Learning to change a baby's diaper is rather tricky. They seem to be determined to stick their feet right in the middle of the mess, and then they pee everywhere. Cleaning your little chickadee's undercarriage can be frustrating to say the least. Here are a few tricks that I have learned over the years that have made the dirty job a little cleaner.
1. Always use a changing pad, even on the changing table.
Even when your baby is only wet, having a changing pad is a great idea. A baby who is getting changed often feels inspired by all of the commotion down there to add a little more excitement to the party. This can mean a big mess, and a lot of laundry, unless you were prepared with a changing pad. Often when mid-diapering accidents happen an changing pad will catch all of the extra goop. This will save you from having to own three or four changing table covers, and needing to constantly launder them.
2. Hold both of your baby's feet in one hand to lift her bottom up.
This maneuver sounds more tricky than it is. if you can hold one ankle with your pointer finger and thumb, then wrap your other three fingers around the second ankle, you can do it. Then when both ankles are secure, bring your baby's feet up near her face. This should gently and naturally lift your baby's bottom an inch or two off of the diaper and make it easier to reach. Babies are very flexible, and though this position may look uncomfortable, it is not for most babies. One exception is, if you baby spits up every time you try to do this, she probably has reflux, and this position will not be ideal for her. If this is the case, try rolling your baby away from you onto her side to expose her booty for washing.
3. Use the clean front of the diaper for the first wipe of dirty diapers.
Sometimes our babies make quite large sticky messes in their fluffy little butt covers. These can use up a huge amount of wipes, which don't come cheap. To save a little elbow grease and a little extra change, when you first open your little food processor's diaper, take a hold of the front of the diaper and wipe from front to back. One big wipe is all that this move is good for. It doesn't clean the whole mess, it just takes off the top layer, so that what is left is easier to deal with. When you reach the back of your baby's rear end with the front of the diaper, just leave it there. This keeps your baby from re-dipping into the mess while you begin cleaning the rest of his hiney. You can also take the diaper away, if you have a handy place to stash it until you can deal with it by itself. The reason I leave the diaper there, is it is one more thing between my changing pad and changing table, so that even if I can't keep both completely clean, I can often reduce the mess.
4. Drape a baby washcloth over your boy's little fire hose.
This can apply to girls who spray when they are being changed too. For some reason, the cool air maybe, babies love to go wee-wee when they are naked. Since getting urine squirted all over the room is probably not one of the things you want to deal with, simply draping a bit of cloth, or a baby-wipe over the front section of your little fire-fighter during a diaper change can save you a major headache.
5. Have a squirt bottle with your cleanser in it handy.
If you have read my tips for natural remedies for diaper rash, you know that I prefer to have natural ingredients with which to wash my little ones buns. I got a great tip from JJ Keith (@jj_keith on twitter, a great person to follow) to keep my natural cleansers in a squirt bottle, and it is SO much easier! Make sure to always clean in the folds. It can be awkward, but it is very important to remove all of the waste. I also recommend keeping any powders (like cornstarch) in old spice bottles (It is much easier to sprinkle if the lid has holes than if it is just open), and oils (like olive oil) work great in old hand-soap pump style bottles. Always be sure to clean any recycled containers thoroughly before using them for your baby's rear-end care kit.
Changing diapers is not fun, not easy and not tidy, but it can be a little less work with a few handy techniques, and a little practice. If you have found these tips helpful, please forward them to any new or expecting parents you might know. Questions, Comments and suggestions are always welcome. Happy parenting!
Showing posts with label clean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clean. Show all posts
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
5 tips for bathing your new baby.
The idea of bathing a baby is pretty scary. Your baby is so small and delicate. You measure your every move, trying to maximize his safety and minimize his discomfort. And yet the time will come when you will need to get him wet. I'm not talking about the sponge-baths that you give before your baby's umbilical cord falls off, I'm talking about sitting him in a baby tub of water and covering him with slippery soap! There are quite a few things to think about and keep track of while you are doing this but I have made a list of my top 5.
1. Cover your baby with wash cloths.
Even with a warm room and luke-warm water, your baby will probably start to get cold by the end of the bath. This is because the water on her skin is evaporating, constantly cooling her off. The best way to slow this cooling process is to drape several baby wash cloths over her head, shoulders and belly. They will hold more water, making the evaporation process slower. As you was the various parts of your little dolphin-baby, simply remove or fold back the appropriate part of the cloth, wash, rinse and fold it back or replace it. The cloths will also make your baby less slippery, so when you need to turn her to the side to wash her back she will be less likely to slip out of your grasp.
