New parents find themselves asking questions that they never would have imagined before holding their newborn in their arms. One of the most common questions that new parents have is: How often should I bathe my baby? The answer to this question is largely dependent on your baby’s age.

The First Weeks at Home

When you first bring your baby home from the hospital, they are not quite ready for a full bath just yet. Typically, the stump of their umbilical cord will not fall off and heal completely until 1 to 3 weeks after they are born.

Until this happens, you can give your baby sponge baths while keeping their umbilical cord stumps clean and dry. However, even sponge baths should only be given 1-2 times a week, as bathing your newborn too often can cause skin dryness and even irritation. Read more about bathing babies with umbilical cords for more information on this.

Baby’s First Baths (Newborn to 6 months)

After the umbilical cord stump has dried up, fallen off, and healed completely, you are free to bathe your newborn for the first time! A secure hold is needed in order to keep your newborn comfortable and safe during their first baths. Newborns can be slippery, and bathing them for the first time can be intimidating! It is best to bathe your little one in a sink or infant bathtub, with only a couple of inches of warm water.

Our Whale Bubble Bath Inflatable Bath Tub™ is great for babies that can sit! The soft and supportive whale tub turns into a splish-splash ball pit, with 10 floating balls and a jingling tail. It easily drains, deflates, and folds for storage, making it perfect for home or travel. After your baby learns to sit up, they will have so much fun splashing in the water and playing in the ball pit.

6 months to 1 year

During the second six months of your baby’s life, they continue to grow right before your eyes! Your little one may reach significant developmental milestones such as crawling, standing, and possibly even walking! During this time, they will also start to try various kinds of baby foods and begin to take bites from your plate at dinnertime!

Increased mobility and learning how to eat will result in more messes and cleanups throughout the day. Because of this, older babies need to be bathed more often, around 3-4 times per week.

Also, as babies continue to grow, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep their attention! Fortunately, there are a wide variety of interactive baby bath toys that can help make bathtime fun!

Our extra large, extra light floating Bubble Turtle™ is perfect for little hands. It features colorful bouncing balls in the shell, jingle sounds when batted, and it deflates for easy storage. Also, our Catching Fish Cups™ is four toys in one! Babies can play with each piece separately or stack them together. The fish’s head acts as dribble dish, it’s body is a pouring cup, and the tail is a sprinkling strainer. The included floating pufferfish can swim in the stacked fish’s tummy or bob in the tub.

Squirting toys, such as our Aquarium Bath Squirters™, Tub O' Toys™ sets, Jumbo Sea Squirt Turtle™ and Jumbo Sea Squirt Fish™ are also a great additions to bathtime!

Emerging Toddlerhood

Before your little one’s first birthday, you will most likely need to switch from the baby bath to the regular tub. It is important to make sure that bathtime is both fun and safe, and our 2-in-1 Bath Mat & Storage Basket™ can help ensure that it is.

The turtle-shaped multi-functional bath mat keeps babies and young children from slip-sliding in the tub. When playtime is done, you can fold up the bath mat to create a storage basket for drip-drying bath toys, while keeping your tub tidy! It includes a strong suction cup hook to hang on the tub wall.

During this time of increased exploration and mobility, your emerging toddler will most likely need to be bathed more often. You can transition to a daily bath, or every other day, in order to keep their little hands, feet, faces, and bodies clean! Hopefully, bathtime will become a treasured routine that both you and your baby enjoy for years to come!