babies, but dab, don't rub. If it seems too rough, then, again, aden and anais makes really awesome but expensive muslin products. Shy of that, just get something 100% cotton and soft.
• Aquaphor -- But you already have some from the diapering post! Elsie gets dry, scaly patches in winter. This stuff is pretty thick, but it heals them right up.
• Nail scissors -- That's right, not baby clippers, but tiny, sharp scissors. Your baby is born with razor-sharp claws, and everyone you meet is going to comment on how terrible of a mother you are the first time she gives herself a bloody little gash across her face. Okay, most people are more polite than to criticize you like that, but that's how it feels sometimes. Rather than put mitts on her and deprive her of exploring the world with her hands, it's best to keep them trimmed very short. They grow fast. You have to cut them nearly every day. The best way I found to do this without cutting her tiny fingers, is with scissors. Why? Because you can do it by feel and not sight. It's not as though she's going to hold still for you, and the scissors are just much better for blind precision cutting. The nurses recommended filing, but it didn't work for us. Now that Elsie's older, we use nail clippers. We don't discriminate between adult and baby ones. They both work fine now that she holds still.
• Hairbrush -- Something like this one, for when your baby has more than just a little peach fuzz.
• Hair elastics -- Because barrettes don't last two minutes and I don't want to cut bangs in Elsie's hair.
  
• Small flannel wipes -- For wiping boogers.
  

And in our medicine cabinet:

• A Thermometer -- You'll likely detect a fever by touch, but different maladies mean different fevers, so it's good to be able to quantify it. The pedi wants you to use a rectal thermometer. It's the only measuring tool they accept those early weeks. "Babies don't mind at all!" They tell you. LIES! Elsie hated it, so instead, we used a temporal lobe thermometer and lied to the pediatric nurse on duty when she asked if the fever had been measured rectally. "Oh yes. Of course!"
  
• Bulb syringe -- The big, soft, blue one that they gave us at the hospital is my favorite one. I have to admit, though, gross as it may look, THIS might just do the job better. Who am I to talk about gross, having aspirated my daughters nose myself (read: suck the snot out) a couple of times. The things we do for love!
• Baby Tylenol -- You'll need it! When you call the nurse on duty for that first fever, she's going to tell you to give the baby tylenol. Make sure to ask the nurse or pedi what the appropriate dosage is for your baby's weight.
• Baby ibprofin -- Just to mix it up. Another fever-reducer and a great help for painful nights of teething.

What don't we use? Pretty much anything else, including, but not limited to:

• Baby bath cup -- The infamous baby bath cup! Just use, "you know, a cup." Or a wash cloth. Or your hands. Or a sprayer. Whatever works.
  
• Bath thermometers -- Contrary to what you've read, you CAN safely check bath temp with your hand. I recommend using the inside of your wrist instead, as that is a very sensitive spot.
  
• The hoods on our hooded towels
• Baby bath robes
• Synthetic wash clothes -- You'd be surprised how water repellent these are, and somehow don't effectively dislodge that stuff that builds up in baby's creases
  
• Disposable wet wipes for noses
  
• Powders
• Oils
• Lotions
• Baby perfume -- Though they do use this at daycare... and it's weird.