Even with a warm room and luke-warm water, your baby will probably start to get cold by the end of the bath. This is because the water on her skin is evaporating, constantly cooling her off. The best way to slow this cooling process is to drape several baby wash cloths over her head, shoulders and belly. They will hold more water, making the evaporation process slower. As you was the various parts of your little dolphin-baby, simply remove or fold back the appropriate part of the cloth, wash, rinse and fold it back or replace it. The cloths will also make your baby less slippery, so when you need to turn her to the side to wash her back she will be less likely to slip out of your grasp.
2. Temperate temperature.
As I mentioned in the first tip, the water you wash your little jellyfish in should be only slightly warmer than room temperature. Part of the reason for this is that warmer water dries out your baby's skin and can give him a rash, or exacerbate conditions like eczema and psoriasis. Also, your baby is super sensitive to temperature changes, and hotter or colder water can be very uncomfortable, and this sensitive baby skin can burn at a much lower temperature than an adults. Even if you prefer cool showers or hot baths, don't assume the same is true for your baby.
As I mentioned in the first tip, the water you wash your little jellyfish in should be only slightly warmer than room temperature. Part of the reason for this is that warmer water dries out your baby's skin and can give him a rash, or exacerbate conditions like eczema and psoriasis. Also, your baby is super sensitive to temperature changes, and hotter or colder water can be very uncomfortable, and this sensitive baby skin can burn at a much lower temperature than an adults. Even if you prefer cool showers or hot baths, don't assume the same is true for your baby.
3. Get in those folds.
Babies are growing at an enormous rate. They can shed more skin cells in a week than we do in an entire year. These skin cells accumulate in every fold of your baby's skin, and become a great breeding ground for bacteria, especially when combined with sweat and milk. The kind of bacteria that feeds on dead skin cells is very irritating to your baby's sensitive skin and can leave bright red irritated patches where it is given time to grow. The danger zones are behind your baby's ears, around the neck, under the arms, behind the knees and elbows and in your sweet little seahorse's rear end (though that area gets cleaned pretty regularly at diaper changes).
Babies are growing at an enormous rate. They can shed more skin cells in a week than we do in an entire year. These skin cells accumulate in every fold of your baby's skin, and become a great breeding ground for bacteria, especially when combined with sweat and milk. The kind of bacteria that feeds on dead skin cells is very irritating to your baby's sensitive skin and can leave bright red irritated patches where it is given time to grow. The danger zones are behind your baby's ears, around the neck, under the arms, behind the knees and elbows and in your sweet little seahorse's rear end (though that area gets cleaned pretty regularly at diaper changes).
4. Have fresh warm water nearby for rinsing.
By the end of your baby's bath the bathwater will be a tepid soup of soapy water and dead skin cells. To make the most of your sweet little water monkey's bath it is a good idea to have a pitcher of clean warm water nearby. If you are doing the bath by yourself, before you begin get a pitcher of very very warm, nearly hot, water and place it nearby. By the end of the bath the pitcher should have cooled down to the point where it will be comfortable for your baby. Then give your baby one last rinse with the clean warm water just before you lift her out of the bath and place her on a clean soft towel (if you have help, one person can lift your baby, while the other pours the water to give her a better rinse). As a side note, do not use fabric softener on any of your baby's laundry, including towels, because the chemicals left in the fabric can be very irritating to that soft-as-silk baby skin.
By the end of your baby's bath the bathwater will be a tepid soup of soapy water and dead skin cells. To make the most of your sweet little water monkey's bath it is a good idea to have a pitcher of clean warm water nearby. If you are doing the bath by yourself, before you begin get a pitcher of very very warm, nearly hot, water and place it nearby. By the end of the bath the pitcher should have cooled down to the point where it will be comfortable for your baby. Then give your baby one last rinse with the clean warm water just before you lift her out of the bath and place her on a clean soft towel (if you have help, one person can lift your baby, while the other pours the water to give her a better rinse). As a side note, do not use fabric softener on any of your baby's laundry, including towels, because the chemicals left in the fabric can be very irritating to that soft-as-silk baby skin.
5. Keep your baby's face pretty dry.
The only washcloth you have draped on your baby that should be kept fairly dry for the majority of the bath time is the one on his head. If this cloth is dry, it can soak up any drops of water that are running down toward your babies face. Babies have a survival instinct that is meant to help them avoid drowning which is to arch their backs and intake a large gasp of air if they feel water running over their face. This is meant to give them a big breath of air before they are submerged in water, but if they are on their backs, as in a bath, they often will accidentally inhale a fairly large amount of water, causing a coughing and crying fit, and creating negative associations with bath time. You should wash your baby's face with a soapy wash cloth, and rinse it with a very wet clean wash cloth that has been dipped into the pitcher of warm rinsing water you have standing by. If you wait to wash your baby's face till the end of the bath, you also can use this as an opportunity to test the temperature of the water in the pitcher, to make sure it has cooled enough. When you wash your baby's hair you can roll up the washcloth and lay it across your baby's forehead to prevent water and soap from running down.
