Any suggestions to make bath time less of a screamathon for 7 week old DS?

[peedieworky]

Hi all,

My DS is 7 weeks old and hates being bathed. I'd hoped it would ease as he got older (& became less stressed out by things like nappy changes etc) but while he's happy & content with most things, he still screams himself into a daze in the bath. We had been bathing him just once or twice a week (at most) as it was so horrid and I did try increasing the frequency to see if he got used to it better but gave up as it seemed to be having little effect. We have a moulded baby bath so he should feel well supported and I am careful to hold him securely and even lean right over him to kiss his head & reassure him when he's in there but am not sure if that helps or if is just by that stage he's screamed to a point of exhaustion. At the moment he usually goes to bed around 7pm so I was trying to bath him around 6.30pm - before bed, catching him before he gets too grumpy but what ends up happening is he screams and holds his breath so badly that once I finish the bath he's too tired to take a feed so is put to bed wiped out and he'll then wake about 30mins later when I can feed him and settle him back again.

Everyone tells me he'll grow out of it but I dread bath time and would appreciate any suggestions for how I might make it less traumatic for him. I had wondered about bathing him in the morning when he tends to be at his cheeriest but have yet to pluck up the courage... Spot the big softie Mummy

I'd like to agree with deeper and warmer. My dd loves her daily bath and has since birth, we fill ithigh and to 37 degrees which seemed too warm the first time.

I also echo the warmer aspect. My 8 mth old was just like yours, but now is a waterbaby. The bath was way too cold. Get a bath thermometer and get the temp up (elbow in to test my ass!!). Also we got one of the foam things to put on the bottom of the baby bath.

Nothing wrong with the elbow test. Dh is a scientist, and was more comfortable using a thermometer at first, but he soon stopped bothering when he realised that using our elbows always gave bath temps approaching but never exceeding body temperature.

Are you as sceptical about checking the temperature of a baby's bottle by splashing a drop on your wrist?

In a word, yes. But thats because I breastfed for the first 6 months and didn't have to worry about the temp of bottles. Now that I do, I take a slug to be sure. But that's neither here nor there. I had the same problem as the OP. I googled it and the uniform advice was that the bath was too cold. My baths were too cold, because I used my elbow and not a thermometer. Increasing the temp fixed my problem. I offered that advice to the OP.

We had one of these which is similar to Tummy Tub but stable without a separate base. The baby is upright with warm water up to the armpits. DD is a big baby, so grew out of it at 7 months and was then big enough to sit up in the big bath.

The normal bathing position just makes a lot of little babies feel exposed and vulnerable.

Some good advice above, like the suggestion to shower together- DD loves showering at the swimming pool.

I'd also suggest keeping baths v short initially and work up as he becomes more comfortable.

Ah well, I like a hot bath, body temp and higher, so for me the elbow test works, as my standard of comfort is very warm.

I dislike the emphasis on relying on tools. All too often we have not been able to or allowed our maternal instincts to develop, instead trusting tools rather than ourselves. Using tools to help develop these instincts is fine, but ultimately we need to be able trust ourselves and believe in our abilities as parents.

Personal experience is relevant. Yours is as valid as mine.