Bathtime hysteria

[Helenback56]

I have a 9 week old daughter. I don't know if its relevant but she was an emergency c section and only weighed 5lb 9oz at birth but otherwise healthy and has gained weight well and now 9lb+, so not huge but has a bit of body fat at last. We bath 2x a week, but other than her 2nd & 4th bath where she was properly zoned out, they have all been hysterical as soon as she gets in the water, sometimes before.
We've tried morning vs late afternoon/early evening, being in a shared bath, adjusting the temp within the recommended range so its v.slightly warmer or cooler, baby bath, bath support in normal bat, pre bath massages..... we keep the bathroom warm, tell her its bath time and show her the bath, put calming music on, we are calm and positive, bath after a feed and when shes awake and calm....but she seems to hate the water after liking it early on.

Any suggestions? Does it get better? She screams hysterically and goes bright red until i wrap her up and comfort feed her ☹😢 Ive ordered a bath pillow thing to see if that helps. We bottled the last two baths and gave strip washes, but we obviously need to perceivere as she gets bigger but i want bath time to be a positive experience - especially since the weekend bath is father-daughter time, which currently isn't an enjoyable experience for either of them (or me). She is a bit sensitive, so hysterical cries quite easily, but not as much as early on, when even nappy changes were hysterical.
Help!

My DD was similar in those early weeks. It got better here when I cottoned on that it was more relaxing for her and me if she lay down unsupported in a shallow bath rather than me holding her.

It will get better. My daughter also hated the bath, not from birth but later on. I can't remember when it started but I think at about 1 month old. Very upsetting for everyone involved. I came to the conclusion that she felt "lost" in the bath, even the baby bath so I tried her in the bathroom sink. She didn't love it but she coped better and was less hysterical. Have you tried that? Or have you tried taking her into the bath with you? I didn't try that myself but I know some people swear by it. Good luck.

You need to complete submerge her body to stop her from getting cold. 10cm in the bath suggested was way to little for my daughter.

The on,y thing that worked for us (until da got bigger and lost his newborn reflexes) was a shallower bath, so he could feel the bottom and foot end and knew where he was, and then a flannel over the top of him for some weight.
Quite quickly we gave up on the baby bath and he came in with me, was attached to me the whole time, but there was less screaming.