Diapers, Bathing, and Keeping Things Clean

The AAP recommends keeping diapering supplies within your reach — but out of your child's reach — so you don't have to leave your baby's side mid-change.

The AAP is direct about this: use the safety strap, but don't depend on it alone to keep your child secure. A hand on your baby beats any buckle.

The AAP notes it averages out to about six changes a day across the diaper-wearing years, so the newborn weeks are the peak. Stashing supplies in more than one spot around the house (and in the car) saves a lot of trips.

The CDC lists 'after changing diapers' as one of the key times to wash hands — scrub for at least 20 seconds.

MedlinePlus (the National Institutes of Health's health information service) advises changing your baby's diaper often, and as soon as possible after the baby urinates or passes stool.

MedlinePlus suggests laying your baby on a towel without a diaper when possible — the more time out of a diaper, the better for irritated skin.

The AAP also suggests fragrance-free wipes (or plain water and a gentle cleanser), absorbent diapers, and a slightly loose diaper fit, especially overnight.

These are the specific call-the-doctor triggers MedlinePlus lists for diaper rash.

The AAP says there's no need to put alcohol on the stump. Folding the top of the diaper down below the cord keeps urine from soaking it.

MedlinePlus notes the stump usually dries and drops off when a baby is roughly 5 to 15 days old, and recommends cleaning around it with plain water and keeping bath time to sponge baths until then.

The AAP says this small amount of dried blood is expected and not a cause for alarm.

These are the warning signs the AAP lists for the cord stump.

Bathing more often than that can dry out a newborn's delicate skin.

Those spots are more sensitive to heat than your hands, so they're a better thermometer.

This is the AAP's anti-scald recommendation — hotter tap water can cause serious burns on baby skin very quickly.

The AAP notes that most young-child drownings at home happen in bathtubs, more than half involving babies under a year old. If the phone or doorbell demands you, the baby comes with you.

The CDC recommends a wash basin and bottle brush used only for baby feeding items, because sink drains can harbor germs. Scrub with hot, soapy water and squeeze soapy water through the nipple holes, then rinse well.

Toweling can transfer germs right back onto clean parts, per the CDC.

A dishwasher run with hot water and a heated drying cycle handles cleaning and sanitizing in one go, per the CDC. For older, healthy babies, daily sanitizing may not be needed if items are cleaned carefully after each use.

The CDC adds that pump tubing doesn't need routine washing if milk never touches it — but if you ever see milk or mold inside the tubing, replace it rather than trying to clean it.

The CDC calls handwashing one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs.

The AAP's 'cocooning' guidance asks relatives to practice good hygiene like hand washing, to let you know when they're sick and return only once well, and to skip kissing or getting close to the baby when coughing or possibly sick.

The AAP recommends household members and caregivers be current on these — ideally at least 2 weeks before visiting — because newborns are too young to get some vaccines themselves.

New fabric can carry residues from manufacturing and shipping; one wash takes care of it.