My baby HATES the bath!

[femalephish]

She starts screaming right when we turn on the water, and cries the whole time through. We only give her a bath one or two times a week because she hates it so much. And she is in there for under five minutes- but then she is still upset after- any suggestions?

[katelove]

How deep is the water? I have found that babies tend to prefer a deep bath they can float in to just lying in a couple of inches.

Or what about getting in with her?

ETA - just had a thought. Could it be the sound of the water gushing which is frightening her? Would it be possible to fill the bath with her out of earshot then take her into the bathroom once the taps were turned off?

[Aliyahsmommy]

Could you maybe hold her in the shower instead of giving her a bath? That is what we did with our daughter and she loved it and then when she was able to sit on her own we put her in a safety first tubside seat at the back of the tub during our showers. Now she is 2 1/2 and stands in there with us.

Originally Posted by femalephish

She starts screaming right when we turn on the water, and cries the whole time through. We only give her a bath one or two times a week because she hates it so much. And she is in there for under five minutes- but then she is still upset after- any suggestions?

[GreenGranolaMama]

DS hated the bath for a while too... for a while I didn't concentrate so much on washing him as I just set him in it and helped him splash his hands and feet around a bit. Singing also always helps calm him down, as well as making sure the bathroom is warm enough (when he was really tiny, I would turn the heat up just a little bit to warm up the air in the bathroom) and I have found that I have to be pretty prompt with getting the towel on him after he is done in the bath.

I've also taken a few baths with him and just sat in the water and let him nurse a little bit.

[ps4624]

I would make it a family affair - have everyone jump in there together and see how she responds. My DD loves taking a bath with me and thinks it's even better if Daddy is there to entertain her.

[odoole]

Don't mean to sound insulting, but are you sure the water is the right temp? We made the mistake of making it too cold first time around. He screamed, but when we warmed it the second time up, he loved it!

[CrunchyChristianMama]

My DD hated baths at first and now they up there with her favorite activities. I started taking them with her. I would fill the tub first, then strip us both down and hold her skin to skin. Then climb in and slowly get her wet from the toes up. She still hated when I washed her head, but at least she loved the whole first part. This came in handy when she was stuffy with a cold too because I could take her in a nice hot bath with steam and she would clear up a bit.

[texaspeach]

ds will scream unless I am in the bath with him.

[peacefulT]

Yup I second taking your babe in the bath or shower with you. My dd has been going in the shower with me since birth .. and now at 11 mos LOVES the shower .. even the water coming over her head and face she now tolerates. Of course it takes a bit of getting use to but it will happen over time. If you are nervous of your LO getting slippery while you hold him/her .. wrap a thin wash cloth or swaddle blanket around him and take him in with you that way .. to prevent the slipping and sliding. Also you could try the tummy tub bucket .. if you buy one online for babies they can be a bit spendy .. but I just used a brand new bucket with my dd .. and it worked wonderful .. she LOVED it .. on the rare occasions I didn't bring her in the shower with me. It mimics the fetal position they are in in the womb. A lot of babies that don't like traditional tubs , LOVE the bucket tub .. Here is an example of it.

Good luck

[lifeguard]

I'd fill the tub with her not in the room & then get in with her. We had a little duck that had a temperature thing on the bottom - when I went by it the water was WAAAAY too cold. Go with what is comfortable for you which is likely warmer than what is recommended.

[Lacrymosa]

Our baby always bathes with daddy and she loves it..

Also maybe the water is too warm or too cold? You could try turning on some music in the bathroom with you guys.

[Down2Earth]

We brought my DD into the shower a lot. At first she was scared and I would nurse her a bit, but as she got older she liked it more and more. She would sit in a bouncy seat (naked) on the bathroom floor while I showered and when I was done cleaning myself I would bring her in with me. At first I didn't put her in the shower spray but she was the one who would put her face and head in the water!

We didn't do traditional baths until DD was about 4mo, and even then we didn't do them every day. The shower was daily but the baths... not so much. There was a few months (maybe around 6 mo) when she hated baths and would only do the shower. But I worked with her a lot. She was afraid of the water filling the tub, so I did that with her in the other room. And I had to do a lot of singing and silly faces! She loves baths now so she usually gets a shower in the morning and I let the tub fill up a little, and a bath at night. She's 13 mo and she'll sign "bath" and say the word and get really excited about it.

The day will come when your LO isn't afraid either.

Originally Posted by lifeguard

I'd fill the tub with her not in the room & then get in with her. We had a little duck that had a temperature thing on the bottom - when I went by it the water was WAAAAY too cold. Go with what is comfortable for you which is likely warmer than what is recommended.

I have that duck! DD loves it and one of her first words was "duck." I just figured that the hot gauge on the bottom was broke because it always said it was hot even when we could tell that the water wasn't.