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I bathe my two weeks old baby boy every evening. Very often he will urinate as soon as he touch the water, obviously because of the temperature change.

So far I just ignored it, letting him pee into the water and hoping it's sterile enough.

What should I be doing? I considered using a towel to absorb the urine but is it really necessary?

Any tips and/or ideas are welcome.

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1  
I don't see an actual problem. Is he drinking the bath water? Even then, it's probably so diluted that it wouldn't be harmful. What I'm saying is that the solution is to do nothing and not worry. – Dave Clarke Feb 14 at 15:20
@Dave thanks that's was my initial impression as well. The water does not reach his mouth, it's just the idea that he bathe in his own pee that I find unpleasant. – Shadow Wizard Feb 14 at 15:22
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If it were 100% pee, then you could start to worry. But I'm sure a tiny bit of baby pee in a whole bath of water is nothing. – Dave Clarke Feb 14 at 15:26
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As others have stated, a little pee in the bath is hardly a problem. You'll soon have the opportunity to experience a much bigger and browner problem in the tub. As they say, "**it happens", and it's not a big deal. – Peter Feb 25 at 21:50
Thanks @Peter you're right... didn't happen just yet but I'm always keeping open eye on both exits, lol! – Shadow Wizard Feb 25 at 22:14

2 Answers

up vote 8 down vote accepted

As you mentioned, it is the temperature change.

What may work for you is this: Immediately prior to the bath, get a warm washcloth. Open his diaper, and clean his diaper area with the washcloth. Be careful with this! If it works, he may start to urinate while you are cleaning him, so you must be ready to quickly put the diaper back into place! Immediately replace the diaper.

After waiting a minute or two, transfer him to the bath. With luck, he'll be done, and won't urinate during the actual bath.

A variation on this may work for babies who tend to urinate while their diapers are being changed: open the front of the diaper, let in the cool air, wait a minute, and be ready to immediately close the diaper back up if they start to urinate. Once they're done, it should be safe to proceed.

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Thanks, good advice. – Shadow Wizard Feb 14 at 13:48
up vote 2 down vote

What's worked well for us is to put our child into the bath while it's still empty, and let the water run for a minute or so.

This way they'll feel the water, and if they need to go, it'll be while the plug is still out. Then you can rinse out the tub and start the bath without worrying about it.

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Interesting idea, but isn't the empty bath too cold? – Shadow Wizard Feb 20 at 8:02
It might be cold at first before the water warms up - if it's a concern because of a young infant, you can always start the water first to warm it up... – Chris Feb 20 at 16:10

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