| Bathing Your Baby |
Bathing your baby can be....interesting....to say the least, especially
if you are a nervous, first time mother. Add clubfoot to the
equation though, and then you might find yourself very anxious
indeed!
My solution to bathing my clubfoot babies was to give them a quick
bath in the doctor's office each week between cast changes. You
can generally count on there being a brief period of time between
the nurse / tech taking the baby's casts off, and the baby actually
getting the new pair put on.
During this time, I would carry my babies to the sink in the room
where we were and wash them thoroughly, especially from the waist
down - where it's the hardest to keep one clean while he or she is
wearing casts. The nurses at the Ponseti Clinic in Iowa City were
very generous in this regard, offering wash cloths and towels.
Pay special attention to washing the legs, gently scrubbing behind
the knees and around the ankles, then between all the toes using
your hands to rub any loose skin off, then rinse thoroughly.
Between cast changes however, it's another matter.
During the six months that Brian wore full length orthopaedic leg
casts, I had a brain-storm one night. Turn his baby bath tub in to a
sieve! Using a large drill bit, I perforated his plastic tub with several
holes so that the water would run right through it, never puddling in
the bottom. With Brian laid in this tub, I could hold his casted legs
up (usually with the help of a 2nd person) while I thoroughly washed
the remainder of his body, including his little privey parts. Pouring
water carefully over him to rinse, the soap and dirt went through the
holes and down the drain right with the water, leaving him clean, yet
his casts completely dry.
Using the Ponseti method of correction however, you won't need
to go to such extremes. Initially, you can bathe your baby as you
would any newborn infant until the casting phase begins (remember,
you can wait two or three weeks if necessary before serial-casting
treatment begins) using the general rule of thumb Baby-Bathing tips:
Once casting begins, remember they will be changed every 5 to 7
days, therefore your baby won't have a lot of chance to get all that
dirty; however, you can keep baby fresh and clean between
appointments with sponge baths, then give her a good washing in
the sink at the clinic before the new ones are put on.
For parents who aren't squeamish, a bundle of inexpensive wash
cloths make great tools to wash your baby and even clean her
bottom using only warm water, and maybe a gentle solution of baby
soap. We were raised on Ivory soap, which is gentle and can be
easily made in to a liquid soap for easier use. (chop the bar of soap
up then melt it in just enough liquid to make a creamy mix to use).
You'll use several wash cloths a day probably, but they wash well
and are reusable. A small bucket kept by your washing machine
can hold the dirty cloths through the day and then toss them in the
washer before you get in bed. If you were to place the wet wash
cloths in an air tight container the next morning, you could work out
of that all day, never having to use spend money on running a
major appliance to dry them.
Other parents might opt to bathe their baby using wet wipes. They
are relatively cheap and disposable. Many infants object to the cold
wipes though, and wipey-warmers have their own fair share of
issues (such as going dry and burning on the bottom, growing
bacteria in the warm, moist climate, taking up precious space). I
guess there is just no one right answer.
For the more ambitious penny pinchers among us, home made wet
wipes or baby wipes are the rage. For the price of a quality roll of
paper towels and a few ingredients you probably already have on
hand, you can put together a couple boxes of these yourself.
Bathing your baby who has clubfoot is probably not as fun as
bathing a baby who doesn't wear casts, but remember that the serial
casting phase is very short lived, and soon you will be able to give
that little sweetie all the full body baths you want, including that
special joy of including your baby in the bath tub with you.
I quickly opted for Plan B: Lay the infant in the bottom of the
(regular household) bath tub with just enough water to keep them
wet, warm and occupied. To me, that translated in to not enough
water to cover the entire bottom of the tub. Laid out in the tub I
could easily wash their whole body and rinse it clean, with out
spilling water on the kitchen floor or having a big, wet, plastic "Thing"
I had to figure out where to keep stored handy yet out of the way,
too.
As children are able to sit up, bath time becomes even more fun -
but also more dangerous. Bath seats made for babies have lead to
numerous infant drownings and injuries. My recommendation is to
avoid them completely.
Parents who use infant bath seats tend to do a couple of things that
lead towards that potential tragedy:
Never under estimate what a small baby can do! They can quickly
get out of the seat, one way or another, falling face first in to the
water, possibly with part of their body still trapped in the seat making
self-rescue (if a baby possibly could self-rescue himself)
impossible.
If your baby can sit up, bathe her in the kitchen sink where you can
easily reach, or in your own bath tub, sitting only in an inch or two of
water. But never leave your baby unattended whatsoever!
Wet babies are slippery - bathed in the sink or tub, you can easily
drain the water, then wrap the child in a towel before picking her up
to help avoid both chills and accidental drops.
All in all, life with clubfoot, including the aspect of bathing your baby,
is really no different than life with a baby would be otherwise. With
some ingenuity and common sense, you will find this to be a happy
time in parenthood.
if you are a nervous, first time mother. Add clubfoot to the
equation though, and then you might find yourself very anxious
indeed!
My solution to bathing my clubfoot babies was to give them a quick
bath in the doctor's office each week between cast changes. You
can generally count on there being a brief period of time between
the nurse / tech taking the baby's casts off, and the baby actually
getting the new pair put on.
During this time, I would carry my babies to the sink in the room
where we were and wash them thoroughly, especially from the waist
down - where it's the hardest to keep one clean while he or she is
wearing casts. The nurses at the Ponseti Clinic in Iowa City were
very generous in this regard, offering wash cloths and towels.
