in March 2025 Babies 🇬🇧

First time mum - general queries 🤍

Just wondering what other mums are doing - none of my friends have babies and I feel a little isolated in terms of who I can ask for advice. I have had two visits from health visitors - first time was a student and baby girl was crying a lot during the appointment so mixed with babybrain, I just didn’t get around to asking what I wanted to ask. Second visit was very short with a different HV, I felt she was rushing. It was over before I knew it. - My little girl is 4 weeks now. I’ve only been giving her a bath twice a week - is this ok? - Are we meant to be giving a daily flannel wash? - Are we washing between nappy changes? I have only been using cotton and more recently wipes, but have noticed a small red line mark this morning and worried it could be nappy rash starting? - Are we changing clothing/outfits from night to day at this newborn stage? - dry skin; are we wiping away or leaving it to do its thing? - wake windows/play time; My girl seems quite happy kicking around independently and then naturally goes back to sleep.. should I actively be introducing contrast cards or more active / sensory play? I tend to just talk, snuggle , coo and giggle etc rather than use physical toys.

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My LO had nappy rash and we just made sure she was clean when using wipes during changes and then absolutely slathered her in sudocream and it cleared up within days

Twice a week is perfect as newborns don't tend to get dirty. Daily flannel wash is up to you, but you can buy head to toe wipes to make it easier. Aldi do their own in a yellow packet. Wipes are fine, but if you're worried, still stick to cotton wool. You can use a nappy cream if you want. There are good barrier creams that prevent the rash, too. I leave the dry skin to do its thing but occasionally use a mild moisturiser on the patches that are persistent. Baby is so young, talking and singing is fine, but you will want to introduce the sensory play as she gets older. Hope this helps. I'm on baby #2 and 16 years childcare experience but by no means an expert and learning all the time. Feel free to message me, but I'm not the quickest to reply. X

My baby is 5 weeks and we give her a bath everyday now as it really helps her calm down during her fussy period in the evenings. I’m not washing in between nappy changes unless she’s done a poo explosion. I use water wipes but cotton wool and water works too. If she has a nappy rash we have used the yellow metanium cream but this has been discontinued (I had some left over from my 2 year old). Just make sure you use a nappy cream. I change my baby to an outfit in the morning and a sleepsuit after her bath in the evening but this isn’t a must. For dry skin I use a cream. I haven’t really done much playing. We mostly sing and listen to music, but at this age you don’t have to do much playing.

This is just what we do and not a recommendation. - We bath every 2 days as she is quite a sicky baby. - I use wipes in between baths. - they are most likely to get nappy rash from poo’s and dirty nappies being on too long at night. We just change poo nappies as quick as we can and put a layer of sudocrem on her bum before bed. - she will stay in her nighttime baby grow if we aren’t going anywhere special that day. If it’s dirty I’ll change her. I can’t keep up with the washing if I change her twice a day! - I use lansinoh nipple balm on dry skin after the bath. - I do the same for wake windows and play time.

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