Bathing your baby A helping hand for baby’s first sponge and tub bath

Date posted:21 Aug 2017

Whether you’re sponge bathing or using a baby bath or a bowl to bathe your baby, bath time is important for the health and hygiene of your little one. It’s also a lot of fun.

Ready for bath time?

Babies take to bathing like rubber ducks to water. Get into a routine. Make the room a cosy temperature because babies lose heat from their bodies quickly and make sure have everything you need on hand.

Sponge bathing your baby

You’ll likely want to ‘sponge’ bathe your baby until the umbilical cord stump has healed. This usually takes one week to 10 days, but the umbilical cord stump may remain attached for up to eight weeks.

Body wash your baby by wrapping them in a towel to keep them warm and uncover an area at a time to sponge clean. Use a mild baby wash that is gentle on the skin and eyes.

• Wipe your baby’s entire face, paying attention to creases behind the ears and neck.
• Gently wipe eyes from the inside corner out, using a fresh piece of cotton wool for each eye.
• Carefully wipe just inside each nostril using a moistened cotton wool bud.
• Clean the genital area wiping from front to back to prevent bacteria spreading from the baby’s bottom.

Umbilical Cord Care

Pay special attention to your baby’s umbilical cord. Until it heals and drops off, keep it clean with soap and water, pat dry, then fold your baby’s nappy under the cord to help with drying.

Moving on to tub bathing or bucket bathing

You can tub or bucket bathe when your baby is about 2-8 weeks old. You need to keep a few things in mind.

• Fill up the bucket or the tub with just a couple of inches of water.
• Test the water temperature with your elbow, so it’s not too hot or too cold.
• Support your baby’s head, neck and shoulders with one hand until they can sit with a straight back.
• When lowering your baby into the tub, take care to keep the head clear of the water.
• Do not add any soaps or liquid cleaners to the bath-water.
• Once done, pat your baby dry. Make sure to dry the hair, the creases and hard to reach places, like behind the ear.
• After bathing disinfect the tub with Dettol Antiseptic Liquid to remove germs.

Bathing every couple of days is great for the health and hygiene of your baby and for lots of healthy laughter.

Please consult your doctor for your baby care. Tips provided here are of general nature related to routine hygiene only.

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LOVE OF FLYING RUNS DEEP IN THE HENRIKSSON FAMILY: BOTH FATHER AND SON ARE FINNAIR PILOTS

Like father, like son. Meet two Finnair pilots who take to the skies together on and off duty.

08.11.2019

Finnair A330/320 Captain Martti Henriksson has been intrigued by flying ever since he was a little boy. He joined the Finnish Air Force in 1980 and served there until 1999. In 2000 he was hired by Finnair.

Martti was pleased when his eldest son, Iikka, started showing interest in aviation. After high school, Iikka did his national service and joined the reserve officers training corps.

“I was planning to become a fighter pilot, but I changed my mind and decided to pursue civil aviation instead,” says Iikka. In 2016, Iikka followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a pilot at Finnair.

“My dad has definitely influenced my career choice, but I never felt like I was pressured into anything. I’ve always been fascinated by flying and aircraft technology.”

FLYING UPSIDE DOWN OFF DUTY

The Henrikssons have co-piloted three Finnair flights: they’ve flown to Copenhagen, Tenerife, and Milan together. But did it feel any different to share the cockpit with a family member? Both men say it was just like flying with any other colleague.

“Aviation is standardised and there isn’t much room for variation, so it’s the same experience with any co-pilot. But we may have chatted about slightly different topics in the cockpit than with our other colleagues!” says Iikka.

When they’re on duty, Martti and Iikka are piloting Finnair’s steady and safe passenger aircraft. Off duty, the Henrikssons love to fly upside down and do flips in the air. They have a shared passion for aerobatics, also known as stunt flying.

“Iikka is now better than me at aerobatics,” Martti laughs. “This year he won the Finnish Championship, while I came in second.”

SPREADING THE AVIATION BUG IN THE FAMILY

Interestingly, there’s even more aviation pipeline in the Henriksson family.

