Product Spotlight: Bath Needs

Avrilmai

full disclosure I straight up copy/pasted this from a previous BMB.

We have kind of a peripheral topic this week: BATHTIME! 

So let's 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 days 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!

Product Spotlight Spreadsheet

doxiemoxie212

DD3 hated baths for a really long time, and the only thing we could make work was DH getting in the fullsize tub with her and filling it up all the way. So no infant tub or anything ever worked lol. (And no, she never did poop on him lol. She's only pooped in the tub 2x in her life, and she was horrified both times.) 

Dove sensitive baby wash for soaping. Really important to have fragrance free bath stuff if you have a family history of sensitive skin, eczema, food allergies, etc. 

Get thyself some aquaphor.

I really like the towels from Little Unicorn, but really any towel will work. 

kiwi2628

So I really didn’t use soap on my kids until they got much older. Most soaps are filled with gross things and babies don’t get particularly dirty so I just do soakings in the tub. Both my babies looooooved bath time- sometimes we would do bath time for a solid 45 minutes just to pass time during witching hour(s). Sometimes I would get in with them, sometimes not. I got the angel care bath support thing and both my kids loved the angle of it. Overall we love bathtime here. 

monstera13

We used one of the little plastic tubs for DS4 as a newborn and until he could sit up well, then we transitioned to the normal bathtub. Babies don’t need nearly as many baths as you would think, so we mostly did them after pooplosions or when visibly dirty. I don’t remember what brand of soap we used, but one of the gentle ones free from chemicals. 

As a baby DS4 hated baths, but mostly because of feeling cold after. We’d turn the heat up in the house a couple degrees and have the other partner ready with a towel and cuddles right away, which helped. As a toddler they became his favorites. “Bath” was actually his first word! Once you start using toys, be careful of the ones with holes, because they can easily mold inside and it’s hard to see. 

We loved that whale thing to pour water over his head (while avoiding the eyes). We still use it! 

aloha_mama

We didn’t bathe DD until she was about ten days old to let her skin fully absorb her vernix, what little she had as a late-term preemie. I was also worried about her temperature and glucose regulation. The WHO recommends waiting at least 24-48 hours before bathing, although most hospitals are in a huge hurry to bathe the baby within hours of delivery. Don’t be afraid to refuse a bath if that’s what you want. And once you start bathing, don’t do more than three times a week and don’t submerge in water until their umbilical cord has fallen off and healed and/or their circumcision is completely healed (usually 10-14 days). No baby powders or lotions necessary. 

With that being said, we still established a “bedtime routine” early that involved a gentle massage with a little Aveeno baby calming lotion, dim lights, story time, and nursing to sleep. We started this around two weeks of age, even though she wasn’t anywhere near on a schedule otherwise. Six years later she associates that lotion smell with bedtime and it helps her sleep better on restless nights. We didn’t buy special tubs or anything— we cleaned her in either our bathroom sink or would hold her in the shower with us and lightly rinse her down. When she got older we went to the kitchen sink, then when she could sit VERY WELL on her own we went to baths in the tub. Always directly supervised and in arms’ reach at all times. I’m personally not a fan of any baby products because I feel like most of them are a scam and not necessary, but the baby tubs and inserts can be very helpful. I wanted one of those flower sink inserts at the time but never got one.

DD6 would get eczema and heat rash from time to time, and I would add an ounce or two of pumped breast milk to her bath water. Loved Eucerin oatmeal bath treatments and their baby eczema creams. 

Blondesweety444

DS5 hated baths and would scream for 2 hours afterwards. He had (and still has) almost no body fat so he would get really cold and just lose his mind once we pulled him out. He still isn’t super fond of water because he gets so cold. So we didn’t end up doing many baths. We would use a wipe to wipe down his neck folds that would trap all the spit up. 

Looking back we should have waited to wash his hair until we got him out and wrapped up and then he might have been ok. We even did blankets and towels warmed in the dryer but didn’t help much. 

For some reason you will receive 1.2M bottles of soap, lotion, and towels from everyone. I still have bottles I never could use. 🤦🏼‍♀️ We liked the honest brand lavender soap. It didn’t smell quite as strong as a lot of the other brands. We didn’t do much lotion. Maybe a couple times during the dry winter. 

