Essential washing habits - hygiene tips for your baby

Practicing good hygiene is essential to keep your new baby happy and healthy.

Here are simple good hygiene practices provided by Mustela to adopt when you have a baby.

• Before starting: get in the habit of always washing your hands and only using products specially designed for your baby’s delicate skin. 
• Eyes: wet a cotton ball or a gauze pad with saline solution and gently wipe the baby’s eyelids and the corner of their eyes. Use another cotton ball to wash the other eye.
• Ears: create a small tube by rolling a piece of cotton between your fingers and only clean the outside part of the ear to avoid the formation of wax plugs. Avoid using cotton buds, which can irritate and even damage a baby’s ears.
• Nose: do the same thing as for the ears; moisten the small cotton tube with saline solution, then gently insert it in one nostril. Use another cotton ball to wash the other nostril
• Face: wash the baby’s face as often as necessary during the day and don’t forget to wash behind the ears, where dirt tends to accumulate. You can use a no-rinse cleanser, like PhysiObebe, baby wipes or moisten a cotton ball with a cleansing milk, then rinse with water.
• Hair: to brush your baby’s hair, use a soft brush specially designed for babies.
• Nails: wait at least a month before cutting your baby’s nails for the first time. Until then, they’re still too fragile and brittle. After a month, regularly cut them short with a pair of scissors with rounded tips. Choose a time when the baby is calm, hold his hand or foot firmly and talk to him gently so that he remains calm during the procedure. Be careful not to cut the nails too short to avoid infections around the tips!
• Nappy-changing: carefully clean your baby’s bottom each time you change his nappy, especially in the skin folds where wetness can lead to irritation. You can use special baby wipes, a no-rinse cleanser or a cleansing lotion. Gently dry your baby’s skin before putting on his nappy. Don’t forget to apply a nappy barrier cream at each change, like Vitamin Barrier Cream 1>2>3, to prevent nappy skin discomfort.
• Umbilical cord: after birth, you need to take care of your baby’s umbilical cord until it falls off by itself in one week to 10 days. To avoid any risk of infection, disinfect it every day with a sterile gauze pad moistened with an antiseptic. Then carefully dry it with a clean pad.
• Hands: always keep baby wipes with you to clean your baby’s hands when you’re going for a walk, when having a snack or in the car.

     
You can also spray a few drops of special baby “eau de soin” (hair and body spray) on your baby’s clothes and hair for a delicate fragrance. This fragrance will stimulate his sense of smell.