Let me start off with saying that I know many babies hate baths and water, but we are some of the lucky ones because little miss Kelia loves baths and water! I wish every baby loved bath and water like our girl because it is a solution to calm many fussy nights, help tummy aches/illnesses, and just relax our little lady before bed.
While I was pregnant I noticed that parenting comes with many choices that only parents can make for their children and along with those choices come options and judgements from others especially other parents who think they should voice their opinions and experiences. Now as a new mom I have come to the realization that like I thought all babies are unique and all parenting styles and choices are different too and thats OK. Some people may have opinions on brands of baby products to use and how and when to do things with babies. I am learning all things as I go and with the help of my husband, our pediatrician, and our WIC counselors. Our parents also help and offer advice, but we do what we feel is best and appropriate for our daughter.
That said, this post is my opinion and our choices regarding bath time, bath and body products we use, and how we care for Kelia the way we decided is best for us. You do YOU mama and do what feels right for you, your spouse, and your children. This is just an idea and example of one parenting style in terms of bathing and body care for baby.
So after Kelia was born I couldn't wait to do many things with her. (Some things like feeding her food I am obviously still waiting for the green light to do!) One thing I was excited to do was bathe her. I have bathed her in the sink, in the tub in two type of seats and in the tub with her on my lap. She loves all these baths the same.
While I was pregnant and before ever bathing her I heard so many opinions on what shampoos and body washes to use on her and some to avoid. Then later I would hear the opposite from others. So when I registered for my baby shower I opted to try to pick natural or organic choices, but later realized I want it to smell good to make her super clean from stinky milk that dribbled on her and blow-outs and such. We currently use Aveeno Baby Calming Comfort Bath and Lotion (its a light lavender scent meant to relax baby a little). I also have some Johnson and Johnson I was given, but haven't used yet and many different types of mini ones we use for traveling. We also got a bunch of Sunbum Baby Bum products for Christmas.
I love the smell of the Aveeno and so far after almost 4 months its kept her skin clean, soft, and never had any reactions or rashes as well as no cradle cap or anything.
I created a little tub for her bath stuff to keep it organized and call it Kelia's bath kit.
As you can see we have the shampoo/wash, a rubber duckie, sea squirt toys, a stacking toy, bath crayons, and some little bath books. Right now, I, of course, have to play with them for her to see and read her the books but she loves them all! She loves the colors and sounds most of all right now and tries to grab things, but isn't quite able to hold things on her own just yet.
We also have two bath seats. The first one (bottom two pictures) I got as a gift and she seems to be out growing it because she slides off of it. We can still use it from time to time. We recently got the other one (top two pictures) and she loves it and kicks and plays with her arms in it and tries to get her toys. I love that she can grow a bit with it too and hoping she has more fun in it as she grows. It is called a Summer My Bath Seat from Target, but you can get it on Amazon or at Kohls or Walmart as well and comes in a few colors too! Price ranges from $35-$39. Worth it in my opinion!
So I normally give her a bath every night as part of our nightly routine and to get her relax and ready for bed. Every other night I do a quicker one with less soap than the others. Our bath time procedure is as follows: We first get things ready on the bed: clean pjs/clothes and diaper with lotion all laid out. (If I am getting in with her I get these out for me as well). Then I put and secure whichever seat I am using in the tub, get the water warm, and start filling the bath. I get her little bath kit to have handy next to the tub and grab a wash cloth and towel for her to have ready to use too.
Then in the tub she goes! I let her play and keep putting water over her body and head with a little plastic cup to keep her warm. She plays about 15 minutes or so and splashes and once she fusses or the water cools too much we get out and I wrap her in her little towel with the hood to dry off. Next, we go in the other room to the bed and have a little lotion massage.
I make this kind of quick, but effective to avoid potty accidents on the bed and get a diaper on her pretty fast. Then we put on our PJs (or clothes if its earlier in the day for some reason).
At this point we usually watch something on Hulu, Disney+, or the baby channel and have a bottle if its a regular nighttime bath. Otherwise we play downstairs with other family members or go do whatever is needed like a Target run or whatnot.
We have been lucky and have avoided any diaper rash so far, but I wanted to share the products I have on hand due to recommendations from other moms should a rash arise. I have used a couple of these when she looked a tiny bit red at a change, but I don't use anything daily or at each change like some people do.
Our pediatrician says creams are better than ointments, but I have both and not sure yet what is best for us. I have the petroleum jelly also for when I have to take her temperature rectally. The two powders are similar and work amazing and fast and do NOT have the nasty talcum which you may know is currently not recommended because of issues it can cause for babies.
What is your bath time routine like with your baby/kids? What are your favorite products to use on baby and why?
Keep your littles nice and clean and hopefully all healthy too!
- With Love,
Alana