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Original poster

To boil and cool my baby's bath water?

215 replies

belephant · 04/05/2022 17:28

Posting on AIBU for traffic as bathtime is fast approaching, sorry if it's not appropriate for this board!!

I was just FaceTiming my mum when I said in passing "ugh it's bath night tonight, I'd better start getting the kettle going soon" and she looked at me like I was stark raving mad and told me to just use tap water like any sane person would. I had a quick google and can only see stuff coming up advising cooled boiled water for wiping newborns' faces. My baby is 5 months old for reference. I'm struggling to actually remember where I even got the idea that it had to be boiled and cooled from.

So go on then, should I be boiling it or am I lost in the realm of 'PFB' and FTM anxiety?! 😁

OP posts:
TeenPlusCat · 04/05/2022 18:31

This is right up there with the poster putting shampoo in her eyes to see if it really was 'no sting'.

BeforeGodAndAllTheFish · 04/05/2022 18:32

You live somewhere with clean tap water, yes?

This has to be a joke.

Clymene · 04/05/2022 18:34

GrinGrinGrin

I love you! That's so funny. I found the note I left for my mum when I left my PFB the first time and it was unbelievably cringey. I'd written things like 'rubbing eyes is usually a sign that it's time for a nap'. GrinBlush

My lovely mum didn't take the piss but she did laugh about it with me when I showed her the note later!

MyrtlethePurpleTurtle · 04/05/2022 18:34

So sweet

AndSoFinally · 04/05/2022 18:34

Oh bless you 😂

Definitely PFB. We've got 6 between us. The littlest one just gets put in the washing machine once a week 😂

MarJau26 · 04/05/2022 18:34

Oh bless op. I have also had crazy PFB moments. My ds used to nap and I would just sit next to him till he woke up - 3 hours sometimes. Dh was as ridiculous as me. It was summer and unbearably hot. Instead of using the fan, 'in case ds caught a cold', he would stand and fan ds with a book up to an hour. We laugh now at how stupidly ridiculous we were.

Lemonsandlemonade · 04/05/2022 18:35

Is this real ?

Pretty soon your child will be eating the crap they find on the floor. I wouldn’t worry about bath water.

Lasana · 04/05/2022 18:35

Ah bless you, the things we do with the PFBs!

DurhamDurham · 04/05/2022 18:35

I'm just surprised you haven't melted the baby bath with all that boiling water! Grin

ibblebibbledibble · 04/05/2022 18:36

Oh this really made me laugh 😂 sorry OP!

Moooooooooooooooooo · 04/05/2022 18:37

Not as bonkers as people think.

Back in the day (ahem … 40+ years ago) us new mothers were told to use cooled boiled water during the first few weeks of a baby’s life to top and tail them.

BeforeGodAndAllTheFish · 04/05/2022 18:44

Moooooooooooooooooo · 04/05/2022 18:37

Not as bonkers as people think.

Back in the day (ahem … 40+ years ago) us new mothers were told to use cooled boiled water during the first few weeks of a baby’s life to top and tail them.

Yes. First few weeks. And it was just wiping down with cotton wool.

But once they reach "plonk in the bath' stage at a couple months, you just turn on the tap.

NightmareSituation · 04/05/2022 18:45

@belephant you have brightened my day 😄. I’m glad you are going to give the kettle a rest.

Reminds me of a friend who kept a hat on her PFB for 2 weeks 24 hours a day, indoors and out, in a July 28 degree heatwave.

CPL593H · 04/05/2022 18:48

This is very sweet! Grin

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 04/05/2022 18:50

But if you boil Evian you're going to lose all the bubbles... Shock

AtwilightRebellion · 04/05/2022 18:53

Awww OP. Thank you for reminding me of my own PFB madness.

satelliteheart · 04/05/2022 18:55

Op have you heard of baby swimming lessons?! I took ds1 swimming every week from 7 weeks, do you think the pool water has been boiled and cooled?! No, it's full of other kids piss, spit and chucked up milk!

silverlinings9 · 04/05/2022 18:57

Omg. I bathed my premature baby at 34 weeks gestation with one of the nurses. We just had the water out of the taps 😂

Shehasadiamondinthesky · 04/05/2022 19:00

WTAF!!!!!!

Sceptre86 · 04/05/2022 19:01

Completely daft.

stimpyyouidiot · 04/05/2022 19:02

Bless you op Grin

viques · 04/05/2022 19:02

my grandparents house had no inside plumbing at all. The water for washing and clothes washing was heated in a sort of boiler attached to the kitchen range . They had a tin bath in a scullery which would be filled with jugs of hot water,only enough for one bath full so it was a serial bath one after the other . Four girls, two boys. Cleanest in first!

that was in the 1920s, talk about history repeating itself. I hope bathtime went well tonight OP.

CaptainMyCaptain · 04/05/2022 19:05

Moooooooooooooooooo · 04/05/2022 18:37

Not as bonkers as people think.

Back in the day (ahem … 40+ years ago) us new mothers were told to use cooled boiled water during the first few weeks of a baby’s life to top and tail them.

I had a baby just over 40 years ago and I have never heard of this.

bringon2020 · 04/05/2022 19:07

My mum did this to me! It was 43 years ago, in a South American country (tap water is not safe to drink, even today). But she is bonkers, and I'm not sure how many of her friends did the same. But hey, there's at least another person who's done that :)

Minesril · 04/05/2022 19:08

This makes me feel better about the thermometer shaped like a crab that tells me if the bath's too hot, which I still use (baby is two!).

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