5 Baby Bath Time Tips
We’ve come a long way from Baby Bao’s newborn bath days when we had to gently watch out for the belly button stump to trying baths in the full grown-up tub! Regardless of how much she’s grown, there are some tips and tricks I want to share of what has made our bath times as tear-free as possible.
1. Make Sure the Temperature is Just Right
Baby skin is way more delicate than ours, so it’s important to make sure the water isn’t too hot. The easiest method for us is using this temperature duckie that’s adorable and doubles up as a bath toy for Baby Bao. She also had bad eczema as an infant, so we loved how this thermometer gave us the exact temperature of the water. This allowed us to keep the bath water cooler around 97 which wouldn’t dry out her skin as much.
2. Get Everything Ready First
Before we even take Baby Bao to the bathroom, we get the tub water ready and bath towels set up, along with a clean diaper, pajamas, and lotion ready in the bedroom. This shortens the time she may get anxious waiting prior and being exposed to the cold post-bath.
3. Provide Fun Distractions During Bath Time
Baby Bao has good and bad days. She loves splashing while she’s not sobbing. A few things that’ve worked for us are these water tube toys, playing nursery songs on our phones, and singing to her. A word of warning – don’t get those super cute small bath toys that squirt water. There are a lot of videos online where parents cut them open to find mold inside.
4. Use a Clean Baby Wash
Like I mentioned before, Baby Bao had bad eczema as an infant. So we needed to find a clean baby wash with minimal ingredients for her. Even if your baby doesn’t have any skin issues, using clean baby products is always a good idea to limit their exposure to excess chemicals and fragrances. The brand that’s worked for us is this Cetaphil baby wash and shampoo.
5. Get Into the Tub Too!
If your LO ends up hating bath time, what has worked is getting into the tub too! For me, I typically sit on the edge of the tub and have one leg in. This allows me to easily control bath time while Baby Bao feels my presence even more. Hubby has recently started to put on a swim suit and fully getting into the tub. She doesn’t cry at all and has a blast!
To make bath time the best time, here are some more tried and true products that we love!
- Water Scooper – We use this every time to help rinse soap off and pour more water over her so she doesn’t feel cold. It’s super inexpensive too.
- Adjustable Tub – We used this tub from the start. As an infant, there’s an insert to let them lay down. as they begin to sit up, you can adjust the insert for a seating position. And eventually, we took out the insert altogether.
If any of these baby bath time tips helped you out, sound off in the comments! If you have any others to share, let me know. 🙂
xo Kris
