Product Spotlight: Bath Time

elle-0409

Hey, Mamas! Babies are so adorable, but sometimes gross. What are some must-have bathing products for the little ones? What kind of bathtub or seat do you recommend? Shampoos or other products that are gentle and safe? Also, feel free to ask questions! For example, "How to I wash this child? Why are they so angry at me?"

steminist

I use the Babyganics soap, because I like that it comes in a foaming pump bottle.

If you have a shower stall in the master bath I highly recommend getting something for the baby that you can bring in with you - whether it's your baby bathtub or a sling seat, whatever you prefer. It's one thing to take a shower with baby crying in another room, but I tried once leaving DS in his bouncer seat right outside the shower door... He screamed the whole time. I swear I took my whole shower in about 2 minutes, sobbing with him (Thanks, PP hormones!)

Try not to get too hung up on bathing "on schedule" if it isn't working for your family. Lots of people incorporate into bedtime, and if that works, it's great! It really winds my son up, though, since he loves to be in the water. As a result, he takes a bath really infrequently (probably a confession-worthy frequency, actually), but, especially as a baby and even now as a toddler, he doesn't really get smelly. We do wash his hands and face multiple times a day, and, up until this past week, his bottom was getting a good cleaning with every diaper. He has no skin issues, and his hair looks fine, so we aren't pushing it too much. Not at all trying to discourage bath time, just don't let it stress you out as ANOTHER chore you're adding to your day.

mrsinterweb

I really loved the Mustela products. They are not fragrance-free, but they did not bother DS one bit. Their newborn foam shampoo was the best for cradle-cap and they have a cleansing water that we also really liked for cleaning in-between baths (like in the neck folds, haha!).

We liked having a baby bath with a sling attachment. We used this at the kitchen sink with our sprayer to basically shower the baby in the sling. Once baby was too big for the infant bath, we got the Munchkin inflatable duck to use inside our regular bath. The duck tub was awesome! Once he outgrew it we used it as a beverage tub for his first birthday party which was rubber ducky themed.

Other great products for the bath include a foam knee pad (must-have), a faucet cover, something to help with pouring/rinsing (we used the Skip Hop whale rinser and faucet cover), hooded towels (I love the ones from Ikea and they also have bigger toddler-sized ones that we still use), and bamboo washcloths.

prpl11butterfly

@steminist DS is 4. His last bath was Sunday 🙈 (but I swear it's happening tonight....). He's in a pool 1/2x a day so that counts right?

steminist

@prpl11butterfly I honestly would be surprised if our schedule comes to more than once a month... DH and I shower regularly, but for some reason, it doesn't come together very often for little man! 🙈

cmbt2

I used a basic baby tub in the regular tub with a sling for itty babies and without the sling for when they can sit. My boys liked to have code browns, so not having to bleach my tub made things easier. 

For soap, we use the Dove sensitive baby line. DS1 broke out from both J&J and aveeno soaps. Now that they both have a decent amount of hair, we have dedicated shampoo and conditioner that we use on them (barely scented stuff). For lotion, I really like the Aden & anais lotion

nnaelilak

I would bath with DS mostly in the early days (keep the bouncer close by with a towel in it and you can put the baby in it to get out). And then sometimes I would put his tub in the shower with me so I could get a shower in as he got a little older. We also take "family" showers and so DH and I would take turns holding him while the other soaped up lol

As for shampoos and soaps, we use babyganics! I second loving the foam dispenser!! However, due to both DH and my skin dryness we usually just rinse DS unless he actually gets dirty. It's helped keep his skin and hair looking great! 

trapperkeeper87

@nnaelilak I like the idea of a family shower you mentioned. That's so smart!

nnaelilak

@meagan-t we use it as our unwind after work time lol No electronics to distract you! We talk about what we did that day while the toddler plays with his boats at our feet and attempts to hog the hot water 😂😂 It's one of my favorite parts of the day! And I like to think we're saving the planet with 2 less bath/showers a day haha

cmbt2

Oh, and PSA for when kids go to daycare or school- lice hate dirty hair. Hate it. Even if you bathe them daily, keep hair washing to every couple
days or use product in their hair after washing