How to give baby a Bath

Giving your baby a bath is a wonderful time to bond with him/her. It's a special time shared between us. As he enjoys a bath more, the time is even sweeter as compared to when he was apprehensive of the touch of water.

Ingredient: 1 bath tub of lukewarm water, baby bath, 1 dry towel

• Lift up baby's head gently and place your left arm at the back of his head with your left hand holding his left armpit. Make sure that your left arm is supporting the baby's head and neck especially for newborns and infants as their neck are still fragile. Refer to picture (1).
• Using your right hand, gently pick him up by holding on to his left leg. For infants or newborns, it would be advisable to support them at their buttocks with your right hand. Refer to picture (1).
• Place them gently into the bath tub.
• Allow the baby's head to rest on your left arm while you apply bath bath and wash him. Refer picture (2).
• To turn him over, gently sit the baby up and place his chin to rest on your right arm with your right hand holding his left armpit. Refer to picture (3).
• Once you have him secured in your right hand and arm, gently lift him up and then lay him down tummy first into the bath tub.
• You can now apply baby bath and wash him.
• Once done, lift him up by supporting his buttock with your left hand and place him on a dry towel to dry.

The above task can be quite taunting to first timers or when you are handling infants or newborns. As they grow older, it will become easier.

Tips:

• Newborns tend to be apprehensive of water for the first few times. Ryan gets scared every time he touches the water and he would cry. To give him more comfort and assurance, I would hold him very close to my chest and lower him down into the tub while trying to maintain our bodily contact while doing so. I found that this brought him comfort and security. Of course, I ended getting wet as well in the process.
• As they grow older and stronger, watch out for that sudden `kick' when they are enjoying their bath. If you are not careful, you might just drop him into the water or his head knocking against the side of the bath tub.
• You do not have to invest heavily into your baby's bath tub if you don't want to. I have seen bath tub costing close to RM90. The reason is because they will outgrow the bath tub within 4 to 5 months and you would have to buy a larger one for them.
• Have all the necessary items ready and within reach before placing your baby into the bath tub.

Ryan is now enjoying his bath so much that sometimes he does not seem to want to get out. He is also beginning to learn to play with water and bath bubbles. When washing his back, he is happily kicking his legs away, just like a little frog learning how to swim. Those moments are precious and priceless.

How to wash baby's hair

Giving our baby a bath or washing his/hear hair can be quite a taunting task, especially when they are so fragile. Our confinement lady was doing all the bathing and washing during the first month. However, towards the last few days before she leaves, she wanted to pass the skills to someone in the house to take over. My wife naturally, nominates yours truly. Stressful was not even the word to describe the first attempt. I was sweating all over and my back aches after due to the strain and tension. Nevertheless, it got easier as the days go by and as Ryan's neck got stronger. So, this post is share what I was taught. Hopefully, it will be useful to you too, especially if you are expecting your first born.

Ingredient: 1 bath tub filled with lukewarm water, baby shampoo, 1 dry handkerchief, 1 willing baby.

• Lift your baby's head and put his head in the palm of your left hand. Make sure that it supports the baby's neck. Refer to picture (1).
• Using your thumb and your index finger, gently fold and cover your baby's ears. This is to prevent water from getting in. Refer picture (2)
• Once you have him firmly in your grip, place baby under your left arm as shown in picture (3).
• Wet his hair with the lukewarm water and then apply small amount of baby shampoo.
• Rub his hair and head gently and wash off with water.
• Dry with dry handkerchief.

Simple right? It is simple if your baby is not kicking up a fuss or throwing his/her usual tantrum. Otherwise, it could be a real struggle to hold him/her while he/she is kicking away. I would advise to leave him/her alone until he/she has calmed down. As the baby gets older and definitely heavier, it would also be increasingly demanding on your left arm to hold him/her in place.

Tips:

• Place the bath tub at your hip's height so that you can stand to wash/bath your baby. I find it extremely difficult and tough on my back and spine to bathe Ryan, when I have to bent over when the bath tub is placed on the floor.
• Get all the needed stuff such as shampoo ready (with cap opened) and handkerchief easily within reach before bathing him.
• Try not to panic when he/she starts screaming half way through. I used the word `try' because often times, we can get easily rattled when our baby starts screaming away.
• This is good. Make sure that your baby's diaper is still on while washing his hair. Ryan has the tendency to wee-wee while I'm washing his hair. I tend to get `drenched' and have to take a shower myself afterwards.

