Dear Reader, Baby Bath Time Basics...

I've found that with most baby gear, the list of what I thought would be useful and what is actually useful can sometimes be different.


Here's what works for us at bath time:

1.  Bath Sponge.  When Bo was a newborn, at first, we just sponged him off, then eventually we dipped him in the filled sink.  Just a plain old bath sponge like this was invaluable.  We laid him on it while we sponged him off. Then when we started dipping him in the filled sink, we put this on the bathroom counter and used this as a soft place to lay him and dry him off.  And even now that he bathes in the tub, we keep this on the bathroom counter and use it as a soft place to lay him and dry him off.  It's only $6 (we've had the same one for 6 months)!

 

2.  Plenty of thin towels and washcloths.  Like this.  Thin towels and washcloths work the best for us--easier to work with and wrap around the tiny thing.  I'm a huge fan of the fluffy animal towels for kids, but for a baby less than 6 months old, just the thin ones worked best for us.

3.  Tub (when baby has neck control). Once Bo could control his head and neck pretty well, we started bathing him in the big tub. We put the sponge in the tub first. It worked fine, but took awhile to fill the tub up.  We eventually got this tub.  It's inexpensive and does everything I want it to.  It has a stopper to catch his little bottom, takes no time at all to fill with water, and you can remove the stopper so he can sit up in the tub when he's able.

4.  Rinse cup.  Just something to scoop water over them to get the soap off.  Bo is obsessed with the         little fish cup that came with his tub. 
   
5.  Baby soap and lotion (of course!).  We got a ton of this at our showers, and I've yet to find       something I didn't like.  Bo doesn't have sensitive skin so we're lucky that he's been able to use anything and everything.  We've tried Burt's Bees, Aveeno, Huggies, and Johnson& Johnson.  Each smell differently, but all have a sweet baby smell to them.


6.  Bath toys.  Bo isn't in to bath toys yet, but I'm sure these will be essential down the road.