Baby baths

Hello all, I'm looking for a bit of practical advice.

I am planning on buying a baby bath fairly soon (first baby due in 3 months), but I see a lot of photographs of these being used in an adult bath - and as the baby gets older you transition the toddler into the adult bath.

My bathroom (which was there when we moved in three years ago) has a weird non-standard bath. It is round and deep (neck height to adult) and has a step in which you sit. It's so deep I can't bend in to reach the bottom of it. Imagine a spa bath but without the bubbles. We don't use it anyway as we're on rainwater only -it's really quite huge but not big enough to put a small amount of water in the bottom and be able to get in there with a toddler. It just seems a little too big to be safe.

We were planning on renovating the bathroom before baby arrived, but we've run out of time/money with just three months left. A few friends have said "you'll really have to change that bath before you have children" suggesting it's quite a major thing.

I think there must be parents out there without baths who someone manage to have clean children! (We have a shower) But, I'm also new to all this and I don' t want to ignore good advice too. In your experiences, is having a 'normal' adult bath a necessity? Will not having one cause us just a minor hassle or a big problem?

Any advice would be fantastic.

When I first had my baby I bought a change table/baby bath combination. It was great, but my son soon learnt to kick the water everywhere... and there was more water on the outside of the bath then inside it.

We have a huge 3 person spa bath which is also really deep. I couldn't consider bending over the spa bath - and it would take heaps of water to even partially fill it.

So I bought a cheap baby bath tub... and my DH bought some laminated wood from Bunnings and we placed that ontop of the spa bath. It was terrific because DS could splash all he wanted, and the water would just fall into the bath.

We needed to replace the wood (after about 6 months) - so DH got creative and actually cut a hole into the piece of wood so that the baby bath sits into the wood.

It's great because we can actually stand up whilst bathing him.

Mind you... my parents have a standard bath, and DS absolutely loves it!! We will be looking for another house soon - and that will be on my "must have" list - a bath.

A lot of people bathe their babies in the laundry or kitchen sink. This is fine if you have a big enough sink. But there comes a time when your little one grows out of it.

Another thing I found a godsend when I was first bathing DS when he was a baby... was a bath seat that we put into the baby bath. The baby lies down in it... and allows you to have two hands free to wash them, without having to hold them and support their head the whole time.

Hi Noobie,
We used a borrowed baby bath for a couple of months and used it on our loungeroom rug with a towel under it and it was fine. Now that DS is older we have given the bath back and he has showers with us, mainly.
Actually, we stopped using the baby bath on advice from our swimming school. We started washing WITH him (shower or bath), and that way we could teach him flotation and having the security of a parent in there with him. This helps babies in deeper water, like the pool. We started swimming lessons at about 4 and a half months of age and would have ideally done them from birth (can be done if your swim school has the right program for it), so DS is quite comfy in deep water. The principle is that a baby bath, or one of those bath seat things remove the need for flotation and lead to increased water fear when a baby finally gets into water where they can't feel the bottom.
So, I would suggest that for now, bath baby on the floor, or take baby into the shower, running water over the head (with baby facing down and in the crook of your or DH's elbow) and have your partner take the baby from you when the baby is washed (until baby is older and you become more adept at getting yourself and baby out without help...which we can now, woo hoo!).
So, what I'm saying is, your current bath should be fine - when baby is too old to be bathed in the bath on the floor, you should hopefully be able to bath with baby in your tub (whenever that may be due to tank considerations), and also be able to leave baby to explore the shower base whilst you're showering, too.
See? It's as hard as you want it to be, and your friends seem to want it to be hard for you! Don't worry, we have people like that in our lives too, and it's nice to show them that it doesn't have to be hard after all :)

at first we just sat our baby bath on the washing machine in the laundry, then we moved it into our bath which obviously wont work for you but we also shower with Jack heaps once you do it once you will be comfortable and is a great way for skin to skin contact

we have always taken both kids in the shower with us from a very young age.. I now shower with both kids by myself! they love it, and so do I!

I have alwao used the kitchen sink or laundry tub, its at the correct level for me and i could use the washing machine or kitchen bench for the towel and to have things handy, cream and stuff.

If you get a footy sock, ( or any long sock) cut the foot off, and put it on your arm it makes holding baby easier in the shower for the 1st couple of times..

good luck, its such an exciting time

We only have a shower here. First off we used the baby bath in the lounge room near the heater (middle of winter). When that got a bit too hard to deal with and Maggie was getting a bit long, we started to have a shower with her.

Once Maggie was able to sit up well by herself we put her back into the baby bath, but this time the baby bath was place in the bottom of the shower. Our shower is a large open one. Now she will either have a bath by herself, have a shower with one of us or have a bath whilst we have a shower (there is enough room to have the bath at the side and for one of us to still get in). We have gotten a lot more use out of the baby bath than what we thought we would.

