Bathing in the big bath...

Hello...well, our DD is now officially too long for the baby bath, so we need to move her into the big bath. How do you do it?! What is the best way to safely bath her in the big bath? It is an absolute killer on the back and the knees to kneel over the bath and hold her - the first time I did this she slipped off my arm and took a swim,much to her disgust - needless to say the bath was over before it began! Any suggestions on an easier way to do this would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

Claire is also long so I bath her in the big bath with me, lol. I dont put much water in and then I get in and DH brings Claire in to me. It just means I need a bit of help from DH. Claire loves her baths now and she just smiles and laughs.

We used to hold Chelsea the same way they teach you in the hospital... but she refused to have it that way after about 7 weeks old cos she couldt get her ears under water... so we laid her on the bottom ont he bath and kept close eye on her. We now have a non slip mat in the bottom and she seems to like it still.

We do something similar to kimbaz - water only about 5cm deep so Angus can lie flat on the bottom. We used to put a face washer under his head but now he kicks and splashes so much that he slides about (doesn't worry him but ocncerns me) that I've got a non-slip mat underneath him. I can wash his hair and body while he's amusing himself splashing. He enjoys it so much that he hasn't had a shower with Dh for ages (he used to like that too).

There is this product you can get (we haven't got it yet, but i think i'll get it this week)

Its by Infantino, is this thing you put at the side of the tub, it has a place for you to sit, and you kneel on pads, and there are elbow rests too. Its on sale at Toys R Us this week (if you look up their catalogue online you can see a picture).... Can't tell you if its good or not, but DH back gets really sore giving baths (our bath is broken at the moment, so we are doing the shower thing, but IT WILL BE FIXED BEFORE I GIVE BIRTH (hear that Rob???)) , and it looks like it might help?

My son loves having pretty deep baths and splashing around a lot, even when he was like 6 months old, which makes it hard cos you have to hold them and not take your eyes off for a second..

It the beginning we also did the 5cm thing, which worked well.

Good luck

Love that new BB ticker Yael. sooo cute :D

Thanks! It's so cute... i love elephants (fav animal at the zoo, so i just had to get that one..) but i love giraffes too, so it was a bit of a toss up!

cheaper than those bath thingos by infantino is to pop into Bunnings and grab a kneeling pad for about $2. These are normally used in the garden for kneeling, but work just as well in the bathroom!

From when Xander was about 12 weeks, I used to put about 5cm of water in the big bath and let him scoot around in the bath under my careful watch. He much preferred to scoot around in the bath and hated it when I tried to put a non-slip mat in!

Once he started sitting up unaided I actually started using the baby bath again so he could have a nice deep bath (whilst sitting) and I could save water by not having to fill an adult sized bath everynight!

I've seen a seat that goes into the bath for the baby to sit on - they're basically strapped into it with water all around. But DS comes in with me some nights and seems to enjoy that. DS hates being in the big bath on his own so I'm happy our baby bath is huuuuuge! DS has outgrown it lying down, but we always sit him up in the bath, he loves the splashing.

We started Jesse in the big bath in a bath seat.. The seat is on a tilt so theyre kinda lying down a little, rather than those sitting up versions. You can get them at Big W in the baby section. I found it excellent. That way you dont have to hold them either. He used that until he started kicking and splashing so hard that he would jump out of the seat. So then i just lay him on his back in enough water to cover his ears. He now sits up on a non slip mat.

We also have a seat that goes in the bath - we got ours from Target. It is fantastic! It has DD in a more reclined position as opposed to sitting and she LOVES it. The seat has suction caps on the bottom so it doesn't slide around.

With Jack, one of us, usually DH would get in the bath with him. This doubles as great bonding time. Now I usually bath the boys together so there is no way to manage me getting in too. So Jack sits and Thomas either sits or lies - usually a bit of both. We have non-slip stickers on the bath which are really good to stop slips and slides. Before Thomas could sit he would just lie and usually I would bath him first, then add water and bath Jack. Now they just go in together, with more water than Tom had before, but less than Jack had. Both boys are happy and safe and we are doing our bit for the water crisis.

I bath Daniel in one of those bath seat things. I can wash him without having to hold him.

Then I put him in the other end of the bath on his back - with his head on the bottom of the bath - and leave him to splash and wiggle all he likes (I watch him, of course). He likes to stick his tongue out, turn his head and drink the water.......... weird, but funny.

On the same note.....does anyone also have problems with your little one pooing or weeing in the bath. We always have to make it really quick otherwise we need to change the water. Suggestions?

Rachel I am going to get one of those plastic things you can put in the big bath that they can lie on. Other than that, we shower him with either of us, or put him in the bath with the girls and they hold him.

Hi krysalyss. I haven't had that problem...yet...I keep waiting for it to happen. ;)

Thanks for all of your responses. We have seen that seat for the side of the bath and were thinking of that but it is pricey and it still involves leaning over the bath. The bath seats I thought of too but I was worried about their safety as they are not a recommended item. Never thought about just using a small amount of water and lying her down ...seems to be the popular choice! Hmmm, may have to give that a go. She loves to kick around and she is now so restricted in the baby bath. I worry about her getting too cold too. Thanks again.

We kept Lucy in the baby bath for a while after she should have 'grown out' of it. We used a support in that and then let her sit up in it. After that, we tried bathing with her in the big bath and then used a bath seat (she could sit unaided, but this was a bit of extra support and easier on our backs). The bath seat we got was the one that can turn but we never did turn it. I can't see why it's that dangerous unless you leave the room while the baby is in it and of course you'd NEVER do that while they're bathing. It was the circular type that doesn't clip or unclip, but you just lower the baby into it and stick their legs out of the front. It sticks on the bath with rubber feet on the bottom.

After she got too wriggly for the bath seat we bought a non-slip mat for the bath and let her do what she pleased (closely supervised). We only put water up to the point where it reaches her belly button while she's sitting.

I gave Josh a bath in the big bath from about 2 weeks old as he has always been a tall boy! You can actually buy bath rests from babies galore and they work great! The bub doesnt slip out of your hands and they look soooooo comfy! I think i also found it more comfy in our big bath as it is not to deep so my back isnt bent so much!

Jesse's never pooed in the bath. Wee.. well, he usually waits until he's outta the bath and wrapped in his towel, then he lets loose! But maybe if you tried bathing after youve changed a pooey nappy? That way hopefully theres no more poo to come out for a little while.

I always found that baby bath a hassle so we only used it for about 2 weeks. I had a toweling sling type thing that was supported by a metal frame that let her lay on an angle in the bath (reflux means laying flat wasn't an option). It's an older version of the plastic bath seat I guess but they still make them. I just kept one hand on her. She didn't like getting her ears wet (still doesn't) so it was better keeping her head out of the water.

I've got a Bunnings kneeler too.

Thanks for all of your advice. We have bathed her the last few night in the big bath by lying her on a towel with a folded up towel under her head and then water up to her ears. Problem I'm finding is that she wriggles around so much that I still have to hold her so she doesn't dunk herself under the water! She also digs her heels into the towel and drags herself down, very cute normally but not when dragging down means taking a swim! I definitely have to get another kneeler from bunnings (have one for the garden), I was kneeling on a cushion last night, not a good idea as it kept slipping out from under me. We had a look at that thing that goes next to the bath - a lot of money for something I probably couldn't use as I have bad knees. We also looked at the bath seats but DD likes to kick around so much that we feel it may restrict her, plus there has to be a way to do it without spending money. Afterall, those bath seats weren't always around. Anyway, thanks again, really appreciate it.