Anyone without a bath?

[Fourleaf]

Hi all,
Am in the UK but posting here (hope that's ok) as I have heard lots of flats in Europe/elsewhere only have showers.
We only have a shower - managing OK at the mo but really keen to hear from others in this situation and how you manage.
Any experiences/tips would be very much appreciated.
TIA! :)

Are you concerned about children not adapting to shower or yourself? If the answer is children then get one of these .I have one as our new flat only has a shower which the kids hate, I can still fit 2 DC's in together and my eldest is a big 5yrs old. (not suited to adults but you could get in if you REALLY wanted to! not sure how comfy it would be though). You must make sure it will fit into the shower cubicle though, so go for the one where you can change sizes.

Thanks airborne. It is my DS I am worried about - he's 20 months and finds the shower scary!
We did get a bibabath but found that it flooded the shower as it couldn't drain properly - any tips to get it to work?
We are currently using this but although it says it can be used up to 4yrs I have my doubts! We plan to be here for at least two years and I am looking nervously at all the very tall 3 and 4 year olds I see! But maybe by then he will be used to the shower...

I think I know what you mean re: flooding -when the drain plug sucks the plastic sides towards it as water is let out. This may be obvious but I position the plug in bibabath as close to the shower drain as possible, or directly over the drain. Sometimes I lay the plug (that sticks out on the underneath of the bibabath) on its side so it lets the water out, I have to wiggle it a bit if it starts sucking the plastic down, or try to position it right above the plug drain so water goes directly down the plug. All depends how much water is in there. Another tip - (but depends on your shower) is that our shower has a sort of lip running around the base of it so sometimes I am able to balance 2 of the legs (nearest the plug) on the lip - this makes it higher on one side and raises the bibabath plug a bit higher so doesnt suck the plastic down. always have to drain the last bit by holding the bag up though. Don't know if any of that makes sense, its a bit hard to describe!! Other than that the only way my two will go in the shower is with me! I searched for ages for the right thing and bibabath was the best thing I could find for lasting through the early years. Alternatively How about one of those trug things - here

We have the Bibabath too. Have you tried draining it very slowly by positioning the plug sort of half in,half out, or putting something like a flannel over the Bibabath plughole to slow the rate of drainage? If you really wanted to keep using it & nothing else worked you could try a small pump for draining into a sink. I think baths are nicer for kids than showers as they can play more, plus immersion in the warm water does something to the body temperature so that sleep afterwards is more likely!

Thanks SO much for this advice airborne and idlevice (nice names btw!).

We did try the propping it up thing... but when draining the water seems to suck the plastic down so the water can't actually get to the shower drain, hence flooding. We can't seem to position the plug over the drain as our shower drain is in the wrong place if that makes sense.
We haven't tried the flannel thing though - that sounds like a good tip.
The other thing about it is that the sides seem very high - but your DC like it?
I am also half considering paying for/contributing to a bath to be fitted - as there is plenty of room for one, and it's a 3 bed flat - but that's mad in a rental place right?
Thanks again for the tips - I agree baths for kids are much nicer.

We just use a plastic tub - a bit like an old fashioned tin bath. We do have an actual bath but not much water and I find this uses much less (I pop it inside the actual bath). Not sure where you'd get one in the UK though...

Don't pay to put a bath in in a rental - even if you expect to stay there a while you never know. You could make a cheeky request to the LL though