Finding Peace while Giving Your Newborn a Bath

by Hummingbird Infant

Slow the pace, lessen the stress, and keep it real.

A well planned, warm, calm, happy bath is the connection to your baby that you both crave so deeply. It might even be what you expected, but not the reality of your situation. Don’t worry, it’s the bath, not you.

 

Slow the pace

See the world through your newborn’s eyes.

In theory, bath time should be easy. They just came from the warm bath tub known as their mother’s womb. In practice, a typical newborn and infant bath is much more foreign than that concept. In fact, there is a hard, plastic, infant tub, filled with not nearly as much water as in their womb swimming days, and that’s after the transition from the colder than expected air; much of which they’re exposed to during bath time. Therefore 93% of newborn hospital baths are stressful as measured by your infant’s crying. Yet it doesn’t have to be this way.

Lessen the Stress

Following are a few tips to pause, ‘enjoy the now’ and be mindful during your baby’s bath. After all, this is the perfect setting, as during bath time there are no mobile devices, there are minimal opportunities for outside distraction, aside from perhaps your ‘helpful’ older child. It is just you and your baby.

Baths are a moment in time when the building blocks of your bond, love and connection can be developed. How do you read your infant’s cues and respond mindfully?

  1. Preparation. Gather your supplies, perhaps warm the area. Lots of towels are always good.
  2. Decrease stress of the actual bath.
    1. Less Stress for Your Baby:

The Warm Hug Bath Swaddle provides a self-warming bath, as your infant is lightly swaddled in baby soft neoprene to naturally warm the water around them, and the womb like feel.

  1. Less Stress for You: a loose swaddle also provides a confident grip as you bathe your precious newborn
  1. Savoring this simple moment

Realizing that something that could be stressful has become a warm, calm, connected moment builds gratitude for the simple calm. And that alone can be a gift in a hectic world.

 

Keep it Real

A warm, calm, connected bath gives you the ability to talk, sing, or simply smile and enjoy this time together. Smiling and eye to eye contact with no distractions with babies helps them connect with you on a basic level. Scientifically, according to psychologist Ronald E. Riggio, smiling fires brain neurons and endorphins, releases serotonin, and dopamine all of which make you and your baby feel happier overall. This interactivity helps your infant to build trust in you, communication skills and the building blocks of eye to eye contact and speech development.

Of course, life is never perfect. We all have emotions. Newborns, infants and toddlers may not be in the physical or mental state for bath time, no matter how much we lessen the stress. We are parents and caretakers but were not made without shortcomings, too. Reading our infant’s cues and responding appropriately is part art and part science.

Sometimes we will embrace the balance, empathy and insight, and other times we will be strengthened because we are just doing our best. Life isn’t perfect. That’s simply keeping it real.

We hope you can take some of the naturally ‘offline’ time with out technology and phones to enjoy some peace. Should you have any questions about bath, please let us know. These are some of our favorite tips:

Do your best. Don’t worry. Your baby feels the love. That’s warm, connected parenting.

 

About Hummingbird Infant Hummingbird Infant is a product and parenting company grounded in warm, calm, connected parenting. Baby Buzz is our online blog celebrating daily moments in the new parent journey; and the Warm Hug Bath Swaddle is Hummingbird Infant's signature product celebrating warm, calm, connected and HAPPY infant bathing. Both are uniquely simple in approach. Sign up for our free confidence-boosting weekly Baby Buzz email, coming soon, for insights to help you in your parenting journey. 

 

 

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