Product Spotlight: Bath Time

jackie_dunny

This is a great time to, you know, SPOTLIGHT some PRODUCTS about bathtime, but it would also be great for STM+ to share your methods, tips, and techniques. There are so many other momentous things to plan for meticulously and you may then find yourself with a squirming 3-day old baby over a sink not entirely sure what to do! 

So! Adorable baby towels and teensy washcloths? Soaps and shampoos that won't irritate that silky skin? Baby-holders/mini-baths for the bathtubs? Solutions for shower-only households? And looking ahead to older babies, what toys do you have in the bath with them? But more broadly, technique-oriented, how often do you really bathe a newborn? A 6-month old? A 1-year-old? Where do you do it (bath, separate baby bathtub, shower, sink)? How do you do it without that wriggly little peanut flinging themselves into the water? Do you get in there with them? Please share!

Prior and Upcoming Product Spotlights

(Stolen from July 2021)

mayoduck

Fun fact that I didn't know / think about until I was in the moment, but for the first couple weeks, the baby should just get sponge baths until the umbilical cord stump falls off. 3-day olds aren't typically all that squirmy, but I did find it challenging to keep the baby warm during this period. I don't have much advice there except to watch out for the pee when they are cold (at least for little boys. I have no experience with baby girls)

All of those adorable hooded baby towels and washcloths are crap (imho). Most of them are thin and not very absorbent at all. We very quickly changed over to "regular" towels.

We did either baths in this tub: https://www.amazon.com/First-Years-Comfort-Newborn-Toddler/dp/B000067EH7/ref=sr_1_3 or showers (where either DH or I would be in the shower holding the baby while the other would help soap him up and take him to dry off and get dressed when it was done) a few times per week.

For shampoo, I like Tubby Todd fragrance free hair and body wash.

For bathtime toys as they get a little older (mine is 2 now), we really like these cogs and pipes (https://www.amazon.com/Boon-Bundle-Building-Pipes-Tubes/dp/B07RN2CC7J/ref=sr_1_5) and these stackable cups (https://www.amazon.com/First-Years-Stack-Up-Cups/dp/B00005C5H4/ref=sxin_9). I'd avoid the toys that suck in and squirt water because those do grow mold over time.

marbellie

@mayoduck haha we used to do plenty of joint showers too. One of us would finish showering but stay so that the other parent could come with DS, then we'd shower him, Parent 1 would take him away with them and Parent 2 would stay to shower. 

artsiefartsie

I agree that "baby towels" all suck. It is fun to have like one cute hooded one just to experience it, but just use regular towels the rest of the time.  

I could never master showering with a baby,  so we just did baths in the kitchen sink until he was big enough to sit up on his own.  We were gifted one of those Blooming bath flowers and it was nice for the sink baths, but it was a pain to awkwardly dry out and ended up just using a couple folded up beach towels to line the sink most of the time. They were much easier to wash and dry. 

Once he outgrew the sink we got this: 
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000066665/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_KAKC3MYSQTHT5QZKFT39
He loved it. 

For soap, DS has had pretty bad eczema since birth and we have only used Cerave hydrating cleanser bar on him, even hair. Then just vaseline him up right after his bath to lock it all in. 

The toys he liked most were usually just cups, pitchers, and washcloths. He liked us to pretend that the washcloth was "swimming" at him.  

Starynightsky24

Yes to the no baby towels. Just get a big warm fluffy regular  towel. I don’t bathe newborns hardly at all. Just wipe down their hands, necks, (anywhere that lint gets caught in) etc. with a warm washcloth when changing them. Then I like to do the sink baths. I can keep the water running so they stay warm. I use an organic baby soap but only use it once a week.

doodleoodle

I love baby wash clothes and baby towels. I was gifted some nice, thick baby towels. I wish I knew where they got them because they’re amazing.

 I like unscented Dove baby soap and still use it on my olde two. My youngest has had eczema flare ups in the past and Aveeno baby eczema soap and nighttime lotion is amazing for that. We use it now always as a preventative. 

I also like to keep a dyson heater running in the bathroom during bath time in the cooler months. 

I avoid toys that allow babies to scoop up bath water. Mine always tried to use them to drink 🤮

That’s all I’ve got.

RoseShadow873

I previously used the baby bath tub in the beginning, but I'm not sure it's really the best way. It was kind of a pain and they get really heavy to move when filled with water. I also have used one of those big bath sponges and might just try that this time since I got rid of the baby tub already. I never got in the tub with my kid. I also don't bathe them very often, maybe like once a week. I use the unscented Dove soap too.

bath sponge:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BB8DZNC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have a 3 Sprouts brand hooded towel that is actually very thick and absorbent. I don't know if they still make them but even if you get a thin one, I think it's worth having one cute hooded towel for pictures at least. I bought soft bamboo wash cloths from Target; you definitely want the softest wash cloths you can find. I actually mostly wash the baby/kid with my hands but a wash cloth is good for face and diaper area.

https://www.target.com/p/hudson-baby-infant-girl-rayon-from-bamboo-woven-washcloths-12pk-soft-peony-one-size/-/A-82734174