12 Things to Include in Your Baby Bath Kit
Often, it is the Dad’s job to give the baby a bath. I don’t know why that this is the case, but it just seems to work out that way for many of us. For me, it was because of timing for the most part. I came home from work at around dinner time, and by that time the wife was worn out. So, my taking the bath time responsibility gave her a few minutes to rest and prepare for putting our son to bed.
Putting our son to bed happened to be a big job, too, because he was not easy to get to sleep. So, what I learned very quickly was that I needed a kit of all of my bath time supplies, where I could put them in one spot for easy access and so that I didn’t forget anything, which could cause a lot of trouble when you can’t leave the baby in water to run to get something that was forgotten.
So, here’s my list:
Two Wash Cloths
One for the face and one for the body. Two is not strictly necessary, but I often found that the first was used and I still needed to wash or rinse my son’s face.
Diapers
Obviously, you’ll be putting a diaper on your baby after the bath, so it’s a good idea to keep some with your bath time kit for easy access.
Clothes
Always get the clothes out before the bath. It just makes it easier than trying to find an outfit with a cold and damp baby that may or may not be upset over something.
Hooded Towel
These are just a very nice option for drying the baby. The head can get cold so easily, and that little hood keeps them warm while you pat them dry.
Baby Bath Wash
Their skin is really sensitive, and its so easy to dry them out. You don’t need to use soap in every bath, especially if you bathe them every day. Two or three times per week is plenty for a very young baby, and as they get older they’ll need it more often. Basically, only the oiliest parts of their body really need soap, such as behind their ears, hands, feet, and I always used it on the neck/upper chest because of spit up.
Toy
Bath time is always better when its fun.
Lotion
Baby skin can get dried out very easily, so a good lotion geared toward babies is a good idea.
Butt Cream
Again with the skin, but it really is very sensitive, and a good cream can make future diaper changing much smoother.
Saline Nasal Wash
It’s been shown that regular washing of the nose with a nasal spray can reduce the incidence of infection. So, bath time is a good time to give them a good rinse to clean up the nose.
Aspirator
You’ll want to use this after the nasal wash.
Cotton Swabs
This is for getting in sensitive areas, but not for digging around in their ears. Definitely stay away from putting anything in the ears. Use the aspirator for cleaning the ears.
Bath Temperature Thermometer
These come in really handy because you can find them in the shape of toys, but they make it really easy to keep a check on the water temperature.
The Author:
Adam Searcy