Bumps SmittenOne of the most treasure-worthy moments of being a parent is bathing your precious baby. Bath time is the perfect opportunity to bond with your little one, free from all sorts of distractions. There is also something fulfilling when you see your little angel enjoying the sensation as the warm water touches their skin.
However, bath time is also a cause of anxiety sometimes, especially when you want to ensure that the water doesn’t get into the ears of your baby.
What are the ways to keep water out of baby’s ears during bath, then?
There are actually several things that you can do, including knowing the right position for bathing; using earplugs, shower caps, and cotton balls coated with Vaseline, covering your baby’s ears with your fingers, and pouring water slowly and carefully.
Know the Proper Position for Bathing
The easiest way of washing your baby’s hair is to hold him in the football position. You can bend your baby’s head back or you can also try angling his head slightly back to ensure that the water flows away from his ears and eyes.
Use Earplugs for Babies
Another simple way to ensure that water doesn’t get into your baby’s ears when bathing him is to use earplugs made especially for babies. Earplugs create a watertight seal and help prevent an unwanted sneaky infection in the middle ear.
These earplugs have been specially made for small ears and will not cause any harm to your baby. More importantly, these can keep out the water from his cute ears. While there are other parents who suggest the use of moldable earplugs, there is no need to use these because there are already earplugs specifically made for kids for this very reason.
Using a headband will help ensure that the earplugs stay in place. Babies often hate if you try to put something on them that they don’t want and sticking earplugs into the ear will probably cause some fuss. Headbands will work great to keep everything in place as long as you use one that fits perfectly.
A headband can ensure that the water doesn’t easily dislodge the earplugs while also discouraging their small hands from constantly messing or tugging with their ears. These headbands typically feature an adjustable Velcro strap to achieve the perfect size and prevent them from falling off.
Put On a Shower Cap
You might find this next tip interesting because it involves using something you are familiar with – the shower cap. Although it might not offer the same effectiveness as a set of earplugs since it means you need to clean the head of your little one separately, this is still a great method to consider.
Shower caps can help you clean your baby with no need to take a lot of special measures and you can give your baby’s head some thorough and proper cleaning afterward.
Discover the Wonders of Vaseline-Coated Cotton Balls
Probably one of the most traditional methods used for years when it comes to keeping water out of baby’s ears is using cotton balls coated with Vaseline. People continue using this method to this day and they swear that it is as effective as using earplugs.
It is an accessible method you can use since you might already have some Vaseline and cotton balls at home. The only downside is that you have to prepare them every bath time for your baby. This makes this method a bit tedious, especially because you still need to do a lot of things just to give your baby a good bath.
However, the best thing about this method is that doctors highly recommend it to help ensure that water doesn’t get into your baby’s ears. In fact, it also doesn’t take long to prepare everything.
Just follow the steps below:
- Get half a cotton ball while considering the size of the ear canal of your baby. But most of the time, half a cotton ball is enough for an infant.
- Measure one tablespoon of Vaseline and rub it on the cotton ball until everything is completely coated. Make sure that no part of the cotton ball is dry. Any dry spot might get soaked with water while it is inside the ears, allowing the water to get into the ear canal.
- Put the Vaseline-coated cotton ball in the outer ear of your baby. Make sure you don’t push in the cotton ball too deep to the point that it enters the ear canals. Doing this will cause damage to them and might make them difficult to remove. Just push them deep enough to ensure that they don’t fall out.
- If there are bits of cotton ball that stick out of the ears of your baby, tuck these in as much as possible.
Just like that, you got an effective DIY pair of moldable earplugs.
Use Your Fingers to Cover Baby’s Ears
With the use of your ring and thumb fingers, try pressing the ear of your baby to keep his ears covered and ensure that water doesn’t enter it. If you cannot do it and there is someone else who helps you during bathing, you can let the other person take care of covering the ears of your baby. This way, both of your hands will be free, making bath time much safer for your baby and easier for you.
Pour Water Slowly but Surely
Make sure that you gently and slowly pour water over the hair or head of your baby. You also need to control the water enough to prevent water from getting into your little one’s eyes or ears. You can also extend using the washcloth to his hair. When you do this, you don’t directly pour water into his hair, which helps reduce the risks of water getting into his ears by accident.
Follow these ways to keep water out of baby’s ears during bath and enjoy bath time even more!
