Bathtime

kmd91

What does bathtime look like for you guys lately?

I ask because my little guy absolutely loves the bath, always has. And is now discovering the joy of playing and splashing in it. So I let him hang out and play for 20-30 minutes most of the time. However, my husband when he occasionally helps out with bathtime is strictly business. Once I've got him washed he's grabbing the towel and saying "okay, you ready to get out?"

I'm not saying either way is right or wrong, but I was just wondering whether at this age it's more common for it to be get in wash, get out or for it to be playtime, too. 

jdal1206

My LO has also just started to splash/play in the water. Before he would just lay there so it was mostly just a wash and then out. But now since he likes to splash/play I wash him first and then let him go to town. I think his bath the other day lasted over 30min because he was playing, like the washing part took all of 5 minutes and he played for the other 25! I'm a big fan of letting him play in the water since I'm not a water baby and I'm hoping that he grows to love the water like his dad! 

rubirubi89

I've given mine long baths  (20 minutes) since about month 2, when he made it really obvious he didn't want to get out yet, by screaming into my ear as I was trying to wrap him in the towel.  He kicks and kicks until the water gets cold and its time to go. 

VexedMommy

Bridget loves her bath time.  The length of the bath tends to depend on what else is going on that night.  If my 10yr old has a lot going on that night with homework or after school activities, Bridget gets a quick bath while the 10yr old takes her shower around 7:30.  If I've got time and don't have to follow up with homework or help DD1 study, we play and splash for about 30 minutes sometimes with sissy's help. 

This is also a bit different than what I did with DD1, but I only use soap every second or third night.  The other nights, I just use the warm bathwater and a clean cloth to get her creases.  It's less about keeping her squeaky clean at this point and more about establishing a routine.  When she starts into solids and playing in dirt we can move to using soap every night. 

kwaldy

Emma hates bathtime. Screams the whole time, doesn't matter the temp of the water... so it's in, wash, out. Lol. 

angelinthepit23

Our LO loves bath time. So as long at time allows I'll let him stay in there until the water gets cold. 

GoogleMD

Grayson loves bath time. I let him play and slash until the water starts to get cold. I just bought him little swim trunks and I am taking him to the indoor pool at the Y next week,  I really hope he enjoys it . I can't wait to take him to FL this summer.

MoRay05

LO loves bath time! We have LO's bath tub in the big tub so we can give both kids a bath at the same time. Sometimes after they are both all clean I will hold LO in a sitted position he can splash around with his big sis. He loves it! He doesn't really have enough room in his tub to splash. We don't always have time to play but most nights we try to make bath time fun  

Ceridwen77

How much water do you put in the tub? My Lo loves bath time but I worry she gets too cold so I get her out ASAP. I would love to let her play longer! Right now we fill the tub with about 3" of water. 

AmoLovesAud

Still doing wash and out, bc my LO still hates baths.  Still using the infant tilt on the tub, and holding her neck/head while I scrub, so she's not sitting in very much water.  Maybe she'll like it more when I can trust her to hold her head up and use the whole tub....

itstheblackwidowbaby

Our bath time is incredibly quick! With the little baby tub that we use (can't remember brand or whatever) and the way it's designed, I'm not comfortable enough to let him just play in it yet. 

He likes it, but he also likes to play "hey mom watch me try to discretely put my entire face underwater!"

GoogleMD

Ceridwen77 said:

How much water do you put in the tub? My Lo loves bath time but I worry she gets too cold so I get her out ASAP. I would love to let her play longer! Right now we fill the tub with about 3" of water. 




--------------qbf

In the baby tub we would fill it so half his abdomen was covered. Recently we had to move him to our bath tub because he has gotten so long, and splashes so much.

turkeybabt

My LO was a hater until I decided to have him bathe with me, what a difference! At first he wasn't too sure, now he is about ready to play in the water. 
Anyone else bathe with their LO?

PetitNightingale

My son hates the bath. Like, hates it, will scream his head off if water so much as touches him. It makes me feel like I'm hurting him TBH and he doesn't get bathed as much as he probably should. His grandmother says he will grow out of it.

doodleoodle

turkeybabt said:

My LO was a hater until I decided to have him bathe with me, what a difference! At first he wasn't too sure, now he is about ready to play in the water. 
Anyone else bathe with their LO?

I used to for every bath until about a month ago I still do occasionally. It's really nice bonding time. However, I definitely don't linger long enough to let her play when we bathe together. You're much braver than I am!

AmoLovesAud

turkeybabt said:

My LO was a hater until I decided to have him bathe with me, what a difference! At first he wasn't too sure, now he is about ready to play in the water. 
Anyone else bathe with their LO?

