I hate giving them a bath

When we first came home from the hospital, DH pretty much had to do everything for a few weeks because of how weak and in pain I was. Now we are getting into a routine and he does the baths at night and I take them upstairs for their massage/lotion and swaddle them.
DH is leaving in August for 3 months so I thought last night I would give the bath a try with DD. She was so slippery and I kept worrying about getting water in her ear. She did not enjoy it (she usually does with DH) and I didn't either. Instead of relaxing her, I think I had her all worked up because she had a hard time falling asleep.
I guess I am just going to have to practice, but it scares me to give them a bath. DH is so good because he has big hands and can lift them and move them around easily with one hand. I feel bad for not being able to do it, but I suck at it. I won't have a choice soon and will be doing everything on my own.

 

It is so easy, once you get into the swing of it...

What I did when DH wasn't around to help was put little water in it, that way the water wasn't up around their faces/ears... and set the tub in the living room or kitchen floor. I would bathe one, and let the other lay beside me... and then I would dry the one off, lotion him up and dress him and lay him beside me, and start on the other.

 

i only bathed every 3-4 days until 7 mos they are way too young to be soothed by it for sleep, so you're not losing anything by limiting thenumber of times.

Teri D

 

QUOTE(KYsweetheart @ Jun 12 2007, 11:44 AM) [snapback]289142[/snapback]
It is so easy, once you get into the swing of it...

What I did when DH wasn't around to help was put little water in it, that way the water wasn't up around their faces/ears... and set the tub in the living room or kitchen floor. I would bathe one, and let the other lay beside me... and then I would dry the one off, lotion him up and dress him and lay him beside me, and start on the other.


This is almost exactly what I do. Just take one at a time! I actually put the tub on the floor of the shower, fill it up with the shower and then sit beside it with the door open to do baths (I have a shower seperate from my tub). Whichever is not getting her bath sits in her seat beside me.

 

QUOTE(mandyfish3 @ Jun 12 2007, 12:34 PM) [snapback]289235[/snapback]
This is almost exactly what I do. Just take one at a time! I actually put the tub on the floor of the shower, fill it up with the shower and then sit beside it with the door open to do baths (I have a shower seperate from my tub). Whichever is not getting her bath sits in her seat beside me.


I do the exact same thing! I put the tub in the shower and one gets a bath, while the other one is in the swing next to me. Then while I am dressing one and undressing the other, I empty and refill the tub so the second baby doesn't have a cold bath.

I give them baths every 2-3 days depending on my energy level and how much they need it. Like last night I planned on giving them baths, but by 8:30pm I was completely done for the day... so I put them to bed and went to bed myself!

Good luck to the original poster- it does get easier! The first time I gave them baths, my sister and I read the 'baby manual' (a book that my mom gave me- its written like an engineering manual and is very funny and informative) on how to give a bath. I was so stressed out about it! I filled the sink and tested the water like a million times with a thermometer, lined the sink with a towel, freaked out about putting too much water in the sink, etc etc. After they were done, somehow we all survived the process and we took pictures of them with the manual! Its almost 3 months later and we are all old pros at it!
-Leighann

 

Okay my babies are 8 months and my oldest is 8 years and I have NEVER given a baby a bath. NEVER! That still freaks me out, I don't know so wiggly and I have a bad Saturday Night clip in my head where the baby flies out of your hands. I can't do it. If dh is not able to, I give them a sponge bath on the floor so I don't have to hold a wet baby. I'm probably the extreme of what you wanted to hear. For any consolation, I hear millions of mom's give their babies baths! :unknw:

 

I think it's like everything else about parenthood . . . once you do it a couple of times then you'll get more comfortable with it. I have had anxiety about everything new with my little ones. It's never as bad as I think it will be. Best of luck to you.

 

They are scary at first but the more you do it the easier it gets. I would watch your DH give bathes to see how he does it. I learned by watching my mother bathe our babies cause i was way to scared to in the begining. Good Luck

 

My dh is gone alot too (Navy) and when he is home he usually does baths. I hate to do it but I can. Needless to say they don't get baths but every couple of days. Last week he was gone and they got a bath in the kitchen sink one at a time. It was so much easier than trying to wrangle them in the tub where they don't sit still. You can do it. At that age I would I would put the tub on my bathroom counter it was big enough and the other baby in a bouncy seat on the floor.

 

QUOTE(Stephanie M @ Jun 12 2007, 01:17 PM) [snapback]289386[/snapback]
I think it's like everything else about parenthood . . . once you do it a couple of times then you'll get more comfortable with it. I have had anxiety about everything new with my little ones. It's never as bad as I think it will be. Best of luck to you.



I agree Good luck!