My 3 month old is sucking his fists a lot, and I was wondering how I can safely sanitize his hands to keep them clean in between baths. Most sanitizer is not reccommended for babies. Anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks!
Most baby wipes have alcohol in them...so I don't think it is a good idea to wipe the baby's hands with them. I would use just plain water to cleanse his hands.
The answer is DON'T!! I teacher child welfare classes. Many parents want everything super clean thinking that will protect there child but it actually does not. OF COURSE washing hands is recomended and you can wash the kiddos hands throughout the day with a mild soap and water or a wippy but nothing else. The reason is that you want to expose your child to some girms. This way your child will start building an immune to it. This way, later on, when they starts school, they won't catch evey cold they come in contact with.
Christie: When we had foster twins, our baby sitter would wash or simply rinse their hands at the sink and that worked great. While they were a little older than your baby, they enjoyed it unlike being wiped down. This worked well especially after eating babyfood. We would take them to the sink, run warm water and rinse their hands and with our fingers gently wipe their mouths/faces with warm water. They were much more receptive to this than being wiped down and I think it teaches early skills about hand & face washing. I never would have thought of it on my own. Good luck with your sweet baby.
About your son's age, my daughter did not take to the pacifier. She would keep spitting it out. Instead she would try putting her fist in her mouth. I had the same concerns as you have now.
I rememered my cousin's advice and put hand mittens on and voila! It worked like a charm. I stacked up on the mitts and washed them thoroughly. Initially I had to change it quite often, but later as she started losing interest in trying to put her hand in her mouth, the number of mitt changes reduced. By the time she started crawling and picking up things she completely lost interest in sucking her hand/thumb.
Hope this works for you.
McKenna is right on. At this young an age, your dc is not going to be getting into anything too terribly bad (just wait until they start crawling!). Plus, you don't want to go too overboard sanitizing things. It can have the opposite effect in the long run.
Your best bet is to occaisionally wash them with water and a mild soap; however, unless other people have been touch his hands or he's been into something, it may not be necessary. The fist sucking is perfectly normal and his is just soothing himself and exploring his world with his hands and mouth. Every baby has their own way and he'll stop doing this before you know it.
My 4 mo. old is doing the same thing. His fists are his new best friend. I wipe his hands down with baby wipes every time I change his diaper. It might not be soap and water, but at least I know they are somewhat cleaner than they were before.
My 2 month old does the same, and since he spits up alot and it gets on his hands, I take one of his wash cloths and put some of the johnson and johnson bath wash on it and wipe his hands. And other times I use his baby wipes to wipe his hands. I wouldn't use any of the wet ones brand of wipes because the baby is so young and it may be to harsh for a newborn. Hope this helps.
I agree with Lisa and McKenna. I have 22month old twins, and I kept everything extremely sanitary, now, they catch every cold they come in contact with. So, now with my 3 month old I allow her to come in contact, within reason, with most everything. I don't keep things as clean as I used to, and it helps having two other children that get it dirty right after I have cleaned it. I wash her hands with soap and water when necessary, but the only things she really touches is herself, and me. I make sure to always have clean hands. I think this is a phase, and won't last forever. My daughter sometimes uses her fist to pacify herself, so I don't recommend making her stop. She's doing it for a reason, and it doesn't hurt anything.
A little about me:
SAHM of 22 mth. boy/girl twins, and 3 mth. baby girl!!! Happy Mommy!!!
First choice would be good old soap and water, though not always practical. You could try using a washcloth with soap and water. Second choice would be wet wipes with the least added chemicals. Maybe a sensitive skin formula.
Keeping the fingernails trimmed will help tremendously, too.
What a great mom you are, thinking about your baby's health by washing his hands! Lucky boy!
BTW, does your baby suck his fists when he is hungry, or is he hitting that oral exploration stage? You could be lucky in that he is a self-soother with his fists.
My dd really kicked up the fist eating when she began teething at 4 MONTHS OLD! YIKES!
Best wishes!
My advice would be to scrub his little hands with wet wipes throughout the day. Also, when little children want to touch his hands, kindly explain that they may touch his feet and toes, but not his hands because he puts his hands in his mouth. Congratulations.
