Why does she hate bath time so much?

[Astrid]

Showers are great. It is very cute when DD licks my skin and waves her hand under the water. I have found showers have the extra bonuses:

Great destress for both me and bubs ( I love my showers)
Quicker than setting up the baby bath.(our house does not have a bath)
Good for clearing blocked noses

I wish I had started showering her sooner.

[Debbie Lee]

Linda - that's great that Emma loved the shower! Such a relief for you.

Gabby was one baby that loathed water for a very long time. I thought she would never start enjoying the bath! She would scream the whole time. I just kind of put up with it until she got over it. It's only been up until recently that I can safely say she LOVES bath time (it got progressively better over time). She gets all excited when she's all nudey and can hear me filling up the bath. Of course, she can sit up now so that helps.
Just keep plugging away at it. When you think about it, it's probably a pretty overwhelming experience. Maybe it's not so much that she hates it as she doesn't quite know how to handle the emotions that go with it? She'll get there. Then you will have the opposite problem of her not wanting to get out of the bath, LOL.

[BellyBelly]

My two have always been in the shower from birth, they have both loved it and of course there's that skin contact, warmth and all Some things you might like to try depending on their age is:

* checking the room temperature - baths get cold quickly and then they get out, it's very cold too! Showers tend to warm up the room and stay the same temperature, so perhaps you might have the room warmed up, a warmed up towel or other if you are having a bath.

* making bathtime more fun - when marisa goes through her phases of not wanting a bath, I put sparkles in the water and make up a magical story, so she has glitter in the bath or a little bit of colouring to make it fun. I try and avoid bubbles for her skin, but if I use something I try and make it a gentle brand. I also give her containers, spoons etc to play with in the water and try and find new or different things all the time.

* I have a shower while she's in the bath. She thinks it's great we are washing together and can chat while we play. It's also a good way for mummies to get a shower

* Choose bathtimes carefully. I always have dramas in the bath when either of my two are hungry (nearing food times) or over tired.

* After the bath - I always tell them what to expect next if facing a struggle! 'Let's have a bath and then after, we can snuggle up and read a book / do a puzzle / play cars together / build a block castle! I wonder what book you'll choose today?' She loves books so it's a sure winner I also always emphasise the bits after and talk about them heaps, so they have forgotten about the big deal with the bath and I can undress her while we talk about books and before I know it she's in and happy talking about books!

[Lee-Ann]

I don't know if your bub is still young enough, but I bath Regan on her tummy. I hold her chin and support her sometimes with the other hand as well and she loves her bath. When I wash her hair (which I do first before putting her in the bath) she cries. As soon as I put her in the bath on her tummy she relaxes and enjoys it, she'll even kick her legs. I also did this with my second daughter and she also loved bath-time. I found once they were old enough to put on their backs the bath wasn't such a scary thing to them.

[Adnil]

Thanks Kel & Lee-Ann. More ideas I can try. I never thought of it on her tummy - sounds difficult! But I might give it a go...

[nicole mckay]

linda,we put a face washer over chantelles tummy and that works well for us
nikki

[Tracey]

I tried showering with Indah, she hated it!!! So bath is fine for us, she loves it anyways, thank goodness coz she hated the shower!!