We will talk about giving him a bath in the next `How to' post.

How to put on a cloth nappy?

We have previously explore how to fold a cloth nappy. Now we would explore how to put that nappy on. Cloth nappy is definitely cheaper to use because they are reusable. We would use cloth nappy at home especially in the afternoon. A word of caution though, make sure that we change the nappy once it is wet. It would not be healthy for the baby if a wet nappy is left on, causing nappy rashes.

Ingredient: 1 willing baby, 1 cloth nappy and 1 nappy holder

• Lay baby down on his back on a cloth nappy. Spread his/her legs apart gently.
• Pull the bottom portion of the nappy over the baby's groin as shown in picture (3)
• Pull the left wing portion of the nappy over the baby's stomach as shown in picture (4)
• Fold the right wing portion of the nappy over the baby's stomach as shown in picture (5)
• Using a nappy holder, first hook the bottom portion of the nappy. Then Pull the right hook to hook the right portion of the nappy followed by hooking the left portion of the nappy to hold it together.

There you have it. A simple way that I was taught how to fold a cloth nappy. If your baby is still smiling at you by now, you have achieved and pass the acid test of the speed required to fold a nappy. If he/she is yelling and kicking, well, you just need more practices. Don't worry over it. In time, you will be an expert like a all mothers or fathers would be.

How To Burp a Baby?

One of my first challenges when our confinement lady left was to feed Ryan and more importantly, how to burp him. I've seen the confinement lady did it a dozen times, but when it's my turn to do it, it doesn't seemed so simple after all, especially when Ryan is only one month old and he is so fragile. Anyway, someone has to do it. I hope that I could share two basic techniques that I have found useful.

A baby will take in air into his tummy during feeding. Therefore, it is necessary to help him let off the air through burping less he throws up. It is advisable to burp him when changing breast (if breast feeding) or after every 2 to 3 oz.

The first technique that I've learnt was to place Ryan on my lap. Using the left hand, place his head against your left hand, supporting his chin using your index finger and thumb. Use the base of your left hand to gently press against his tummy. Lean him forward slightly and gently pat or rub his back or shoulder using the right hand. (See second picture)

The second technique is to place his against your chest with his head slightly over your left shoulder, supporting him with your left hand. Using the right hand, gently pat or rub his back or shoulder. (See picture on the first picture). Make sure you have a napkin placed across your shoulder unless you want him to throw up all over you.

Burping the baby takes a lot of patience. He will sometimes burp after a few pats or immediately the moment you sit him up or lean him against your shoulder. Other times, it could take a good 5 to 10 minutes before he will burp. The other trick that I've learnt is to put him down and sit him up again a couple of times if he refused to burp.

Believe me, there is a great sense of unexplained satisfaction when he burps and it is pure music to my ears. And it is interesting to note that no two burps are exactly the same! Pay attention and you will find out.

How To Fold a Nappy?

When Ryan was born, there were lots of things to learn and there are still many things that I'm learning on a daily basis. So, I thought I will start a `HOW TO' series to share on some of things that I've been taught as I explore the wonderful journey of parenthood.

My confinement lady was the one folding all the cloth nappies when she was around during the first month when Ryan arrived. I knew that I would probaby be the one asked to do it when she leaves. So, I asked her to teach me.

1) Fold the nappy along the center line, making it into a rectangular as shown in figure (1)

2) Fold the rectangular nappy along the center line, making it into a square as shown in (2)

3) Lift the top right hand corner and fold it down, making it into a triangle in front as shown in (3)

4) Turn the nappy over. Fold the square over to get the overlap as shown in (4)

5) Fold the small rectangular that you have obtained in (4). You should get a long narrow rectangular as shown in (5). This part is the thickest of the nappy, he part to hold the wee-wee.

6) Fold the nappy liner along the center and place the nappy liner on the thickest part of the cloth nappy. The nappy is now ready for use.

Next episode of `HOW TO' - How to put on a cloth nappy?