AIBU to bath my toddler twice a day

[RPL19517]

DS is 20 months and I currently bath him twice a day. Every night, without fail, his nappy leaks (and I have tried every brand of nappy ) and he is soaked in wee. I find it easier to just stick him in the bath for a couple of minutes whilst I'm brushing my teeth/having a wash. He has a bath with his sister before bed too (as he is usually wearing his dinner!) AIBU to bath him twice a day? I do moisturise him with Aveeno after each bath and his skin is lovely and soft.

Ummm I bath mine about once every 3 days, so in my opinion yes twice a day is far too much. Equally you probably think I don’t bath mine enough!

I personally think being bathed twice is preferable to spending the day covered in wee 🤷‍♀️

I bathe mine every night, I would also bathe her if she woke up covered in poo/wee/vomit. You should be able to find a nappy to prevent this though - have you tried the + ones for his size? They’re more absorbent.

I bathe mine at night, sometimes every other night otherwise her skin starts to get dry. Plus it totally kills my back so I don’t know how you manage it twice a day!

What nappies are you using?

Also they do these top to toe wipes that are massive and I use those between baths- maybe have a look at those?

Ultimately it’s up to you, as long as their skin isn’t drying out I don’t see the issue!

If the bath is just water it is fine. I would avoid putting any products in it if you are doing it that frequently.

We've found only nappy pants work at night, DS is too wiggly when he's sleeping. Pampers premium (not babydry) or Naty are both good, Aldi ones gave DS what resembled chemical burns!

If he is mucky, then I think it's OK. I wouldn't give him one if he didn't need it. Sometimes it is just easier at that age to give them a quick dunk in the bath when they're filthy with dinner etc. Have you tried him in the shower? I started giving my two showers about two for things like the nappy leaks/dinner in hair/wearing half a field.

I think you just need to find nappies that don't leak

Are his body suits too tight when they are done up ?

Honest question why do people keep using bath as a verb instead of bathe? Is it a dialect thing or what?

I don’t see an issue. DS has a bath every night as he’s scruffy generally.
However DS is a heavy wetter and we tried absolutely everything to resolve it. He’s worn two nappies for bed since he was 6 months old and hasn’t leaked since. It’s worth a try.

If he enjoys it and you have time why not? Water play is always fun for toddlers.

Personally I'd probably just wipe down with a flannel n the morning.

@lookatallthosechickens

Honest question why do people keep using bath as a verb instead of bathe? Is it a dialect thing or what?

Are you American?

Nope I’d do the same in those circumstances. Although I would want to resolve the wee issue as I wouldn’t want to A) deal with that each morning and B) can’t be nice to sleep all wet and cold all night.

Have you tried pampers premium? Usually good. Perhaps you should move to a pull up or something or a bigger size.
If nothing else works I’d probably limit drinks at bedtime / just before because potty training will be a nightmare if they’re still that wet overnight. I normally find as DC got older they were less wet overnight not more. Strange.

@lookatallthosechickens

Honest question why do people keep using bath as a verb instead of bathe? Is it a dialect thing or what?

To bath = to give someone a bath - transitive. You do it to someone else. Bathe - you bathe. An activity, not something you do to someone. You don't bathe someone. And it has connotations of total immersion - you bathe in the sea - not in 4 inches of water.

I used to, DS was a sweaty, mucky baby. He got a wash most mornings and then one before bed. Especially at that age when he was also wearing much of his dinner and never still. Never had issues with his skin.

He's nearly 4 now and doesn't get washed as much.

Why are you bathing him at night as well? I think it’s too much, isn’t there a research that proves too frequent bathing is bad. His skin may be soft but you may be affecting his immunity.

My DS used to often have a shower with me in the morning then a proper bath at night.
He just liked playing under the shower water with toys while I washed.
If he's just got some wee on him I'd probably just quickly rinse him in water in the morning with the shower, I wouldn't bother running a bath for that.
As long as his skin is fine then I wouldn't worry about it.

On the rare occasion my 18 month old leaks overnight, I just give him a wipe down - he has eczema so bathing twice a day would be way too much for his skin.

But if his skin is ok and you gave time, why not?

For me yes, I don’t bathe my toddler much but if she was waking up wet then I absolutely would so you keep doing what suits you best.

Nothing wrong with that at all, I'm sure you don't use abrasive stuff on his skin. Many people shower morning and evening, I nearly always did when I went to work, now it's usually only once a day; children are no different.

It's a long time since I had a baby but he used to bathe in the morning and often at night though didn't wash hair at night. As he got older he would get mucky throughout the day whilst playing and at school and needed a shower. When the weather is hot and sweaty there's nothing so refreshing.

Just play it by ear, there are no hard and fast rules.

Ds was once a day but if there was a nappy explosion he was showered/bath again but we never used any baby products and i don't think any are good except for baby wipes and soap if we had too

It’s MN, you’re only meant to bathe yourself and your wains weekly (if that).

I bathe both my 6 and 3 year old twice a day without fail. I also bathe twice a day. They love a bath, it’s part of their night time routine and never fuss about getting in. They have lovely skin, it’s not dried out or anything but I do moisturisers them each night and use a bit of talc.

I did the same for the same reasons when mine were small. After all, if you got covered in wee / poo or food you’d probably bath twice a day and wouldn’t feel a quick wipe down was enough. It’s not the baths that will cause dryness it’s soap / shower gel etc.

So long as you are careful to use gentle cleansers and keep moisturising afterwards, in my experience there will be no problems.

@MereDintofPandiculation source on that? I really don’t think that’s the case. Bath is a noun, bathe is a verb. People on mumsnet seem to constantly use bath as a verb, as in ‘I bath my children’, instead of ‘I bathe my children’, which is correct. I’m just curious if the use of ‘bath’ as a verb is a simple misspelling or lack of knowledge (similar to the constant use of ‘loose’ instead of ‘lose’) or if it’s a dialect thing and some people actually say ‘I’m going to bath the baby’ with a short ‘a’ sound.