We did the little baby tub for quite a while and then transitioned to an open tub where he would sit within arms reach. I liked being able to stand at the counter while he slashed in the water for a bit. I wouldn’t want to kneel next to the tub while they are too small to sit on their own. 

doxiemoxie212

Oh yes, do not - I repeat - do not buy more than one bottle of soap. We still haven't finished the bottle of Dove Sensitive soap I bought when DD3 was born, and she's 3.5y. And she effing LOVES soap (it's a problem - she just is really obsessed with it, and I have to constantly remind her that she can't put it in her vulva, and that she can't wash her hands 500x/day, which is kind of difficult to explain to a pandemic kid) so I really have no idea how anyone goes through those things. 

bluecampanula

Haha. My oldest is 8 and I think I finally bought soap for the kids a couple years ago. I like the california baby soap, a little goes a long way. 

Someone gave us a Puj with DS8, which folds and goes in a little bathroom sink. I like how it holds little babies, but there never seems to be any water on them. I think I remember it didn’t sit quite well in my big kitchen sink with DS4. It’s also not a sponge so it doesn’t get soaking wet and gross. 

We were living in grandma’s  basement when our first two babies were born. We had a tiny shower, although she also let us use her bathroom for the babies. I bought a stokke tub anyways for when he could sit, which is a foldable mini tub. At least once I gave DS8 a bath in it in the laundry room, we also took it camping. I liked using it inside the regular tub also because it was enough room for him to soak and play but used much less water. 

Once DS6 could sit well he got joint baths with DS8, so the stokke was discontinued. And my kitchen sink took its place for DS4. 

queenklau

I agree with above re. timing, frequency and no fragrance. 

We also love the honest soaps, we use the lavender and orange. 

When going from 1 to 2 kids, I had to switch up the routine a bit. As soon as I was able to submerge the umbilical cord, I started bathing them together to make my life easier. Before the newborn could sit up, I would lay/recline her in a summer deluxe bath seat (link below). It was super helpful and collapsible (since we were moving/transition to our home). It was also good situations were a bath was not available (staying with family etc). 

Summer Deluxe Baby Bather with Warming Wings (Green Triangle) - Bath Support for Use in the Sink or Bathtub - Includes 3 Reclining Positions https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BB1CV1N/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_47P527K1QN1WZS5A2DMB

lemonlove86

Not bathing specific but the Otteroo was the most hilarious and fun thing for us to use to fill time once DD was like 4 months old. Highly recommend. 

winterviolethope

By far our favorite bath was the 4 moms bathtub. I love how it reads the water temp to let you know it’s just right and was a big relief when you have such a little infant. Now, I can rely on my toddler to tell me “too hot” or “too cold” lol. 

It also fit perfectly in the sink and had a nice no-slip padding. I gave our old one away because it already went through two kids but looked at the new model for #3 and now I see that they redesigned it in a way that the water is always fresh and the dirty water is constantly drained. 

Which is great for when babies inevitability pee in their bath. 

doxiemoxie212

@winterviolethope I was looking at that one so I'm glad to hear a good review! We didn't bring any of our trial bath tubs from NYC with us since they didn't work.

hoosiermamajayden

I really liked the blooming bath to use in the sink until they’re big enough to sit up in the tub. Of course I sold it in a garage sale this summer. 🤦‍♀️ Anyway I’m going to take a twin mom blog suggestion this round and bathe babies with me one at a time while my husband stands ready to hand babies to me/collect them, dry them, etc. If that doesn’t work I figure I can order one easily enough— it’s not like they need frequent baths as newborns.

This pregnancy I ordered a little manta ray thermometer so I could feel comfortable using a hot tub and I think it’s a good investment baby-wise. It lights up red when the water is too hot and blue when it’s too cold. I’ve always measured temperature with the inside of my wrist before but according to my 4-yo I’m a bad judge of what’s “too hot” and “too cold.”

doxiemoxie212

@hoosiermamajayden that's what the twin mom in my other BMB did with her boys - said it was way easier than trying to give them baths.