We used a borrowed baby bath that we sat inside the laundry sink (so it rested around the edge of the sink) and used the washing machine to lay the towel out. Our DD got too long for the baby bath by 3 months and we now bath her in the big bath. We put about 10cm of water on the bottom of the bath. We put a non slip mat that we lie her on and fold a towel up that we put her head on. The water level just covers her ears. We are always there and watching if not touching her but we are free to wash her with both hands and she is free to kick around as there are no devices restricting her. I have also had baths with her which she absolutely loves (as do I) and she gets to float around and kick in the water. I haven't showered with her but it has been suggested by a friend. Anyway, the small amount of water in the bath works for us and DD loves it too, although we do still have to lean over to a certain point but we are not straining to hold onto her. Good luck, it is great fun.

If you have to keep the water usage down, i would suggest bringing baby into the shower with you. I have done that a few times and my daughter seems to like it. I started doing it when she wasnt so floppy. She does get a bit slippery because she wiggles, but that sock idea sounds good (might try it, thanks Annie!) I also used a baby bath, but she has now outgrown it so i'm not using it anymore. I did use the baby bath in the big bath and I sat in the big bath and put water in the baby bath but found it hard as we have a skinny bath and I couldnt get comfy enough.

Ik makes some points...
but just to let you know... my son started swim lessons at 6 months and absolutely loves swimming and has never had any fear of deep water at all.
I tried to shower with DS once - and it was more trouble then it was worth. We wash his hair every night, and that is soooo difficult when you are trying to hold onto him at the same time. And I get really nervous because all the soapy stuff makes the babies really slippery. I know lots of people shower with their babies - but it wasn't my thing. DS loves his bath time, and playing with his bath toys.

I used to use the kitchen sink or the laundry tub. I've always showered with Darcy, and now she prefers it to the bath - she hogs the water and it's hard to get her out, but she's also cool with the pool and the bath. She's a toddler now and just plays in the bottom while I shower. She knows how to put the washer over the drain hole to block the water and pulls at my toes until I put my foot on the washer lol.
So ultimatley no I don't think you need a real bath....I was to short to have the baby bath anywhere except the floor so back wise I found my other options better....

we have a bath but i don't believe it is neccesary. If we didn't have a bath i would have done exactly what kim did

Yep, like some of you girls say, the kitchen and laundry sink are great, too! DP, admittedly, was the one who used the baby bath in the lounge room (it was his thing to do with DS), and I used the kitchen, then the laundry when he was a bit bigger, till I started on the occasional bath with him. DP then used to wash him mainly, and in the shower - eventually I took over again as the main washer and he showers with me. When he could crawl we'd just let him play with the bottles on the shower floor, and because we use safe products that have the same toxicity as tap water, I don't have to worry if he accidentally swallows some.
If we hadn't had our baby bath lent to us, we wouldn't have bothered with one at all. We've kept a lot of things simple with DS and it's made him so damn portable!

I would not recommend a bath that is under the change table coz they are PITA!
I used a baby bath that had a drain hose & used to fill it up on kitchen sink bath Indah then drain the bath whilst I dried & dressed her! But I also showered with her heaps too!

hey tracey what is PITA?

With Izzy i used the baby bath first off, but from the very first time she used it she hated it with a passion, it came to her seeing the baby bath and she would cry! So that only got used a little bit - wasn't worth buying it...

but i found the shower she lovessss! she loves the feeling of water splashing on her face! and gets a big cranky when i take her out, it is easier if you have someone to take her/him out of the shower for you - but you can do it on your own :) ! She also loves the big adult bath with me, the floating around relaxes her...

So back to your question - it's not necessary to have a bath, you will adapt to what ever method you choose...

PITA = pain in the ar*e

I had an Infa change table/bath - where the bath pulls out to the side.... it was BRILLIANT. I can understand the ones that are underneath the change table being a pain. But the bath that pulls out to the side is the best invention ever. You are able to stand up and wash your baby - with all the soaps and lotions in the compartments at hand. You then just drip them off and transfer to the change table which had a nice warm towel on it. Personally - I wouldn't get the change table with the bath underneath it - if it doesn't pull out to the side.

I guess I am always concsious of my back. I try to avoid bending if I can help it. You put your back under enough strain carrying babies/toddlers... and getting down on the floor playing with them. But to bath them every day in a bent over position would have me in traction in no time. I've spent enough time at the physio without adding to the problems. Mind you, I'm a lot older then most of you girls ;)

We bought a baby bath with a stand on it, from K-Mart. Best invention ever, it's really saved my back. But for a while, when she was around 4 months old, Annika rejected the bathtub, so we just showered with her. You could always go with that option.

A friend of mine without a bath tub, started putting the baby bath in the shower for her little boy, and slowly transitioned him like that.

Thanks for all this practical advice in response to my baby bath question! I was worrying about nothing it seems and you have all been very reassuring. We don't really need to have a mad panic to renovate our bathroom immediately just to include a normal adult bath for the baby - that would have been a little extreme in the time frame. :D

I am sure we will try out a lot of these techniques - so thanks for your wise words and handy tips.