Trick: Wash your baby's back-side first.
Since your baby's backside is undoubtedly the hardest part to wash and rinse, I recommend that parents hold their baby in one arm using the football hold, with their baby's face near their elbow, their forearm supporting their baby's belly, while firmly holding onto one of their babies legs, while they use a washcloth to soap up and rinse their baby's tookus before taking their baby with both hands and carefully lowering her into the bathwater.
Remember to rinse all areas that you have used soap on thoroughly, because soap, even baby soap, can irritate your little starfish's delicate skin. With practice you will get better at the juggling that you have to engage in with the soap and the cloth and the keeping-the-baby's-face-out-of-the-water. When your baby learns to sit up, the whole bath experience will become a lot less stressful (the best tip I know of for reducing the stress of bath time on your baby is described here). If you have found these tips helpful and informative, please forward them to any new or expecting parents you know. Questions and comments are always welcome, unless you are a spammer. ;^) Happy parenting!
The only washcloth you have draped on your baby that should be kept fairly dry for the majority of the bath time is the one on his head. If this cloth is dry, it can soak up any drops of water that are running down toward your babies face. Babies have a survival instinct that is meant to help them avoid drowning which is to arch their backs and intake a large gasp of air if they feel water running over their face. This is meant to give them a big breath of air before they are submerged in water, but if they are on their backs, as in a bath, they often will accidentally inhale a fairly large amount of water, causing a coughing and crying fit, and creating negative associations with bath time. You should wash your baby's face with a soapy wash cloth, and rinse it with a very wet clean wash cloth that has been dipped into the pitcher of warm rinsing water you have standing by. If you wait to wash your baby's face till the end of the bath, you also can use this as an opportunity to test the temperature of the water in the pitcher, to make sure it has cooled enough. When you wash your baby's hair you can roll up the washcloth and lay it across your baby's forehead to prevent water and soap from running down.
Trick: Wash your baby's back-side first.
Since your baby's backside is undoubtedly the hardest part to wash and rinse, I recommend that parents hold their baby in one arm using the football hold, with their baby's face near their elbow, their forearm supporting their baby's belly, while firmly holding onto one of their babies legs, while they use a washcloth to soap up and rinse their baby's tookus before taking their baby with both hands and carefully lowering her into the bathwater.
Remember to rinse all areas that you have used soap on thoroughly, because soap, even baby soap, can irritate your little starfish's delicate skin. With practice you will get better at the juggling that you have to engage in with the soap and the cloth and the keeping-the-baby's-face-out-of-the-water. When your baby learns to sit up, the whole bath experience will become a lot less stressful (the best tip I know of for reducing the stress of bath time on your baby is described here). If you have found these tips helpful and informative, please forward them to any new or expecting parents you know. Questions and comments are always welcome, unless you are a spammer. ;^) Happy parenting!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
5 tips for keeping your baby smelling fresh.
Not too long after you bring your baby home, you will be confronted with one of the basic aspects of having a baby, the smell. I'm not talking about the sweet fresh skin smell, or the baby-lotion and scented wipe smell, I'm talking about the sour-milk in skin folds, waste particles that you can't figure out where they are hiding, pungent crib-cap build up and a combination of sweat and dead skin cells that leaves an unmistakeably "ripe" smell behind. Most babies are not able to be bathed for the first few weeks that they are home because of the healing belly-button and some babies have sensitive skin issues that effectively restrict how often they can be bathed, but that doesn't mean there is nothing you can do to help your little one stay fresh. The issue of baby hygiene is a sensitive one, since no one wants to think that they are the one with the stinky baby, but with a few easy tips you should be able to be sure that your little love blossom actually smells like one.
One of the scariest jobs a new parent has is to cut their baby's fingernails. When clipping baby's nails, hold the baby in your lap until it is asleep, then hold their hand in the position that you would hold your own hand to clip the nails. Make sure there is plenty of light and that you have sharp nail clippers or nail scissors, since dull ones can end up ripping your baby's nail into the nail bed. If you just can't bring yourself to risk cutting the tip of your baby's finger, another method that you could try is to nibble your baby's nails. Your teeth and tongue are very sensitive and gentle, and you can often do a much better more accurate job of nail-nibbling than you could have with the clippers or scissors. I do not recommend that parents use emery boards to trim baby nails, because the amount of friction required to effectively trim a baby's nails can be a lot more painful for your baby than a little nip-o'-the-tip by clippers (think of how it would feel to have rug burn on the tip of your fingers). You could use an emery board to do some light smoothing of rough edges or sharp corners though, since you need to use much less friction against your baby's skin to do this. I know baby nails don't particularly smell bad, but they can be havens for all kinds of bacteria that could prove harmful if not cleaned and trimmed regularly.
