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I gave my son his first sponge bath the day we got home from the hospital. He was not thrilled about it, but he tolerated it. Then at 10 days old his belly b___ton fell off and I gave him a bath in his tub the next day. I usually give him one every other day. At that age they say 2-3 times a week is sufficient. Either way, whether you do it now or a few days from now you are not a bad mommy!!!:) If you get a little water on the cord it is not going to hurt it, just make sure you dry it gently with a towel. Don't be nervous! She won't break, You're doing great!

I have been told to sponge bath the baby until the cord comes off. There is alot of bacteria around the cord and it is advised to wait so the bacteria dont get in the bath water. Sponge baby everyday until cord comes off.

I mean his cord fell off, not his belly b___ton, he still has that!!!LOL

Congratulations on your little one! I had a bath tub that had an infant net on top.I would was just set him in the net or an infant tub and use 1 bowl for clean water and 1 for soapy water. You can wash her,,just dont have her sitting in the water. If a little water gets on the umbilical cord it's o.k. One thing that will make the cord fall off sooner is too use the q-tip and alcohol each time she has a diaper change. Let it drip right on it. He had his first home bath 2 days after we were home! I am very lucky my son is a water baby he LOVES the tub. He is 4 1/2 months old. Good Luck I hope that helps.

I waited until my baby's umbilical cord fell off before I gave him a bath. I would just sponge bath him. Babies so young do not need a bath very often. Using a warm damp cloth wash her face, under her arms, neck hands and toes etc. She will be fine! Your not a bad mommy for not being sure of when to give her a bath. If her hair seems a little greasy, you can wash it.

I would just do a warm washcloth bath before her cord fell off. It did in about ten days and then I started giving her real baths and she seems to enjoy them. I didn't do anything with the cord as far as cleaning it and it feel off without any problems!

every 2 days when she was a bubi, u just be gentle round the umbilical cord area.. then after a month it became daily... give her a bath and dont be scared cause they need to get used to it and its also very settling and with nappy changes and wee on their bottoms etc, hygenically u need too .

I bought a foam cushion shaped like a bear for the bath. I put it on the bathroom counter and put my daughter, wrapped in a towel, on it. Then I would unwrap a part of her, wash it with a soapy washcloth, wipe it with a washcloth with plain water, cover it up and move on to the next part. I started bathing her the day we came home from the hospital (I just feel like hospitals have germs). She's my second baby, with my first I remember being scared to give her a bath and waiting a couple of days (but I'd given her baths in NICU already).

I am so glad you brought this topic up. At the hospital where I went there were advertisments about bathing saying please don't bath me often. I asked the nurse the question about bathing not understanding the advertisment and she only told me to bath every night. I don't think she noticed that advertis____nt. I researched about the recent recommedation for bathing after noticing pimples on my 3 week old infant's face. ----------------------------------------------------- It has been noticed by some medical professionals that babies in fact need to be bathed only once a week. Also that chemicals in cleansers, will irritate the skin, making it dry by altering its natural P.H level. Thus, washing with simply with waer is good enough. Babies are born with vernix caseosa, a whitsh protective coating tht covers the skin after birth. It can have long-term beneficial properties and advocates beleive that if this coating is rubbed into the child's skin instead of it being washed off(as is practiced at most hospitals), the child's chances of devloping skin problems in the future will be reduced. Vernix caseosa is naturally occuring fetal barrier film produced in the late preganancy. It has a number of biological functions: moisturization, anti-infective, antioxidant, wound healing, and waterproofing. Patients with burn injuries lack the qualities for wound healing and emerging research suggests that vernix from infantss helps these patients. American a__socation of Critical care Nurses 2003------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apparently the pimples were caused by the womb hormones that the infants body was trying to eliminate. I used Aveeno soap to wash his face and it sort of calmed them down. Honestly they began soon after during the week when I gave him his first bath. A nurse had told me how to bath him, and she told me that I should wipe his face with water every morning. His face got dry after a couple of days, the pimples began. He had pimples for a month and I missed out on taking pictures because I was waiting for them to go away. If I had to do it all over again, knowing the reasearch I looked up, I would wait to bath by the end of the month and then continue bathing once a week. During the first month I would also wash his diaper area with soap but for the face I would avoid. Maybe the eyes could be wiped with water just to clear the edges. My son is now 8 months and I continue to bath him once a week. His ankles and behind the ears it cracks and gets very dry. My doctor says just moisturize often not only after a bath. So I do with Baby Johnson&Johnson lotion and it works.