Things I probably should know - but don't...

[ryedalema]

I wonder whether anyone else thinks this would be useful?

There's a fair few things I've either forgotten from first time around, or was just plain too embarrassed to ask with #1 child.

I'm hoping that some kind forumites will be able to answer my idiot-qs...and also that others have some that I can answer (to make me feel a little less daft) :-$

So here goes with question #1:

At what age can you introduce soap/shampoo/bubble bath to your newbie's bath? A the moment it's just water and Apricot oil - but I could do with something suddsy to get her a little fresher....

Can I swap with anyone?

[ryedalema]

Oh ps - i meant this to be a forum-wide swapping intel thing. I'm deffo not trying to sey myself up as some sort of parenting expert or Dalai Mama (ha ha Molly!)

[sanity girl]

I don't remember about bubble bath in the bathwater, but I started washing my daughter's hair with baby shampoo (holding her wrapped in a towel over the sink - quite tricky!) when she was quite tiny - definitely less than 3 months. Does that help?

I used to use Aveeno baby oil in the bath when she was very little - smelt yummy and seemed to help clean her up. Also Aveeno baby milk on cotton wool for those tricky "cheesy" bits in their fat creases!

[The Nappy Lady]

I've always stuck with water for the first month or two, then moved on to really gentle stuff "Weleda" etc. which I think 'enhances' that lovely new baby smell.

I think by now you'll be fine as long as you go with the gentle stuff.

My thing was that I couldn't remember about when you could give them water straight from the tap, oh and when can they have runny egg? I guess we all forget stuff, given that our brains are coping with a zillion things at once!!

Molly

xx

[The Nappy Lady]

Ha ha, Rydale Dalai Lama (!!!).

p.s. can I come and smell your baby please :-$

[ryedalema]

Ah great - having just wiped a very scuzzy 'cheese ring' from her neck, I'm off upstairs for a proper wash,wax and dry.

[ryedalema]

Molly of course - just let me get the stale spew smell off first..

MMMmmmmm...

[Belle]

we did it quite early i think but soon switched to oilatum which is all we use as it cleans as well as moisturises.

Molly - think I was poss 'naughty' in that i just gave water from teh tap as soon as he was drinking from a beaker/weaning - so six months ish. i also didn't sterilise the beakers/weaning stuff, and stopped sterilising bottles after 9 months (figured we do dishwash it all and as he'd crawled early, at 7/8 months, he was putting all sorts in his mouth by that point anyway.)

[Fuschia]

6m for water from the tap

[Sanne Panne]

I *think* we started with a tiny bit of something ultra-mild-organic-approved-by-the-dalai-lama (him again!) at about 3-4 weeks old... but I'm really not that sure anymore either and it's less than two years ago!

What I also don't remember is when you start putting them in a bouncy seat while they're awake. Of course you just play it by ear but since you mentioned the "forgotten facts" I'm wondering about this.

[sillywoman]

Errr, a little controversial, but I've never used shampoo or detergent of any kind on any of my fours heads . . . and you'd never know it to look at them! They don't need it, clean warm water does the job on hair, add essential oil if you need a certain smell. Why bother with shampoo & all it entails?

[Ko]

i use an organic wash thingy i got from john lewis when i did my big pre-birth shop! i use it about once a week to wash the hair (from birth) as have to put olive oil and various creams on head for cradle cap. i use oilatum in the bath for eczema and that's it.

[Pickle]

I used a bottle of fancy organic baby stuff we were given when my son was born, then moved to the lavendar scented bubble bath when he was older. 2nd child syndrome kicked in when we had our daughter, and her first bath involved her being dunked in the big bath full of lavendar bubbles after our son had got out :-$

[The Nappy Lady]

Sillywoman, I know a 'very green' couple and the husband brags that he hasn't 'washed his hair' in years!!

It looks fine, but personally I can't imagine getting past the 'itchy head' stage, which seems to start after about 6 days of not having a good old shampoo. I gather that eventually your body self balances but I would seriously have to be stranded on a desert island to actually prove this theory!

I agree little ones don't need a lot of soap etc. mine often just have a 'water' wash, but I must admit I do love the scent some of the baby products provide.

Molly

[sillywoman]

Yeah, I couldn't ever do it myself Molly, & now she's a teenager & responsible for her own hair sillygirl washes with shampoo too, but I just thought with babies that I had the perfect way to test the 'self-balancing' theory, and it really does work. They all have lovely shiny hair that does regulate itself. Lucky things. Plus the bonus for me of never having to do the shampoo thing on reluctant kids. Really almost everything I do is ultimately motivated by laziness!

[The Nappy Lady]

Ha...with you there!

On the shampoo front (because it may help others) we've always just chucked water over our girls heads and got on with it and both are fine about hair washing. Always comb through with conditioner so no nasty tangles to hurt etc. and so far so good.

We say 1,2,3....go....and tip the water (got from a DVD about teaching babies to swim) and it does seem to work. They very quickly learn to close their eyes when you say go.

Molly

[Fuschia]

Also avoided all soaps etc for a long time, and once we did start hairwashing, went for the "ready, go," chuck the water over them approach to rinsing. Also our twins have been showering ever since they could stand up (and in my arms, before)

[Moos]

I didn't shampoo my son's hair for the first year or so but after that it started to look quite flat and greasy when washed only with water, so we switched to a baby shampoo, and now wash his hair about once a week. I agree that the self-balancing thing is possible for many people, but maybe not for everyone - definitely hold back if not sure.

Bouncy chair - think once they can hold their heads up a little? Definitely before 12 weeks anyway.

[Ko]

i actually found that best thing for baby smelling nice is a quick bath each morning (rather than evening) - smell nice all day then.

[Belle]

Fuschia - i like the idea of the shower - how does it work logistically, I mean do you have to get in there with them or do you do it with shower attachment?

[Fuschia]

Belle Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Fuschia - i like the idea of the shower - how does

> it work logistically, I mean do you have to get in

> there with them or do you do it with shower

> attachment?

Ours ia sHOWER CUBICLE. fIRST FEW TIMES i TOOK THEM IN HOLDING THEM (one at a time)

then I switched to taking them both in with me, now I send them in on their own or with son no 1. They're 23m. They like to play with plastic IKEA cups, filling them from the shower.

[Fuschia]

I also stand them in the bath and squirt them with the bath shower attachment. Say reday go before doing their heads.