These tips don't necessarily need to be used every day, but it's good to know that you can do something if your punkin' gets a little ripe. If you find these tips and tricks helpful please pass them on to any new parents you know, and don't hesitate to leave questions or comments. If you have any tips that you are looking for, just let me know and I will pass on anything I know to help you out. Happy parenting!
For my bonus tip of the day, visit me here: http://www.everythingmom.com/blogs/naomitripi/
1. Use a squirt-bottle solution and a cloth to refresh your baby's neck after naps.
In a squirt bottle combine 2.5 cups of sterile water, 1 teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide, 2-3 drops of lavender oil (other oils can be substituted) and 1 tablespoon of chamomile tea. This solution is gentle and effective at neutralizing odor-causing bacteria, and soothing for your baby. If you'd like to go completely natural, you could just use water as well, but the odor-fighting properties are greatly reduced. A trick for getting your baby to let you wipe their ticklish neck is to drape the cloth around their neck from the back like a shawl, then hold onto the two corners in front and rotate the cloth around so that it is hanging in the front like a bib.
2. To reduce the unsightliness and smell of crib-cap, apply a couple drops of oil.
2-3 drops of mineral oil combined with a scented oil of your choice (like rose or lavender) applied with a gentle sponge to your baby's scalp will moisten the skin cell build up, and mask the unpleasant smell. An organic baby safe lotion can be substituted if you are unable to find an oil that you like (though it doesn't tend to last as long or be quite as effective). Be extremely gently around your baby's soft spot in the center of the top of the skull. Since the oil can make your baby's hair look wet and greasy, I recommend that you wash your baby's hair with a warm washcloth and a small amount of baby safe shampoo directly after application of the oil. Since the oil will have been absorbed into the skin-cell buildup, you will still be able to enjoy the pleasant scent without the greasy looking hair.
3. Keep your baby's clothes and linens fresh.
In the summer heat especially, your baby's clothes will accumulate dead skin cells, drool, spit-up and sweat very quickly. If you are able to keep up with the laundry I recommend changing your baby's clothing at least twice a day. If that much laundry is intimidating, or you practice water conservation, you could try leaving your baby in just a diaper or just an undershirt (if it is warm enough) for the first half of the day, or the second half, depending on when (and if) you are able to get out of the house that day. Then change into the cute outfit for when you go out. Also change your baby's bedding regularly, at least once or twice a week. Not only can old sheets be stinky, they can also attract biting insects.
4. Wipe out your baby's mouth after feedings.
The solution I used with my son was 1/4 teaspoon baking soda to 1 & 1/2 cup warm water. I would dip a clean cotton washcloth into the water and just gently wipe the inside of his cheeks off. Simply using water is fine as well, though the hint of baking soda seemed to help the freshness last much longer. Just introducing the practice of cleaning your baby's mouth after feedings is beneficial as well, since it helps to prevent thrush and when you transition to a tooth brush, the routine will already be familiar, and less likely to be a struggle.
One of the scariest jobs a new parent has is to cut their baby's fingernails. When clipping baby's nails, hold the baby in your lap until it is asleep, then hold their hand in the position that you would hold your own hand to clip the nails. Make sure there is plenty of light and that you have sharp nail clippers or nail scissors, since dull ones can end up ripping your baby's nail into the nail bed. If you just can't bring yourself to risk cutting the tip of your baby's finger, another method that you could try is to nibble your baby's nails. Your teeth and tongue are very sensitive and gentle, and you can often do a much better more accurate job of nail-nibbling than you could have with the clippers or scissors. I do not recommend that parents use emery boards to trim baby nails, because the amount of friction required to effectively trim a baby's nails can be a lot more painful for your baby than a little nip-o'-the-tip by clippers (think of how it would feel to have rug burn on the tip of your fingers). You could use an emery board to do some light smoothing of rough edges or sharp corners though, since you need to use much less friction against your baby's skin to do this. I know baby nails don't particularly smell bad, but they can be havens for all kinds of bacteria that could prove harmful if not cleaned and trimmed regularly.
These tips don't necessarily need to be used every day, but it's good to know that you can do something if your punkin' gets a little ripe. If you find these tips and tricks helpful please pass them on to any new parents you know, and don't hesitate to leave questions or comments. If you have any tips that you are looking for, just let me know and I will pass on anything I know to help you out. Happy parenting!
For my bonus tip of the day, visit me here: http://www.everythingmom.com/blogs/naomitripi/
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