Home  |  Parenting  |  Infants & Toddlers  | 

How to Give a Baby a Bath

How to Wash a Baby's Hair

To properly view this site, javascript must be enabled and Flash version 9 or higher must be installed.
Get the latest Flash player
Marylou Tietz
Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator, Lamaze International
240-602-5539

Marylou is Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (LCCE, FACCE) and Doula with over 28 years experience teaching prenatal classes in the Washington DC area in settings including the Bethesda Maternity Center, Kaiser Permanente, Georgetown University Hospital, Suburban Hospital, the Bethesda Naval Hospital, Discovery Communications, Seven Locks Detention Center and the Greentree Shelter for Women.

During the summer months she operates the Baby Bed 'n Breakfast of Bethany Beach (<a>www.beachbirthclass.com</a>) where she offers private Lamaze classes coupled with an overnight stay in her oceanside Delaware beach house plus breakfast and lunch on her cozy back porch.

Marylou has also served as President of the DC Chapter of Lamaze International since 1995 (<a>www.lamaze-dc.com</a>) during which time they have consistently been voted
"Best Childbirth Classes" by the readers of Washington Families Magazine.

How to Wash a Baby's Hair

Follow a step-by-step guide to bathing your new baby, beginning with sponge bathing during the first few weeks, caring for the healing umbilical cord and then transitioning to full tub bathing.

This expert: 58,032 views

This series: 31,209 views

Download to Mobile Device
Tags:

Infant

,

New

,

Born

,

Umbilical

,

Cord

,

Wash

,

Clean

Comments:

0 (Read Comments) (Add Comment)

Print

Transcripts

Hi, I am Mary Lou Teitz from Lamaze International and I am showing how to sponge bathe your baby. Right now, I am going to show you how to wash your baby s hair. If your baby is experiencing a scalp condition called cradle cap, you may want to massage some baby oil into your baby s head, before you do the shampooing, just take some regular baby oil or any other cold pressed baby oil or kitchen oil and just massage it well into the baby s head. That will help to soften those scales.

You can also take a soft baby hair brush and use that to loosen those scales prior to the shampoo. Now, we re ready to do the shampoo. So, it s important to know how to pick this baby up carefully and hold the baby over the water. Slide one hand underneath your baby s head and neck area, another hand underneath the baby s bottom and lower back and tuck the baby under your arm. This is called the football hold and it s a very secure way to hold your baby.

Bring the baby over to the water, take your baby wash cloth dip it into the water and moisten the baby s scalp. Then add a few drops of baby wash to your wash cloth and workup a bit of a lather. Don t be afraid of the soft part on the top of the baby s head. It s perfectly safe to shampoo there as well because there is a tough membrane there, protecting your baby s brain.

You can also use your hands to workup a nice lather on the baby s scalp. When it s time to rinse the baby s head, you want to take your wash cloth and just dip it repeatedly, in the water and rinse that shampoo out of the baby s hair. As your baby gets a little bit older, you might try using a little soft plastic cup and that would be quick way to rinse the shampoo off. Now, we want to bring the baby back over the bath towel and pat the baby s hair dry. Use the towel to gently pat the baby s hair drying, you ll probably, also need to redry those ears, because they often get wet during the shampooing process. So, that s how we shampoo your baby s hair. Now, we are ready to move on and bathe baby s upper body.

Other Videos

  • Fire Safety - Tips for Dialing 911

    Fire Safety - Tips for Dialing 911

    Every second counts in an emergency. Learn when and how to call 911.
  • How can parents provide healthy meals if both have jobs outside the home?

    How can parents provide healthy meals if both have ...

  • Helping Children Cope with Crisis Situations

    Helping Children Cope with Crisis Situations

  • Kids' Health - Upside Down Fitness for Kids

    Kids' Health - Upside Down Fitness for Kids

    In this video series, "Upside Down Fitness for Kids," group-x director/ personal trainer, Margie Weiss, describes a variety of safe and effective ways to strengthen the major body areas kids need to work. Being upside down is just plain fun for kids. So it's natural that they will like to exercise upside down! Most of the time they are having too much fun to even know they are exercising! With an extensive background in children's fitness, Margie used these exercises to provide her own children, and now her grandchildren, as well as more than 20,000 young exercisers over the past 35 years, the opportunity to become fine athletic specimens -- healthy, yet safe exercises to promote overall fitness. The exercise safety video was shot at the Skatequest "Family Fitness Center," of Reston, Virginia, run by Margie, Genna & Geremi Weiss.
  • The HypnoBirthing Method

    The HypnoBirthing Method

    <p>In this video series, Hypnobirthing expert Stephanie Kraft discusses the process of Hypnobirthing. She explains the benefits of Hypnobirthing, and what is involved in a Hypnobirthing class. She also teaches you how to plan your birth experience. </p>
  • What do parents need to look for when considering teen alcohol abuse?

    What do parents need to look for when considering teen ...