Splish splash
Okay, y'all, I need bath advice.
I have been bathing A in the kitchen sink since the get-go. I like it because it's at a comfortable working height and I have lots of counter space to work with. I never used a baby bathtub because they just seemed bulky and unnecessary (I have a mesh chair that I put in the sink and could continue to use in the tub).
However, A is outgrowing the sink. To be honest, she outgrew it about two months and several pounds ago. I need to move her to the bathtub, but I'm having all these mental blocks about how to make it work. Right now, I undress A on the counter on one side of the sink, move her into the sink to bathe her, then move her onto a hooded towel on the counter on the other side of the sink to dry her. My questions about transferring her to the bathtub are these:
- Where do you undress the baby? If it's far from the bathroom, does the baby ever pee on you en route?
- We have a big bathtub, and I have to use a lot of water to fill it up high enough to cover her. Is it necessary to use this much water? Do most people just use a few inches, and if so, doesn't the baby get cold?
- Do you use a bath seat of any kind, or do you just let the baby sit up on her own?
- While you're bathing the baby, do you sit on a stool or kneel? Doesn't your back kill you?
- Where do you dry the baby when you take him/her out of the bathtub? The counters in our bathroom are tiny, so the floor seems like the only real option here. The bathroom floor is not really where I want to put a clean baby, but maybe other people's floors are cleaner than mine?
Upon reflection, these questions sound really dumb. But I don't know the answers, and maybe you guys do, so I don't care. Help!
posted by Melissa @ 10:20 AM
5 Comments:
At 12:43 PM,
Tallis Ford said…
I think your questions make a lot of sense especially since you found one way that worked for you and now you have to switch. We bought a baby bathtub and it was the most worthless piece of baby equipment we shelled out 10 bucks for (or whatever, at least it wasn't expensive). We just took baths with Henry for the longest time and then around 4 months i got a bath seat that hooks on to the side of the tub. We bathe him in the guest tub because it's smaller and when he's using the seat i do fill it up to about his chest because our house is freezing. Once he started sitting really well i've given him a bath with him just sitting up in the tub but he occasionally takes a nose dive so i've gone back to the tub chair. Also, i can't fill it up very high if he's sitting because he'll float away and then he gets cold. I either undress him in his room (down the hall from the bathroom) and wrap him in a receiving blanket, or undress him on the rug in our bathroom. He's peed on me a few times but i guess it wasn't too big of a deal. I then either dress him on the bathroom rug after he gets out or on his changing pad in his room. Hope this helps! BTW, i'm going to buy one of the mesh seats for the next baby we have.
At 2:43 PM,
landismom said…
When my daughter was a baby, we used a baby bathtub in our kitchen, and basically followed the method that you talk about. With my son, I think we put the baby bathtub into the larger bathtub, although he insisted on using the big bath tub about as soon as he realized that's what his sister did.
We did the undressing in the bathroom, and the drying off/getting re-dressed in the bedroom. Most of the time, my kids bathe together, so they can amuse each other for a minute while I get the towels, etc. ready.
I sit on the side of the tub, and have never been peed on (at least, not at that point), although we have had peeing incidents in the bath (it's something about that warm water...).
At 3:14 PM,
Anne-Marie said…
I'm glad someone brought up this seemingly obvious issue 'cause it still boggles my mind. We've (I've) been sitting with Sam in the bath for the last 7 months and while I enjoy the bonding time, I've had just about enough of taking nightly baths in lukewarm water and was trying to figure out if he's old enough to sit on his own. He sits really well, I guess I would just have to put less water in the tub in case he takes a tumble. To be honest, even with me hanging on to him, he usually takes a tumble every once and again. We undress/dress Sam in our bedroom, which is attached to the bathroom then run to the tub. No peeing incidents yet, only once in the tub. And luckily, no poo! He farted once - you should have seen how fast I jumped!
At 7:49 PM,
Cataclysm said…
We kept Rian in the baby bath way too long (he did love it though! One of our good $10 items) and when he moved into the big bath, we had him with one of us for about a month or so.
But then he was 6 months old and sitting pretty good so we started doing the 'solo bath'... now, we bathe him every night as part of our sleep-through-the-night-routine so it was a matter of necessity that he 'solo' it a bit...
And yep, even in a big bath, he's mostly Ok sitting on his own. He does a dive every 2-3rd time reaching for a duckie and we're good parents in that respect - we DO fish him out! The thing is, he's never cries after he's been rescued so I figure he's Ok. And no ear nfections yet so all's good!
It took Rian about a month to adjust to the big bath so be patient if you don't get the same level of joy once you move A.
At 8:58 PM,
Anne-Marie said…
yeah! Sam had his first all-alone bath in the big tub tonight and seemed to love it! If loving it means sucking on a squeaky frog all while playing with his crotch...
I can now once again enjoy long, luxurious bubble baths (2 baths in one night always seemed a tad excessive!).
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