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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:
BeforeGodAndAllTheFish · 04/05/2022 19:40

How long had you planned to do this?
At what age would you have decided that it was now time for a tap water bath?

Needwine999 · 04/05/2022 19:41

No way? are you having a laugh!

Mouk · 04/05/2022 19:43

Safe yourself some work and use tap water.

pigsDOfly · 04/05/2022 19:44

That's almost a crazy as the daughter of a man I used to know boiling bottled water in the kettle to make tea.

BinBandit · 04/05/2022 19:50

Aww that's so sweet, but please feel free to stop. By the time he is a toddler he will have been chewing shoes, licking dog toys and slurping from puddles.

PhilFlute · 04/05/2022 19:51
Hmm

Your baby can also drink the water straight from a tap 🤯

belephant · 04/05/2022 19:52

Yep, bath time was definitely easier tonight!!

To address a few points;

  1. Unfortunately I am real
  1. To those commenting about the cost of doing this every night - with the amount of faff it is to boil the kettle and wait for it all to cool, I absolutely have not been bathing my baby every night 🤣 it always surprised me when people said they bathe their babies every night for this reason, I did suspect that not everyone boiled the water but I didn't realise that literally no one else did 🤣
  1. Oh no, @Minesril, I think I may have that same thermometer, I'll try and add a photo (taken after his first assignment in unboiled water). Is this my second PFB offence?!?

In all seriousness though, I do feel very daft now but thank you all for being nice about it, some of the replies have really made me chuckle! I was not expecting this many people to reply, and I whilst I did think (and was rather hoping tbh) that people would tell me not to bother with the boiling and cooling, I didn't realise it was that unusual 🤣 I can get a bit anxious sometimes, so I'm glad that this was a resounding answer and I can stop exhausting my poor kettle 🤣

Thanks again everyone! X

To boil and cool my baby's bath water?
OP posts:
birdglasspen · 04/05/2022 19:52

Run a shallow bath and lay baby down in it so water isn’t up as far as mouth, then let the fun begin, splashing kicking etc! Baths are so fun that way…in a big bath not a boring baby one! At five months they will grow out of doing this soon so give it a go! We once used a bath that needed topped up with kettles to be warm..a lot of work!! But no need for baby!

Onwards22 · 04/05/2022 19:53

At 5 months then there’s absolutely no need to do this.

But I did used to do this when I changed my DDs nappy as the midwife told me to use boiled and cooled water with cotton wool.

As a teenage parent with no experience I literally just did everything by the book but this soon stopped after I realised how much they need their nappy changing and I had to boil and cool the water every time so it was warm enough to use.

I don’t think you’re mad to have done it but I think you’re mad for keeping it up for 5 months 😁😁

Bumpsadaisie · 04/05/2022 19:53

🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😅😅

Sorry love but you're raving. You're going to be so embarrassed five years from now.

But good luck to you we've all been there. I used to insist Dd be played an hour of baby Mozart before bedtime - even when she was in the care of my parents. To my mothers credit she just nodded, said "of course Bumps" and went along with it.

Bumpsadaisie · 04/05/2022 19:55

I'm wondering now what crazies my DD will make me fall in with when it comes to PFG-DC

🤣

Dinoteeth · 04/05/2022 19:55

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.

😂I know a mum very well who took the 'one more layer than you ' advice too far.

It was roasting hot, my poor baby was cooking in the pram with vest and top on while I'm sweltering in just a t-shirt. Yip baby had one more layer than me - even in a heatwave!

chilledteacher · 04/05/2022 19:56

Missing the point of the thread entirely but your tiles are gorgeous OP. Love the colour

3g4g5g · 04/05/2022 19:56

Ah, I suspect you've got giving them cooled boiled water to drink confused with bathing them in it. Hope your bubba enjoyed her bath 💐

Darbs76 · 04/05/2022 19:56

You’re the first person I’ve ever heard of to do this bless you. You don’t need to; even a newborn.

BinBandit · 04/05/2022 19:57

If it's any comfort, my friend thought that on top of bathing her baby every morning, she also had to bath him every time he had a dirty nappy. That was often more than once a day so that poor baby was being bathed and changed multiple times every day. I think the baby was a similar age as yours when friends mum happened to drop by on babies 2nd bath of the day and found out.😁

Phobiaphobic · 04/05/2022 19:57

Yeah, OP, you've completely lost the plot. You're doing that kid no favours by cocooning him like this.

iklboo · 04/05/2022 19:58

More bonkers than Dizzee Rascal ☺️

3g4g5g · 04/05/2022 19:58

His/her*

catbirddogchild · 04/05/2022 19:58

PFB it's hysterical! You know they even use tap water in hospital neonatal units for baths. 😂

FirstFallopians · 04/05/2022 19:59

Not to be vulgar, but babies are designed to come out of a fanny, which aren’t exactly sterile 😂

allboysherebutme · 04/05/2022 19:59

I used tap water, bathed every night. X

BDeyes · 04/05/2022 20:01

lol, I used tap water from new born with both my 2 and by the time dc2 came along I'd even given up with the baby bath and washed him in the kitchen sink instead! got a lovely photo of him sat up in the kitchen sink at about 8 months old. Both dc still very well and healthy years later.

Dammitthisisshit · 04/05/2022 20:01

🤣🤣🤣

thanks OP, for making me laugh in the first place and taking everyone pointing out you’re nuts so good-naturedly. We’ve all been there… well maybe not boiling bath water but with our own pfb ‘quirks’.
(I spent ages trying to work out if a calpol syringe was safe to go into a steam steriliser. And I do mean ages…).

ButtockUp · 04/05/2022 20:03

To those who thinks it's hilarious, I was told to only use cooled , boiled water to wash a baby's face for up to three months.

Not for bathing though.

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