After Bath Care
After bath care is extremely important for the health and well being of your baby. Before bath time get all after bath care products ready. For example, these include a towel, cotton buds and baby’s clothes. Never leave your child in the bath while you collect after bath care products. In addition, make sure you immediately wrap your baby up in a towel. Gently pat dry baby all over. Most importantly, leaving your baby exposed and wet will cause immediate distress.
During after bath care, pay particular attention to drying out baby’s ears. For instance, moisture in the ear in hot humid weather can result in an ear infection. Drying the ears is best done with a specially designed cotton bud. However, these buds should not be pushed deep into the baby’s ear because it can cause damage. Rest the cotton bud just inside the canal and allow it to soak up excess moisture. These special cotton buds can be picked up at your local chemist shop or pharmacy.
Important Points
• Make sure to dry baby’s ears after bath time.
• Do not push cotton buds deep into baby’s ear.
Gently stroking or massaging your baby is great for physical, emotional and mental development. Stroking or massaging helps sleep patterns and enhances parent and child bonding. Babies under 2 months should be touched very, very gently. Not only do babies enjoy massage but studies suggest that massage is useful to relax your baby, help with sleep patterns, and enhance the emotional bond between you and your baby.
Verbal Communication
Good eye contact and verbal communication should be mandatory as you dry and dress your bundle of joy. Some parents prefer to feed their baby immediately after a warm bath while others find baby is alert and craves stimulus. Try to fit in after bath play as this is vital for parent child bonding.
Expose baby to a variety of coloured toys, different songs and sounds as well as black and white shapes. Babies love staring at bold colours and big shapes.
Encourage baby’s natural grasp reflex. Give them an opportunity to hold on to coloured rings or your finger. This is great for baby’s physical strength and muscle development. You’ll be surprised at how strong your little baby really is.