Should Babies Bathe When Cold?

When it's cold inside because the A/C is blowing, you may ask, "Should babies bathe when it's cold?" Regardless of the temperature outside, babies should bathe as needed.  This does not mean that you need to bathe your baby everyday, no matter the weather.  Most people tend to over bathe their babies, presumably because they enjoy that fresh baby scent. 

However, according to Dr. Sears, bathing is not necessary on a daily basis. 

Daily Bath Routine:

• hand washing with baby wash
• feet washing with baby wash
• face washing, taking care to clean the nostrils and eyes, with tear-free baby wash

Until your baby is mobile and working up a sweat and sharing germs and grime with anything that stands still, and lots of things that don't stand still, you can limit the number of times you actually bathe head to toe to around three times per week.

Hot or Cold Water?

The important thing to remember for babies is they don't have a great internal thermostat and rely on external factors to control their body temperatures. This, combined with sensitive new skin, means it is extremely important for you to regulate the temperature of the bath water so that it measures between 90 and 100 degrees - close to normal body temperature.

There are a couple of methods for testing a baby's bath water prior to bathing them:

• Use the underside of your forearm to test the water temp. Tepid to warm is the goal.
• Purchase a cute bath thermometer to eliminate guess work.