Week 31 - Our first sink bath
April 16, 2007
Xander keeps growing, and no matter how much we tell him to stay small, he continues to grow, and outgrow various things around the house. I’ve been cleaning out his clothes about every month - taking out the ones that don’t fit anymore. Recently, it has become much more challenging to give Xander a bath in the infant tub that we have - he’s just getting too big for it. Now that he can sit fairly well, we decided to start using just the sink for baths. Xander seems to enjoy the playtime more now. I don’t mind bathing him in the sink, though the tub did make things quite a bit easier. I haven’t yet figured out how to wash his hair without getting at least water, if not soap into his eyes. It’s a bit difficult to get Xander to tip back to wash his hair, since he’s only interesting in playing with the water around his feet. We’ve only been doing this for about a week, so I’m sure we’ll develop a better system, - I just hope that happens sooner rather than later!
<tags>baby, babies, infant, infants, parent, parents, parenting, bathing, bathing baby, baby bathtub, sink baths</tags>
Don’t worry about the water/soap in his face. Make sure it is tear free and he should be fine. Cameron is the same way, once he could sit up, I couldn’t tip him back anymore. To rinse his head I just squeeze out a face cloth over his head or a cup of water. He is totally fine with it. Once I do it, I do immdiately wipe his face, just in case, but he holds his breath on his own and just lets the water drip down. I wait a minute to repeat if I need to. But I think it is good for babies to get some water in their face, I think it makes them less afraid of water when you take them swimming for the first time. If they get spashed it isn’t a big deal to them.
A couple of weeks ago, we were going to a function at church for my step daughters first communion. Cam had taken a nap after his bath and his hair was all over the place. So I got the squirt bottle to wet it down a bit (keep in mind my son does not have as much hair as your does - but still can manage to get everywhere). After I gave his head a couple of squirts he said MORE! LOL…so I squirted him on the belly, he laughed and said more, so my husband, squirted him closer to the face and he started laughing hysterically and saying More More….such a strange kid
We also learned with our soaking rains this weekend, that he loves the rain on his head…so there are a few examples. I know not every baby is the same…but maybe some things to try…and I definitely wouldn’t worry.
Lee Anne
At the hospital after having Joseph, they gave me a little squirt bottle. We have been using that to rinse off Joseph’s head after a shampoo. It works really well, and I just use the palm of my hand against his forehead while I am rinsing and that does the trick.
P.S.-Joseph makes that same adorable little face. Especially when he is interested in grabbing something he sees.
I am 21 weeks pregnant, and I love reading your stories. When I was nervous and anxious in the first part of my pregnancy, your story kept relaxed and feeling normal. Your “real life” take on all of this stuff makes it seem so much more real than the websites like babycenter, etc. While informative, they don’t have a human touch or real insight. I love that you’ve kept this up and documented on Xander’s daily life. It gives us all something to relate to!! I suppose this is irrelevant to the question of how to not get soap and water in his eyes….my friend always used a face cloth on her son’s head. Of course, he didn’t have quite as much hair as Xander has!
i agree with lee anne, as long as they are tear free, its fine. some babies dont mind water on their face likes yours truly. try distracting him in the sink with plastic cups and spoons. my joy of bathing her in the sink ended when she learned to splash now i find it easier to just bath with her in the big tub and she can splash all she wants.