Martti’s youngest son, Lasse, is currently serving in the maintenance squadron at the Air Force Academy. He has also joined his father and brother at aerobatics. You won’t be surprised to hear he is planning to become a civil aviation pilot.

“He’s fanatic about flying and says that it’s the only career option for him,” Martti tells.

The boys’ sister, Tytti, hasn’t shown an inclination for flying yet, but being high up in the air clearly runs in the family’s genes, as she loves parachuting.

“It would be pretty special to do my last flight with my both sons,” says Martti.

Fingers crossed we’ll see three Henrikssons in the same cockpit one day!

A Guide to Buying Electronic Items

Learn about a few ways to get the best price when you set out to buy that fancy new gadget.

You have finally decided to buy that fancy DVD player you had your eye on. However, you want to avoid the mistake of buying a product and then finding out that you could have gotten a better deal elsewhere. Here is how you can avoid this mistake.

Decide what you want to buy

Before you take the plunge and blindly make a purchase, it is always a good idea to do a little homework. Are you brand conscious or would you be happy with a locally made product? Are you interested in a product with a lot of extra features or would you be more comfortable with a gadget that is simple to operate?

Many people are tempted to buy products with a lot of added features. The question you should ask yourself though is, how often you will be making use of these features. For example, a DVD player that can also play radio stations might sound great, but does not make much sense if you already have a good music system that can be tuned to the radio.

Once you are clear about what you are looking for in your product, start comparing brand names, model features, and prices. Browse through individual company websites and check out their products. Alternately, there are websites where you can compare prices and product features side by side. This will give you a starting point to allow you to estimate what price you will have to pay when you make your purchase.

Choose where you want to buy from

Once you have decided which particular product you intend to purchase, the next step is deciding where to buy it from. For most products, you have three options. The first is to buy from a local store. In most cases, this is the preferred option since consumers feel that a local dealer is more trustworthy. You will also save on shipping costs since you can pick up your purchase in person. Some dealers also offer free home delivery or charge a small fee to deliver your purchases to your home.

If you are replacing a product with a newer model, there are many dealers who will give you a discount on your purchase in the form of an 'exchange offer'. This means that the dealer will give you a discount on the product you are buying from him in return for your old gadget. The chief downside of buying from a local dealer is that sometimes the product is priced slightly higher than if you bought it online. However, many dealers allow you to bargain, so you can settle on a price that is suitable for you.

The second option is to buy from an online retail store. This option is usually the cheapest one available since online retailers tend to offer their products at prices that are only slightly higher than the wholesale price. The catch here is that you have to pay for shipping and handling costs as well. In some cases, the shipping costs are so high that you ultimately end up paying the same price you would pay your local dealer.

Another option is to try an online auction site. If you are lucky, you can find some great bargains and save a lot of money on your purchase. This is the most risky option though. There are a number of dishonest online merchants who will accept your payment and then send you a substandard product. To avoid this, always check a seller's reputation before you commit to a transaction. An online auction is more like a lottery since a bid can change a number of times especially in the closing stages of an auction. If you plan to join in an auction, make sure you set yourself a price limit for your final bid. Otherwise, you may lose yourself in the excitement of bidding and pay more than you had intended.

Read the fine print

When you make a purchase, there are some points to keep track of. With online purchases, you will have to pay a charge for shipping and handling. Always find out the delivery charges before you make an online purchase. If the merchant is based in the city where you live, the delivery charges will be lesser than those charged by a merchant in another city. Also, some merchants will not refund you the delivery charges if you decide to return the product.

The other points you should check before making a purchase are the warranty period and the customer support options. This is where local dealers score higher since they usually give you a warranty of around one year. In addition, since they are located in the vicinity, their customer support is likely to be more prompt. Large online retailers will usually have their service centres in different cities. In the case of online auctions, there is usually no after sales service or warranty period. You agree to accept the product in an 'as is' condition.

Given the vast range of options to choose from, buying an electronic item need not be a harrowing experience. All you need is to do a little research to get a good deal.