This is an area that the wife is so much better at than I. Especially when she was younger I just couldn't keep her situated or from sliding around in the tub when she was all soaped up. We had a lifesaver of a bathtub that fit perfectly in our kitchen sink. At first she hated, I mean hated her baths. If you were a neighbor you'd probably would have thought we were murdering her. By about 3 months though she was in love with them. She would kick and splash around in the water like a little fish.
Once she got a little bigger (around June/July) we went swimming with her and did a couple of blow-dunks to get her used to having her head wet. Needless to say she loved that as well and she never took in any water (thank god!). After we felt confident that she could handle it we switched to family shower time. This is something that we still do once a week as a bonding experience with her. We all hop in the shower and give baby a bath. Always making sure the water is cool enough for her but also warm enough to keep her from being cold. At first she didn't know what to think of it. Now, she loves it.
Typically about and hour or two before bedtime we get in the shower and one of us will hold her while the other one washes her from head to toe. She loves to put her head under the water and feel the water on her hands. Most of the time the battle is keeping her from being under the shower for too long.
Some tips on baby bathing though. Wash EVERYTHING. Babies have little folds and crevices that you have to make sure your getting. Also, scented soaps and shampoos for babies are a blessing. Lavender is the best for ours. This knocks her out and calms her down for bedtime. Also, we typically only bath her at most 3 times a week (unless she's gotten into something). Her little skin got so dry when we exceeded this. And last tip; lotion, lotion, lotion. To help keep her skin soft we always put lotion on her after every bath, not to mention who doesn't like a little massage?
Stay tuned for our next article.
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