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Age: 1.5 months.
The newborn can't be seated on her back for sure.

Is there any special kind of vessel available for seating and bathing newborns?
How do you bathe a newborn in a stressfree way when you don't have anyone to help you?

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  • There are plenty of baby bathtubs on the market with an inclined non-slip back. You'll get a year's use out of it at most, but I've found it very helpful for a baby who can't sit up straight yet.
    – 200_success
    Commented Aug 10, 2013 at 6:44

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This is what we did - it was very straightforward with a little planning and preparation:

  • Place your baby on a towel next to the bath.
  • Prepare a small bath (you can buy baby baths) or prepare a shallow bath with a non-slip mat.
  • Make sure the water is not too hot or cold. Either use water only, or add a splash of mild baby soap or oil if needed.
  • Have a clean face cloth and cotton wool balls beside the bath, as well as a towel, nappy and fresh clothes.
  • Have some wipes ready as well (you never know if your baby will decide to explode during bathing!)
  • Undress your baby.
  • Use two hands to place your baby in the bath, then cup her head with one hand, using a couple of fingers under the armpit, a couple over her shoulder, and your thumb on the other shoulder. This way you can support her, keep her head out of the water, and stop her slipping down.
  • First wash your baby's eyes, using a fresh cotton bud for each eye
  • Similarly for the ears, trying to avoid water going in the ears
  • Then using a face cloth, wash most of the rest of her body.

Then lift her out and place her on the towel, and wrap it round her. Towels with a hood are quite a good way to wrap your baby so she warms up quickly.

Dress her, and when she is wrapped up, place her back on the towel on the floor while you drain the bath and pop used cotton buds etc in the bin.

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  • using a couple of fingers under the armpit, a couple over her shoulder, and your thumb on the other shoulder. - This is exactly how the nurses taught us to do it. You can easily control your newborn this way (grabbing opposite shoulder with your forearm under the child's head for support/elevation). It also helps to have a baby-sized bathtub (so the sides are not so high).
    – DrJ
    Commented Aug 4, 2013 at 2:26
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Why can't the newborn be seated on her back? That is the safe position for them to sleep. My five week old daughter has always been fussy and even with two people, she HATES bath time, so I can't offer tips for it being stress free. However, we sponge bath her with a wash cloth rotating her half way to clean her back, and its certainly safe.

Consult your pediatrician of course, but one thing we do is fold her ears over to prevent water from dripping in them when washing her hair.

Infants cry and get distressed a lot. My daughter screams bloody murder when you change her onsie. She quickly gets over it though. If she doesn't like bathing, you have to accept that, and focus on keeping it safe and minimizing distress.

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  • By seated on her back, I meant sitting. How else should I have said it?
    – Aquarius_Girl
    Commented Jul 3, 2015 at 13:47

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