To get the best lather out of your soap or body wash, use a bath sponge in the shower or tub. Bath sponges come in many different forms, from natural sea sponges to mesh puffs to scrubby loofahs.

It’s something you might be told in passing as you and your little one leave the hospital: “Oh, just give them a sponge bath until the umbilical cord falls out” or “Because of their small size, just ...