Best Basic Care for Baby Forever

Baby Care

In this form

•  
• The bath 
• Navel
• The genital toilet
• The nose
• The eyes
• The hair 
• Nails
• The teeth
• What to avoid ...

The bath

During the nine months that the baby spent in the womb, water formed its natural environment. Generally, the baby likes to be bathed. And then, the moment of the bath is also the occasion to make acquaintance, to exchange smiles, caresses. The more you will be calm and confident, the more it will be too.

It is not necessary to wash your newborn on a daily basis.

A bath every 2 or 3 days is enough. However, you can wash your baby with a washcloth or washcloth every day. Clean his face, ears, neck, then underarms and hands finish by painting the genitals and buttocks.

You do not need to use soap when washing your newborn, except to clean the buttocks, genitals, and hands. Use mild unscented soap or soap-free cleanser (sometimes called syndet, or dermatological bread).

If growing up, your baby tends to have dry skin, bath it every 2 or 3 days. You can also moisturize your skin after bathing, if needed, with a base cream without perfume (as Glaxal ® base ).
For more information, see our Baby bath sheet.

Baby bath

The delicate care

Navel

Clean your baby's belly button every day with a cotton swab soaked in warm water. Never use alcohol. Carefully wipe the cotton swab around its umbilical cord. Do not be afraid; it will not hurt him. Then, dry the belly button with the other end of the cotton swab to keep the area clean and dry.
Make sure your baby's diaper is folded below her belly button, so she does not touch it. Leave your belly button in the air if the weather allows it.

Its cord is partially attached, and there are some traces of blood? Do not worry. It is essential, however, not to pull on the cable, even if it is partially detached. When he is completely healed, he will fall alone. This usually happens between the 5 th day and 20 th day after birth.
If the umbilical cord is oozing and smelly, bleeding a lot, or looks red and swollen, consult a doctor.

The genital toilet

Always clean your girl's vulva from front to back, gently spreading the labia majora. Do not clean the inside of a baby's labia minora. You could remove the mucus that protects them from bacteria.
Wash your boy's penis and scrotum with water and mild soap. Do not shoot the foreskin, which is not lifted at birth and opens alone over time. There is no medical or hygienic reason to force him to open before. For more information, see our foreskin care sheet.

If your baby's buttocks or foreskin are irritated, change the diaper as soon as it is soiled with urine or stool. Use a washcloth and lukewarm water rather than wet towels to wash. Then, apply an unscented ointment based on zinc oxide after each diaper change. To learn more, read our diaper rash sheet.

The nose

To get rid of impurities and prevent infections, clean your baby's nose regularly (2 times a day during the summer and four times a day during the winter, this may be more often during a cold ). To clean your baby's nose, use saline (sold in pharmacies or homemade ). The saline solution eliminates secretions, decongests with salt, moistens the nose, and prevents bleeding.

Changing diapers is a great time to clean your baby's nose. Lay it on your back and place the dropper gently at the opening of the nostril. Put the entire contents of the dropper (1 ml) in each nose. If dried secretions remain stuck, gently wipe the edge of the nostrils with a wet tissue or washcloth. Instill a full dropper (1 ml) per nostril again. If secretions persist, use a baby fly or nasal bulb to aspirate them.

If your baby's nose is stuffy with secretions, it is especially important to clean his nose before drinking, eating, or sleeping. You can also take a long bath or an extended shower with your baby. Water and water vapor can make secretions more liquid, and thus help clear the nose.

To see how to clean your baby's nose with a saline spray, check out our infographic saline solution to help small stuffy noses.



The eyes

Clean your baby's eyes with a clean wet washcloth, always going from the inner corner of the eye to the outer edge. Use different parts of the washcloth for each eye. This will prevent you from spreading a minor infection.

Does your baby have a corner of the eye regularly covered with white or yellowish secretions? This is probably because his tear duct is not unblocked yet. This will be done in a few months.
If you notice redness and heat near the corner of the eye and under the eye, consult a doctor. Wash your hands and clean the eye with a washcloth.

The hair

Wash your baby's head no more than once or twice a week, using a mild soap or a baby shampoo.
Does your child have yellowish crusts on the scalp (called "hat" or seborrhea of the head )? To remove these scabs, wash your baby's hair with a mild shampoo and use a comb to loosen the crusts. You can also apply a little mineral oil, almond, or olive on his scalp and put a comb in his hair a few hours later.

Nails

During the first days of the newborn's life, the pins are completely stuck to the skin, and you should not cut them because you risk cutting the skin at the same time.
Wait until the nails are long enough before cutting them. Then, choose a good time to do it: for example, after your child's bath, when he is calm and relaxed, or when he sleeps.
Do not forget the toenails. To avoid incarnation, cut them straight from side to side so that the corners stay relatively long. However, it is advisable to slightly round the edges of the fingernails so that your baby does not scratch.

The teeth

Toddlers do not like brushing their teeth. To get your baby used to this hygiene measure, clean his gums after drinking with a clean, damp washcloth before he has teeth.

Start brushing twice a day as soon as your first tooth appears. For more comfort, sit on a couch, on a bed or the floor. Lay your baby on his back and put his head on your thighs.

As soon as he can stand up, but both of you in front of a mirror: sit on a chair and stand behind him. Start by pushing one of his lips with your free hand, then brush his teeth vertically, always going from the gum to the tip of his teeth.

Use a fluoride toothpaste. This type of toothpaste is safe and effective in preventing tooth decay. In toddlers younger than three years old, the amount of fluoride toothpaste used should be the equivalent of the size of a grain of rice. For children aged 3 to 6, this amount should be about the size of a pea.

Encourage your kid to spit out the surplus dentifrice.

However, he should not rinse his mouth after brushing. Thus, the fluoride contained in the toothpaste will continue to protect its teeth against cavities.

Do not share your toothbrush (or that of your other children) with your baby. He must have his own to prevent the transmission of bacteria between your family members.

Since kids love to imitate, brush your teeth in front of him just before brushing his teeth.
According to the Canadian Dental Association, you can bring your child to the dentist at the age of 1 year, or six months after the appearance of his first tooth, to get him used to the exam. But your dentist may want to wait for all his teeth to pierce before examining and cleaning.

To prevent tooth decay, avoid putting your baby to bed with a bottle of milk or juice.

The little things to avoid 

Talcum (baby powder): Although it was often used once to dry babies' bottom, baby powder is no longer recommended today. It can cause respiratory problems.

Scented products and milk, bubble baths, soaps, and shampoos for adults: they irritate the sensitive skin of babies as well as the mucous membranes of the vulva of little girls. They contain far too many chemicals, detergents, and additives.

The cotton swab to clean the ears, nose, or eyes: you risk repelling secretions more deeply and injure your baby. Clean only visible parts with a small damp cotton ball, washcloth, or washcloth. Do not forget the back of the ears: moisture and sweat can crack the skin.

Disposable wet towels: they often irritate. Use them only when you do not have access to water and soap. Preferably choose towels that are not scented.

Too much sun: Reduce sun exposure to a maximum during periods when the sun's rays are at their most active, from 11 am to 4 pm When you go out, put a baby in the shade, cover his head with a hat with a wide brim and have him wear clothes to cover his legs and arms. We have long advised against putting sunscreen on a baby under six months because of its delicate skin. The experts reviewed their recommendations after re-evaluating the scientific data in this regard. They now recommend applying a small amount of cream wherever the baby's skin is not covered by clothing when it is not possible to keep the baby in the shade.