I'm willing to try this, but how deep do you make the water?  I imagine I'd freeze if I had to sit in just 3 or so inches.  Or do you fill it closer to regular, adult bath depth and hold LO on your lap or something?  I am also terrified of loosing my grip on slippery wet baby....

missphil

AmoLovesAud said:

turkeybabt said:

My LO was a hater until I decided to have him bathe with me, what a difference! At first he wasn't too sure, now he is about ready to play in the water. 
Anyone else bathe with their LO?

I'm willing to try this, but how deep do you make the water?  I imagine I'd freeze if I had to sit in just 3 or so inches.  Or do you fill it closer to regular, adult bath depth and hold LO on your lap or something?  I am also terrified of loosing my grip on slippery wet baby....

We do this! I fill the tub completely and hold him between my extended legs. I hold him under his armpits with my arm across and one hand under the armpit and use the other to wash him. I like for him to be submerged so he doesn't get cold. He Is floating in sitting position but I can push my legs together for a stronger hold. I also will flip him to face me and kind of hold him with my arm and his head in my hand. Or I will flip him to his stomach and hold his jaw in my hand (like when I burp him) and his chest on my forearm.
Generally my husband is there to help wash him and then I hand him the baby in his towel-covered arms. But I have done it alone by pulling the PnP near the tub with the towel in it so I can place the baby, fold the towel over him and safely get out after.
They don't really get slippery at all. The thing to be careful about is the floating because they bob up and down

AmoLovesAud

missphil said:

AmoLovesAud said:

turkeybabt said:

My LO was a hater until I decided to have him bathe with me, what a difference! At first he wasn't too sure, now he is about ready to play in the water. 
Anyone else bathe with their LO?

I'm willing to try this, but how deep do you make the water?  I imagine I'd freeze if I had to sit in just 3 or so inches.  Or do you fill it closer to regular, adult bath depth and hold LO on your lap or something?  I am also terrified of loosing my grip on slippery wet baby....

We do this! I fill the tub completely and hold him between my extended legs. I hold him under his armpits with my arm across and one hand under the armpit and use the other to wash him. I like for him to be submerged so he doesn't get cold. He Is floating in sitting position but I can push my legs together for a stronger hold. I also will flip him to face me and kind of hold him with my arm and his head in my hand. Or I will flip him to his stomach and hold his jaw in my hand (like when I burp him) and his chest on my forearm.
Generally my husband is there to help wash him and then I hand him the baby in his towel-covered arms. But I have done it alone by pulling the PnP near the tub with the towel in it so I can place the baby, fold the towel over him and safely get out after.
They don't really get slippery at all. The thing to be careful about is the floating because they bob up and down

I will give thus a try, thank you!  It'd be great if bath time wasn't torture time.  At the very least, I'd like LO to not hate being in water, our new house has a pool and I'd really like to enjoy it with her!

AmoLovesAud

Just wanted to check in again and say I tried bathing with her on my lap.  Not so bad!  Didn't seem like she was totally into it, but no tears were shed, and it was a lot easier to hold onto her than I thought.  Still didn't stay in long bc the water started to feel like it was getting cold (but I'm a terrible judge of water temp, as DH likes to point out I prefer to practically boil myself in the tub), but she didn't fuss or cry getting out either, so I'm calling it a win!  Thanks @missphil !

missphil

Great!! My son isn't really into bath time either but I feel more relaxed in there with him than killing my back hovering over a tub. 

modanz1

We bathe together sometimes and he loves it!  I do make my husband sit in there with us just to be extra safe.  We fill the tub up to a normal adult level and I just hold him under his armpits and let him float around.  He bats at his rubber ducky and splashes all around.

rachswi

I think I may try that this morning. LO really enjoys bath time and he's been super cranky so maybe a bath with mommy would help.

 He's also taken to trying to take his wash cloth and suck all the water out of it. Apparently he likes the taste of water (which is a good thing I suppose!) (also no worries. He steals the wash cloth before it has soap on it and I only let him suck briefly because I don't want him to fill up on water instead of milk)

Kristi4938

turkeybabt said:

My LO was a hater until I decided to have him bathe with me, what a difference! At first he wasn't too sure, now he is about ready to play in the water. 
Anyone else bathe with their LO?

This is the only way we do it! Either me or my husband bathe with her every other day. It's actually really fun. She's grown from being unsure to being a huge fan of the water. She loves splashing around! It's really cute. 

bellie1223

@rachswi mine is the same with the wash cloth, it's hilarious! She sucks on that thing like her life depends on it. I've taken to bringing an extra one to the bath so she has one and I have one for washing her.