Bathing baby - when do you do it?

[Now we're 3]

Hi

Just wondering when and how often you bath your baby? My little one is eight weeks old today and am trying to work out best time to bath him. And how often?

I am currently feeding every three to four hours but not always on demand as will wake him to feed if he goes over. I have read some suggestions that the bath should take place before the night feed but think this probably relates to a baby that is sleeping longer through the night ie who has dropped at least one feed rather than at our stage. I have also read not to bath either before or after a feed which on either 3 hrly or demand feeding routine doesn't seem to be possible.

What does you find works for you? Should I just wake him a little bit earlier for one feed say in the evening and bath him and then feed?

Any advice would be great.

TIA

[MamaPan]

I feed similarly to you and have always (with both boys) bather just before bedtime feed... ie when i out them down for the night (even though they will still wake every 3 hrs). so around 6.30pm it is now...
I usually when they are really small give one side, then feed and then the other side - this stops them from being too hungry during the bath. i did it daily bc part of bedtime signals.. sometimes it is quick!
DS2 loves his bath, DS1 didnt like it - we started showering him at 10 days old.. (still did it in the evenings)
this is what has worked for us...

[Rach75]

Luke is 3 1/2 weeks old and I try to give him is bath after his afternoon nap he seems well most days except tpday to have 3 decent naps morning afternoon evening...so when he wakes from his arvie one I give him a bath then then give him his feed HTH!!!!!!!

[ss_storm]

i used to bath of a morning, about 10 or 11am as it was the middle of winter and cold, but not as cold then as it would be later of an evening! Now I bath her at about 5 or 6 at night.

[BhoysGirl]

Can't remember our exact routine when DS was a baby, but we generally always did an early evening bath, cos it was DH's thing to do with DS, and so had to fit into work days. I guess we found it to be a generally calming thing to do with him, that worked well in witching hour, cos it helped him to relax.

[sloane]

i did the same as mamapan early on & fed one side, then bath, then feed the other side before bed (even though DS wasn't going to sleep all night). we bathed whenever the afternoon grizzles hit - so anywhere from 4 onwards.

now that DS is older we bath around 5.30-6 & then i feed both sides & then put to bed around 7pm. the bath nearly always goes to plan...the going to sleep bit not always!!

[Dido]

My bub is 7 weeks old and i have not yet figured out a good time to do the baths. I usually will do one when baby has woken and i know that she is not real hungry (otherwise she screams right after the bath and cannot settle to eat) OR i bath her when she has had a feed and does not drop straight off to sleep. Its a total guessing game for me at this stage but i am guessing once she is a tad older and in a routine (as such) that i will find the right time. Its difficult isn't it.... !?! Good luck!