Clicky Poll: Bathing LO

wewillservehim · February 2011

My mom was appalled when I mentioned that I was going to put DD to bed tonight without a bath.

Up until a month ago we bathed her every night and then one night we were out until bed time and just tucked her in when we got home. I guess since then there have been nights when we cuddle a little longer and skip bath time, depends on the day.

After my mom's reaction I started wondering what others do...

[poll]

starlingrose · February 2011

We used to do every day if we were home for bed time...and if we were at a grandparents house he still always got a bath.

Then same thing as you, we started to slack. AND HE STARTED TO STINK. This kid sweats during the day lol and stinks. Soooooo were back to nightly bathes, no slacking

Temp937723687505543 · February 2011

We bathe Anna every other night, unless there's a diaper fail or food fail. It's really funny, though, because if something happens and she doesn't get her bath on the 2nd night, DH freaks out, like we're going to have the stinky kid! He gets all worked up about it- it's half annoying, half cute.

cranberry27 · February 2011

DS's baths are not in any way scheduled. He takes showers with me. We never did bedtime baths - they just woke him up, and I frankly didn't ever want a complex bedtime routine like that. I liked being able to sit and sing/read, turn out the lights, and put him straight down. Made life more flexible. Sometimes I feel like I should be more rigid, so it's nice to see other people don't bathe every day either!

ExpatFamily06 · February 2011

When he was a baby, we only bathed every other day b/c we didn't want to dry his skin out. For us, this routine has just kind of stuck. Unless he's really messy, or if it's summer and he's really sweaty, we stick to every other day.

soontobe05 · February 2011

cranberry27:
DS's baths are not in any way scheduled. He takes showers with me. We never did bedtime baths - they just woke him up, and I frankly didn't ever want a complex bedtime routine like that. I liked being able to sit and sing/read, turn out the lights, and put him straight down. Made life more flexible. Sometimes I feel like I should be more rigid, so it's nice to see other people don't bathe every day either!

Same here. She showers with me. I did the bedtime bath thing when she was really little but it was like an every other night thing. She loves taking showers and when I ask if she wants to take one she runs into the bathroom and opens the closet to get her stuff. Smile

groovygrl · February 2011

We bathe 4 times a week- Tues, Thurs, Sat & Sun. My mom also thought it was odd at first b/c when they raised kids it was just the standard to do it every day. But I also have 2 kids & bathing them alone has always been a challenge and MH isn't home often in time so once my mom came & stayed with us she was quite aware of why I don't do it every night during the week...she also talked to some friend about it & her grandson isn't bathed every day so I think they chalked it up to one of those 'new' things parents do now, haha.

my kids don't really get that dirty other than food on hands & faces and I keep burp cloths in the kitchen and wash their hands & face w/ them after dinner every night. In summer I wonder if it'll change since they'll be going outside more & getting hot, etc.

rinny627 · February 2011

We're going on day 3 with no bath. This has nothing to do with being lazy. We usually do every other day baths because DS has eczema, but this week has been crazy. We didn't have hot water on bath night. And we didn't get home until really late last night. So we're on day 3 with no bath. No biggie. He'll get one tonight.

celiabwatson · February 2011

Our baths are really sporadic. My husband gets home at 7 pm and we think it's important to eat dinner together if possible. Well, depending on my son's naps he sometimes makes it through dinner still happy and awake and we take a bath on those nights. Many nights at the end of dinner he is ready for bed so we have a super short bedtime routine that doesn't include a bath. It's working for us.

jkfranklin · February 2011

We give DS a bath no more than twice a week. He has atopic dermititis (sp). The pedi said to only bathe him once a week due to the drying out of his skin, but I just can't do it and he gets a little ripe if we do it any less than twice a week.

emberlee3 · February 2011

The only time we were really strict about bathing every day was when DS wore a helmet for 6 months for plagiocephaly. Now that he's out of the helmet, he usually gets a bath before bed. But if we are out visiting friends or family and we come home late, he will go right to sleep with no bath. It's not an essential part of his routine, but he enjoys it, so we usually do it.

shopgirl78 · February 2011

Yes, but my older kids get really messy so he loves bath time and its easy to put him in with his older bro. I didn't bath my older two as often..

MommyMich · February 2011

I bathe my kids every night unless we are out somewhere past their bedtime. It is part of their bedtime routine but I also feel more comfortable going to bed clean so I assume that my kids do as well. They also really like bathtime, so I don't like to deny them that.

My daughter has eczema (which was very severe up until a couple of months ago) and her dermatologist said that a five to ten minute bath every night would benefit her more than skipping days. The reasoning was to keep the skin clean and not let the secondary bacteria grow and cause infections... Of course this is the same guy that told me to do bleach baths a couple times a week and a lot of people around here thought I was crazy for actually doing it. All I can say is that he has helped my daughter tremendously.

sunnyday016 · February 2011

DD gets a bath about 3x per week. Her skin will get very dried out if we bathe her more often. Also, she doesn't really need it more often than that.

Mrs.Husband · February 2011

On most days, DS is either at daycare or some sort of social activity with other kiddos (gymboree, music, sunday school at church, etc). On those days, which is most days, he gets a nightly bath just because I don't want to get his sheets dirty (even though we wash them weekly). Kids are germy. On the occasional night he doesn't get a bath (maybe once per month), we tend to wash him down with a warm rag (hands, face, feet, etc) prior to putting on his PJs. I'm also a huge advocate of handwashing during the day for little one to try and decrease his exposure to germs. Thankfully, he likes washing his hands, as I think most kids do because of the intrigue with water.

whirli · February 2011

We've been working on DD's sleep and have started a night time routine, which includes a bath. She gets a bath daily (maybe once a month we skip it) but she only gets soaped up 2-3x/week so her skin doesn't get dried out.

