Newborn Nursery!

everybody has their own way of doing the bath. I usually do the hair first, while they are still swaddled, using football hold over the sink or basin/tub. you could give that a try, it might seem easier to hold onto the kiddo that way.

today i was in the nbn from 7a - 3:30pm. oh my goodness. i have never worked so hard in my life and have never been so frustrated with myself before! i am used to doing things right more often than not and i just can not get the hang of the newborn bath and general holding of the newborn. i got how to prop them up sitting, supporting under their chin and under the arm, but add in soap and water, not to mention wearing gloves, and i am a mess.

i tried bathing laying on a chux in a bassinet, which was great till i got to the hair. then i tried a football hold in one hand and using the other to pour warm water over head to rinse. slippery and i was scared i would drop her into the sink.

i know, i know...practice.

i *was* the first one to notice jaundice in a little one today, and i did a ton of tpr's, so i did some stuff right. and i learned (mostly) how to generate charts etc. but i really really wish that i'd done better with the bathing. we are really supposed to do them in the room w/ the parents as a teaching/learning experience and i absolutely dread that.

anyway, just a vent i guess.

i am green w/envy j/k but my favorite place to be is in the nb nursery...i can't get enough of how precious these tiny little people are, and like you i feel myself constantly worrying about holding tight enough to not drop, but not too tight, i guess there was a little comedy relief seeing you juggle water, baby, and all the events surrounding it lol w/you not at you, i'm sure you did way better than i would have!!!congrats on the jaundice discovery way to go!!!

me too deep in the nclex study routine, have you scheduled a test date yet? i am scheduled for july 18th scary!

i am green w/envy j/k but my favorite place to be is in the nb nursery...i can't get enough of how precious these tiny little people are, and like you i feel myself constantly worrying about holding tight enough to not drop, but not too tight, i guess there was a little comedy relief seeing you juggle water, baby, and all the events surrounding it lol w/you not at you, i'm sure you did way better than i would have!!!congrats on the jaundice discovery way to go!!!

me too deep in the nclex study routine, have you scheduled a test date yet? i am scheduled for july 18th scary!

yes i am scheduled for july 24!

everybody has their own way of doing the bath. I usually do the hair first, while they are still swaddled, using football hold over the sink or basin/tub. you could give that a try, it might seem easier to hold onto the kiddo that way.

Ya know, I don't know why I haven't tried that. It seems that would be easier. I wonder why none of the nurses have told me otherwise---the three I"ve worked with have always said "Cleanest to dirtiest" and done the hair last. hmmmm

Hi coopergrrl, keep with the clean to dirty system. But after the face and body has been washed, dry and put a clean diaper on the baby. Wrap a clean and dry towel around the baby and then pick up in a football hold. This way the hair is still the last (they loose a lot of heat when their heads are wet) but you are not trying to hold on to a wet slippery baby.

how is the hair any dirtier than the rest of the baby? more vernixey?

I was wondering that too, why is the head the dirtiest? I would think a newborn would be the same level of "dirty" all over!

all of the blood and mucus dries in it after delivery and a kid with lots of hair can be pretty matted down. I had one recently and the water running off the head was brown for a while, had to pull stuff out with my fingers.

Hold them in the blanket like a footbal and make sure you have everything already there.

I worked with a nurse that actually gave my 3rd baby a bath in the sink full of water. She was so calm for her bath (the baby).

I'm just wondering why anyone is giving newborns tub baths at all. You're not supposed to do that until their umbilical cord falls off.

We usually give newborn baths at sink w/warm water, in football hold. You start w/the head/face first and do genitalia/anal regions last, for obvious reasons. Don't worry, you will "find your groove" after practice and time. Don't let these early nursing days jitters get you down.

I'm just wondering why anyone is giving newborns tub baths at all. You're not supposed to do that until their umbilical cord falls off.

My grandbabies were both given tub baths after delivery. The nurse did the first one, but my son gave his second daughter her first bath, 15 months later. He was delighted, and the baby was very calm. I know the cord gets wet when we give baths, but it doesn't seem to be a problem.

BTW Their cords dried and fell of within ten days, without any cord care. It's not recommended at that hospital.

how i love giving a newborn their first bath!! i lay 2-3 chux in the bassinet and the bassinet is under a standing radiant warmer to keep the little one warm. as the baby is cleaned, i remove a chux at a time to keep the baby always on a clean surface. at the end, i use a clean washcloth and squeeze warm water over the baby to rinse off the baby soap. then i thoroughly dry the baby and put on a diaper. then i wrap him/her in a dry towel and use the football hold to wash the hair, using a baby comb to comb out all the dried blood, etc. i usually then will do another shampoo for good measure and extra cleanliness and rinse that off well, dry thoroughly. the baby then stays under the radiant warmer for about 20 minutes or so to make sure the temp is back to normal. while under the warmer, i also put the baby blankets and undershirt in the crib to warm them as well for when the baby is ready to get dressed. nothing like the smell of a freshly laundered baby!!!