Washing Your Baby?

I know this may sound silly, but have you considered covering her hair while she eats??? You could put a scarf or a simple shower cap on her---It may help you avoid some messy hair days- Best wishes!!

M

Generally I think 2 to 3 baths a week is sufficient for a child this age. With the hair mess, daily is probably a good idea unless it is causing some adverse effects...

I used to give my son a bath everynight. Some nights I would wash all of him, some nights just his face, other nights just water for him to play in since it was part of our nighttime routine. I think it's up to you and what you want. But my son developed eczema and so we have lessened out bathing and upped out batting his hand away from his head and lotioning every night.

A daily bath with the J & J is fine. If her skin seems to get dry, then put a little lotion on her. Though, we never had that problem

It's only a problem if she's got sensitive skin.

Personally we did a bath every night at bedtime AND often spend 1-2 hours in the "bath" every day from apx 6-18mo. We didn't have a real tub, so I used a rope handled toy bucket and just filled it with warm water and J&J lavender bubbles. Then I'd drag it/him around the house with me as I did housework. He had a blast, I got stuff done... I just rewarmed as necessary. I cried when he outgrew it.

We don't have sensitive skin in our family. My neighbors could only bathe their baby 2x per week or her skin would get all scaly and rashy. Even with just plain water.

Something super-basic I learned a LONG time ago that applies to so much in parenting:

It's only a problem, if it's a problem.

I wou;d say that (in my opinion) more than every other day is a lot.

If you can try to use baby wash that has no alcohol or petroleum in it (check the ingredients on the back), especially if your daughter seems to get dried out or has and flakiness on her skin. I definitely wouldn't soap her body up every day.

However, really it is up to you. I have known people who bathe their kids every day, and people who only bathe them once or twice a week. I personally bathe my daughter every other day. She is 2 years old. Obviously if she gets extra messy I might give her a bath 2 days in a row, or even 3. But we live in a really dry climate, and our family gets dry skin easily on both sides... so we try not to over-wash her. If she got food in her hair I probably would just wash it out with a wet washcloth and a little dot of soap- of course, my daughter is pretty bald still!

LOL- unless something is concerning you, stick to your instincts! As with most things, unless something seems to be going "wrong"- don't worry about it!

Good Luck!
-M.

I just wash my daughter's hair out with water or use cetaphil. otherwise it's too drying on her.

Well if she's rubbing food in her hair every day I would think it's hard to avoid giving her a bath every day. But, if you don't have to, I'd do it less frequently. Make sure you moisturize her skin after the bath though, that will help her from drying out. Sometimes if my son does this, I rub a wet wash cloth in his hair and then comb it...it's kind of pathetic actually, but I don't always have time to bathe him every night! It doesn't look that bad once it dries, just comb it out.

I bathe my 13 month old everyday too, and wash her hair, she also has lots and it gets clumped together with food!!

I don't think it's too much.

My kids were water babies and they were accustomed to being bathed every night. For one thing, it relaxed them and was the signal it was time for jammies and bed. It was just our routine and they looked forward to it.
If you have a little one who likes to smear food in her hair, it has to be washed. No two ways about it.
Johnson and Johnson is good because of the no tears formula, but if you're worried about over drying her, moisturize her after.
A bath a day never hurt any child that I know. In fact, kids who are used to it usually give you less problems later on when they are old enough to be really stinky.
I just know that my kids always slept better after a nice warm bath.

Best wishes.

I usually just go by how dirty they are. I have a 5 year old and a 2 year old and when their hair starts to look dirty or stops smelling like their shampoo or if they get dirty, sweaty, or smelly they get a bath. In the summer in Texas it means everyday especially if they play outside. It is much less in the winter. They at least get bathed every other day. I use adult shampoo and conditioner on my older daughter's hair because it is long and thick and the baby stuff just doesn't get it clean. I use J&J on my younger daughter's hair and they both get Suave Kids body wash. Definately lotion after the bath especially if they have been getting baths daily.

I've bathed my girls everyday since they were babies. I like to be cleaned every day for I figured that they would like to be as well.

I think kids need to be bathed every day. Whether it's a quick rinse off after a messy diaper or to freshen the body. It doesn't hurt them to be clean and it provides a very nice bonding experience.

I give my DD a bath almost every night, but only with soap about 2x a week. the rest of the time I just let her play in the water. (Unless she gets really dirty.) If there's something in her hair, I wash it out. I don't want the soaps to dry out her skin (and hair) too much, but I also want a clean nice-smelling baby!!! Lol.