MelodyMoonstone · February 2011

I'm sure I'm going to get flamed, but we don't usually bathe DS more then 2x/week. Obviously, if there's a food/diaper fail, this changes, but he doesn't usually sweat, he doesn't smell... I question this often, but his skin gets soooo dry after a bath.

odetta · February 2011

We're lucky if we get him in the bath once a week! He has eczema and sensitive skin so we and his doc feel its better not to bathe very often. If he has a poopsplosion he'll get a bath right away, but otherwise he doesn't get too dirty or stinky yet (nothing a quick washcloth wipe can't handle). Once the summer is here and he's into everything outside I imagine he'll get more frequent baths.

DEBBIE33CASEY · February 2011

We bathe DD 4 days a week. So it's usually every other day but with an extra bath thrown in there

Any more often than that and her skin gets way too dry in the winter. We already put lotion on her after bathtime as it is. In the summer when she plays outside we bathe her more often and b/c dry skin isn't an issue then.

swimrbride · February 2011

FOr the most part he gets a bath everyday. If we are out late or right now when he has been home with DH for 4 days and hasn't done much to get dirty, we skip the bath. It usually ends up being about once every week or two that he skips a day.

jonnygurl76 · February 2011

every other night since she was born unless she has a poop explosion that calls for an extra bath!! she also has eczema and this helps to keep it under control.

Chrysallys · February 2011

We bathe DS twice a week unless there are poop or food issues, in which case we'd bathe him right away. My kid doesn't get very dirty or sweaty. We do wash his face and hands often during the day.

robynlesley · February 2011

We bathe DS either every other day most of the time (though we have bathed him on the 3rd day occasionally). He has REALLY dry skin (not eczema, but dry skin) and his pedi said to bathe less and use cream twice daily. It's helped.

Though if he's dirty, I'll bathe him sooner.

jbl126 · February 2011

sunnyday016:
DD gets a bath about 3x per week. Her skin will get very dried out if we bathe her more often. Also, she doesn't really need it more often than that.

Same here. Some weeks, it is every other night , some weeks, every two nights.

DiscusCoach · February 2011

If it is an important part of your bedtime ritual than stick with it. If not, it is actually not good for their skin (if you are using soap).

The historian in me says daily baths are a very new phenomenon. I would say you didn't start seeing it until 50 years ago and even then certainly not everyone was doing it.

jason&robin · February 2011

It's at least every other day..a lot of the time every day. DS and DD love baths so if they ask for it, they usually get one, unless it's too close to bedtime.

HSartteach · February 2011

Sunday through Thursday is every night. As for Friday and Saturday--it varies from weekend to weekend.

AmyA210 · February 2011

We try to do every other night, especially now during the dry winter months. DD has pretty sensitive skin and I don't want it to dry out too much. Sometimes we'll miss a night, so she'll got two days without, and sometimes she needs a bath two days in a row.

amwadas · February 2011

Most days we do as she loves bath time, but some days if the schedule doesn't allow and she is a basket case we skip it.

LeahBeah1212 · February 2011

We were giving her a bath every night, but her skin started getting really dry, and lotion wasn't helping so now we are doing every other night.

nat8 · February 2011

MrsChibs:
We bathe Anna every other night, unless there's a diaper fail or food fail.

This. If it's every day then it drys her skin out

IEtoLA · February 2011

We give DD a bath everyday just as part of her bedtime routine because it seems to calm her down and get in the mood for sleep. She also enjoys the bath so it's no biggy for us. But there are times when we are out or we are all just super exhausted and just skip it. Unless your LO was rolling around in mud, I don't think it's a big deal.

sarcole530 · February 2011

We bathe Bryce every other day, unless he is very dirty from daycare, or really sweaty from the summer heat.

RaeAnt · February 2011

whirli:
We've been working on DD's sleep and have started a night time routine, which includes a bath. She gets a bath daily (maybe once a month we skip it) but she only gets soaped up 2-3x/week so her skin doesn't get dried out.

Putting her in the water alone can dry out the skin. If the the soap/wash you are using is drying her out more, maybe think about switching. They also have moisturizer out there for babies/kids. That works wonders.

RaeAnt · February 2011

BATHING LO EVERYDAY DOES NOT DRY OUT THEIR SKIN ANYMORE THAN BATHING EVERY OTHER DAY! Does your skin dry out from bathing/showering everyday? yes, it will if you don't MOISTURIZE.

That said, there is no need to bathe your child everyday when they are so young unless you want to. Until they are in school or of an age when BO or other skin/body issue come into play the need for a daily bath is pretty low. Yes, many choose to bathe their child everyday because of what they may get into/child care/food/poop,etc. My issue is using the excuse that it will dry out the child's skin is crap. Unless they have a medical reason not to, as some have stated the act of sticking them in the water and sudsing them up doesn't, well hold water.

benkari · February 2011

We do 3x week. Even then a couple of them have really dry skin, and we DO moisturize 2-3 x per day! In the summer we do more because they are out getting dirty more!

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