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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Bath time traumas in 12 week old

15 replies

redandyellowandpinkandgreen · 10/02/2011 22:19

DS just does not seem to like being bathed. Well, sometimes he's okay in the bath but when we get him out he gets himself in a right state and screams for ages. I don't bath him every day but hoped it would be a nice part of a bedtime routine to relax him but it has the opposite effect!

I try him in the little plastic baby bath where he seems to feel more secure but it's a bit too small for him now. He's happy if one of us baths with him but that's a pain really and it doesn't stop the screaming when we get him out. I have tried warming the towel - that didn't work!

Any tips? I wonder if he is tired and it makes it worse and I should just try and bath him in the morning. I'm just trying to relax him before bed and he gets so upset it's awful.

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pirateparty · 10/02/2011 22:23

We realised that until we bought a thermometer we'd been bathing ds in far too cold water for fear of scalding him - could it be too cold? Also, my ds didn't like getting out once we'd got the temperature right, because it was cold out of the bath I think!

LittleMissNorty · 10/02/2011 22:27

I agree. My first was only happy when she was in a warm deep bath - then she loved it.

I also got into a bath, feed, bed routine very quickly and that helped.

HTH

belindarose · 10/02/2011 22:29

We realised DD hated being dried lying down. Keeping her upright stopped the screaming. Probably not the same for your DS, but it xiyld be something 'simple' like that.

matana · 10/02/2011 22:37

Mine (12 weeks) likes his very warm and very deep and just loves to wallow like a hippo. We dress him underneath the radiator and have a warm towel etc. waiting for him. We got him into a bathtime routine very early and now he loves it, though was a little unsure at first (because it was too cold and shallow!)

MarissaMum · 11/02/2011 04:22

My 14 week old usually loves the bath, but can also cry lots once she gets out. I think it's worse when she's tired and hungry (which is what you'd expect before bedtime) so I try to bath her a little earlier before her bedtime feed so that she's in a better mood. Good luck!

foxytocin · 11/02/2011 05:43

find a tummytub. ebay seems to have a few. babies don't like to feel exposed which is why many scream.

Jenn1982 · 11/02/2011 11:39

My little girl loves being in the big bath with warm water, (almost as warm as I would have it), up to her armpits. She is 7 months now, but has been having a bath like this for a very long time now. We have a grip mat on the bottom of the bath for her, and the deeper the water, the slower it is if she does slip so it's easier to catch her.
Toys in the bath are good too, although I really struggled to find any for that age group. I found that plastic cups that you can buy, and empty plastic bottles were enough entertainment. She has a lot more toys now. She spends a minimum of 20 minutes in the bath each night. Because she likes it so much we have to have a 'getting out of the bath' routine that involves saying goodbye to her toys and pulling the plug out, then putting her into her towel and drying her quickly. She loves being in the bath, and likes being in snuggly pjs, but hates the bit in between.
I hope that something in my post is helpful to you.

FloweryBoots · 11/02/2011 13:43

My DS didn't like baths to begin with. I think it ws a combination of fear and initially us not having the water warm enough. We do a massage before bed to get him nice and relaxed instead of a bath. Even now he loves his baths I still just do it a couple of times a week and in the morning as the massage has become our pre bed routine, In any case, he finds baths so much fun now I don't think it would calm him down before bed, he get's too excited!

When he hated baths we gave him a good all over wash with a sponge a couple of times a week and top and tail the rest of the time. We kept trying the bath periodically and one time he suddenly jsut seemed to enjoy it instead of screeming.

Original poster

redandyellowandpinkandgreen · 13/02/2011 12:45

Thanks all. I suspect it might be a bit cold as we don't have a thermometer and I panic about scalding him. When he cries he goes all red and then it seems more likely it is too hot!

I will try massage first too, I was doing it after when he was already crying and it seemed a bit pointless.

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wearymum200 · 13/02/2011 20:49

Some just don't like it. They're pretty clean at this age, (no, really, I mean it, wait till you have a weaning, mobile, puddle explorer and then they just have to have a bath daily!) DS1 got bathed about 4 times in total before he was 5m old, he hated it so. Loves bath now. Dd2 always loved bath. Different personalities!

Original poster

redandyellowandpinkandgreen · 13/02/2011 20:53

He is just quite sicky and it gets all in the back of his hair and his neck creases so I like to bath him a couple of times a week. Not to mention the exploding nappies!

Bathed him tonight in the baby bath which I put inside the normal bath. Water felt fairly warm and I made it deep and he was absolutely fine! Even after I got him out and was dressing him! Hope it wasn't a fluke.

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doricpatter · 13/02/2011 20:54

I battled to bath DS before bed when he was tiny and he would go loopy afterwards. It's utterly exhausting for them - so much stimulation to take in what with getting undressed, the sensation of the water, new noises, all the kicking and wriggling, then getting dried, getting dressed, all the while adjusting to temperature changes. Eventually I gave up and bathed him in the morning - problem solved.

With DD she gets bathed infrequently at best , and never after around 3pm because she too finds it too much for her when she's tired later in the day.

Jenn1982 · 14/02/2011 08:36

I hope it continues to go well for you.

ThePippy · 14/02/2011 11:24

We had the same problem when ours was younger, bath was fine, afterwards was a screaming fit due to tiredness. We found that distraction worked (DH dangling something in front of face) when a bit older, but when very young we just had to tough it out and then calm them down with post drying/dressing cuddle and bottle. Good Luck.

Cosmosis · 14/02/2011 12:49

ds hated it till we did it warmer & deeper than the advice says!

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