Bathing Beauty

The first bath is always a scary one. For most new parents, this is a team event filled with caution and a lot of worry. This was true for me….however, my husband was gung-ho and super excited with no reservations about bathing his son. Being the oldest of eight kids, he is well versed in bathing, diaper changing, feeding and entertaining babies which makes for a fantastic match for this one sibling mom with some baby-sitting experience. 

I was glad to see Aaron (my husband) take charge in our first bathing experience with Elijah. We had watched all the videos, taken the classes and even YouTubed the How To’s on bathing a newborn. Now that we have given many…MANY baths to our little guy we feel like old pros, I even bathed him once by myself *wink* (of course Aaron does this all the time, as he constantly reminds me).  Here are some things that we found helpful in bathing our newborn.  Feel free to add your suggestions in our comments section below.

1. Use an infant tub with a sling – they may be an eyesore but they make bath-life a whole lot easier.
2. Always check the water to make sure it is tepid. The optimal temperature is 75 degrees F. If the bath is too cold, baby is not going to be happy. 🙂
3. Be Prepared:
   • Have a hooded towel and fresh diaper ready near by
   • Two-three wash cloths (one for the body wash, one for the private’s wash, and we use one to cover his private area)
   • Tear-Free shampoo
   • Baby cotton swabs for cleaning the ears (don’t use adult cotton swabs!)
   • I even like to have his outfit ready, for a quick change so he doesn’t get cold
   • Take a few minutes to sprinkle water over baby to get him used to the bath water – we get LOTS of smiles at this point!
   • Start washing from the top of the head down to the feet. Cleaning the front and back private areas last. We even use a separate wash cloth – okay, we may be a little anal
   • Rinse with a clean wash cloth
   • Pick baby up CAREFULLY and wrap him in a hooded towel. I prefer to have a helper here – one to lift baby out and one to wrap baby in the towel
   • Diaper and clothe baby – in Le Top  and rabbitmoon clothing of course!!

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Le Top Darling of the Day: Tara

This ray of sunshine, Tara (11-months-old), is a sweet little Jersey Girl. She is very inquisitive and when she hears a sound – abandons any previous activity! She is intrigued by and regularly monitors her mommy and daddy – no matter how mundane their activity. Water sports bring her the utmost joy – whether it’s a bowl of water or sitting in the little pool in her backyard!

It’s not hard to believe that this little one is always on the move (shown here in her Rabbitmoon “neapolitan” collection velour jumper, brown dot bodysuit and strawberry pink leggings) and is walking everywhere! A favorite pastime is cruising the house with a rattle making lots of noise! I think she’s just celebrating being crowned the Le Top Darling of the Day!

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