Pay special attention to washing the legs, gently scrubbing behind
the knees and around the ankles, then between all the toes using
your hands to rub any loose skin off, then rinse thoroughly.
Between cast changes however, it's another matter.
During the six months that Brian wore full length orthopaedic leg
casts, I had a brain-storm one night. Turn his baby bath tub in to a
sieve! Using a large drill bit, I perforated his plastic tub with several
holes so that the water would run right through it, never puddling in
the bottom. With Brian laid in this tub, I could hold his casted legs
up (usually with the help of a 2nd person) while I thoroughly washed
the remainder of his body, including his little privey parts. Pouring
water carefully over him to rinse, the soap and dirt went through the
holes and down the drain right with the water, leaving him clean, yet
his casts completely dry.
Using the Ponseti method of correction however, you won't need
to go to such extremes. Initially, you can bathe your baby as you
would any newborn infant until the casting phase begins (remember,
you can wait two or three weeks if necessary before serial-casting
treatment begins) using the general rule of thumb Baby-Bathing tips:
- Make sure the baby is in a calm, receptive mood for the bath.
- Have the room warmer than usual if at all possible.
- Have all your necessary soaps and towels laid out with in
arm's reach. - Don't leave a baby unattended in any amount of water, ever!
Once casting begins, remember they will be changed every 5 to 7
days, therefore your baby won't have a lot of chance to get all that
dirty; however, you can keep baby fresh and clean between
appointments with sponge baths, then give her a good washing in
the sink at the clinic before the new ones are put on.
For parents who aren't squeamish, a bundle of inexpensive wash
cloths make great tools to wash your baby and even clean her
bottom using only warm water, and maybe a gentle solution of baby
soap. We were raised on Ivory soap, which is gentle and can be
easily made in to a liquid soap for easier use. (chop the bar of soap
up then melt it in just enough liquid to make a creamy mix to use).
You'll use several wash cloths a day probably, but they wash well
and are reusable. A small bucket kept by your washing machine
can hold the dirty cloths through the day and then toss them in the
washer before you get in bed. If you were to place the wet wash
cloths in an air tight container the next morning, you could work out
of that all day, never having to use spend money on running a
major appliance to dry them.
Other parents might opt to bathe their baby using wet wipes. They
are relatively cheap and disposable. Many infants object to the cold
wipes though, and wipey-warmers have their own fair share of
issues (such as going dry and burning on the bottom, growing
bacteria in the warm, moist climate, taking up precious space). I
guess there is just no one right answer.
For the more ambitious penny pinchers among us, home made wet
wipes or baby wipes are the rage. For the price of a quality roll of
paper towels and a few ingredients you probably already have on
hand, you can put together a couple boxes of these yourself.
- Homemade Wipes to Bathe Your Baby
1/2 roll of paper towels (cut in half to make short rolls)
1/4 c. baby shampoo*
1/4 c. baby oil*
2 cups lukewarm water
Container that the rolls fit in
Cut roll in half and remove center cardboard. A bread knife
might work well for this, or, let Daddy in on the fun with some
of his power tools.
Make sure the container you are going to use will hold the 1/2
roll of paper towels (an empty store bought wet wipe box
would be handy but so is an empty shortening can and other
things).
Mix up your shampoo, oil and water; place half of roll in your
container, pour in your liquid,close the container then gently
turn it around and upside down to distribute the liquid. To
use, pull out from center.
Bathing your baby who has clubfoot is probably not as fun as
bathing a baby who doesn't wear casts, but remember that the serial
casting phase is very short lived, and soon you will be able to give
that little sweetie all the full body baths you want, including that
special joy of including your baby in the bath tub with you.
- One thing I noticed very
quickly was how soon my
babies outgrew their little
plastic baby bathtubs....and
how inefficient these tubs
actually were for bathing a
baby. Mostly, in my opinion,
they ended up being a mess
and making a mess.
I quickly opted for Plan B: Lay the infant in the bottom of the
(regular household) bath tub with just enough water to keep them
wet, warm and occupied. To me, that translated in to not enough
water to cover the entire bottom of the tub. Laid out in the tub I
could easily wash their whole body and rinse it clean, with out
spilling water on the kitchen floor or having a big, wet, plastic "Thing"
I had to figure out where to keep stored handy yet out of the way,
too.
As children are able to sit up, bath time becomes even more fun -
but also more dangerous. Bath seats made for babies have lead to
numerous infant drownings and injuries. My recommendation is to
avoid them completely.
Parents who use infant bath seats tend to do a couple of things that
lead towards that potential tragedy:
- First, they fill the tub deeper than they would other wise, and
second, they are lulled in to a false sense of security that they
can leave the room for a moment believing the baby is safe
from drowning.
Never under estimate what a small baby can do! They can quickly
get out of the seat, one way or another, falling face first in to the
water, possibly with part of their body still trapped in the seat making
self-rescue (if a baby possibly could self-rescue himself)
impossible.
If your baby can sit up, bathe her in the kitchen sink where you can
easily reach, or in your own bath tub, sitting only in an inch or two of
water. But never leave your baby unattended whatsoever!
Wet babies are slippery - bathed in the sink or tub, you can easily
drain the water, then wrap the child in a towel before picking her up
to help avoid both chills and accidental drops.
All in all, life with clubfoot, including the aspect of bathing your baby,
is really no different than life with a baby would be otherwise. With
some ingenuity and common sense, you will find this to be a happy
time in parenthood.
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| Bathing your baby is almost as much fun as he had getting dirty! |
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