I remember being in the hospital after having just had my first baby and smiling as the midwife showed me how to bathe your little one. My 2 day old precious bundle was screaming her head off, I was politely smiling and taking photos but on the inside I was freaking out. I looked at her scrawny little legs, flimsy little arms, floppy tiny head and 3kg body and wondered how I was going to handle this EVERY DAY!
So I’ve learnt some things along the way and I actually find bath time really enjoyable with all my kids. They enjoy it and so do I:
Invest in good bath support:
For every stage of development there is a good bath aid that will make your life so much easier. The midwives in the hospital made it look so awkward. “Put one hand under here and the other one over here”. It felt like a bad game of Twister. I am using the
Dreambaby Premium Bath Seat. It’s one of the only ones that I’ve found fit my babies chubby legs and just feels sturdy. It also folds easily which is great because I need to take it out to bath my older girls.
If you are nervous about not getting the bath temperature perfectly then use the
Oricom Digital Bath and Room Temperature Thermometer. One less thing to worry about when bathing your baby.
Dreambaby also make a
Anti-Slip Bath Mat that I use even with my older kids to prevent slipping. This clever bath mat also has a "Too Hot" Indicator to let you know if the water is too hot. All these things have been invented to help make life easier – why don’t they tell you about that in the hospital? You are welcome!
Nice towels and lotions make a difference:
Seems obvious when we love investing in new towels and soaps for ourselves but for some reason we don’t always think about it. My first daughter used to scream when I took her out the bath. I was advised to put a towel in the dryer and when she got out the bath to wrap her in the warm towel. Because I was a first time mum I did it and yes she did love it..who wouldn’t? But it really was not practical especially now that I have three kids! I found that a good quality towel makes a big difference. It seems to be soft on their sensitive skin and it keeps them warmer. I now use the
Bubba Blue Towels for my 6 month old and wrap her snug like shes in a cocoon and she is 100% content. If you have used a nice lotion (I’m also using organic ones from
Bubba Blue) you will want to inhale your baby at this point too. Perfect time to follow up with baby massage.
Make it fun:
Some people have been advised to make bath time quiet and relaxing and whilst I see the benefit of that, don’t take it too seriously. Your baby will love the one on one experience with you, the touch and the cuddles so treasure your time together.