Bath time has always been fun in our household. Tobias is a true water baby and enjoys every second he’s around or in water. When he was a newborn his first few baths were in the washing up bowl, followed by the Angelcare bath support. When he was a true sitter and wanted to be more upright we moved onto the bath chairs which can spin around. He now has nothing but an anti-slip mat in the bottom of the bath. Oh and the bath toys! He started out with three ducks and five pouring cups, this has now developed into a sea of toys and you usually can’t see the water due to the amount he has in with him!

Bath time comes with a lot of prep beforehand as we only have a shower room in our home. We use Gavin’s parents bath that is only used for guests. I have a bag of Tobias’ bath items, which includes all the toys, a flannel and towel, bath bubbles, bath wash and shampoo. A hairbrush and nail cutters are also in the bag, all I have to do is add in his nappy gear, creams and night clothes. I have been known on occasion to get the glow sticks out and give him a bath in the dark which is great for sensory play!

I usually have started bath time before Gavin gets in from night jobs on the farm, however recently with a growing bump and struggling to carry Tobias I wait for Gavin before going through to do bath time. I try to give Tobias a bath every other day unless he’s really messy or has had an illness. I still use the bath thermometer as I don’t trust myself – I’ll probably be making him use it till he’s eighteen!

We start by running the bath and Tobias throws all his toys in, whilst we wait I get him unclothed and take off his nappy. I also check his nails and cut any sharp ones. Once it’s ready, in he goes and starts to play straight away. I wash his face with just water and a flannel, behind his ears etc. Then move onto washing his body with Aveeno body wash. I finish with washing his hair, I’m currently using Johnson’s shampoo, but want to change. He hates his hair being washed as I can’t seem to manage to keep the water from going in his eyes! I use the trusted signal for going under water so he’s prepared, but he still hates it.

Once that’s all done, out he comes and we wrap a warm towel around him, he gets lots of cuddles as he’s drying off and this is when I will brush his hair and put cream all over his body. He suffers with dry skin and I’m trying everything in my power to ease the pain for him. Once he’s fully dry he gets a fresh nappy and night clothes put on and that’s about it.

We then rush off to start the bedtime routine, which consists of an episode of ‘in the night garden’, a book, a bottle of milk and then bed!

Much love
Rebecca