baby bath - needed or not?

[amidaiwish]

My sister is buying all her baby clobber... i have told her that a baby bath is a waste of money, she disagrees and has been told she will need it.
wise words required please mumsnetters?!?

Highyl recommend a tummy tub! much easier and helps with wind and colic!! also water stays warmer longer! DD hated the baby bath, but we still use the tummy tub twice a week and she is almost 8 months! she loves sitting in it!

Also DD went in the bath with either dh or i most days! now she has a swivel bath seat as well!

I didnt like the mesh seat as dd used to slide down in and you'd have to keep pulling her back up again. I used the moulded plastic one for ds and it was much better.

I agree with Seona, I found the fabric seat OK but the moulded one better as its easier to keep clean and more substantial. I got one in TKMaxx for half the price of the Mothercare one (it looks exactly the same) and it lasted DS4 until he was well over 6mths and he's of average size. Generally I would agree that these sort of things are a waste of money but a bath seat does at least allow you to reach for a towel or use your hands to help an older DC which is great if your baby enjoys a long soak or you aren't organised enough to have everything within arms reach when you start the bath.

Emphatically not. When they're tiny you can do them in the basin or sink or dunk in your own bath or even hand to your partner in the shower for a few mins. Actually, I didn't really wash my newborn much. As soon as they can sit you just need to put a towel or a muslin in the bath to stop them slipping and they're fine.

I loved mine. Used it until Tom could sit up on his own and usually have a bath with him since then. I will use it again when I have another.

use a tubtrug

I used the sink last time but dd was tiny for ages. I already bathe three children together so am thinking I will get a tubtrug til this ones big enough to fight it out in a bath with a sibling.

Not strictly needed but I found very useful and used ours for the first 6 months. Particularly useful if you've had a c-section. They're only about a tenner so not the waste of money some other things are ... I would recommend one to your sister.

I'd say yes to the bath! My DD loved the bath and we could put it on the kitchen table - and bathe her easily, in a warm room without getting back-ache. (C-Section wasn't stretched either - though I wouldn't necessarily take that into consideration). We used a baby shaped sponge in the bath this- a softer version of the ergonomic seat. Baby felt really secure and splashed happily from a week old.
As she got bigger we put the baby bath inside the big bath - meant using less water for a small person and a more intimate feel rather than the "giganic" white whale she'd have been in otherwise.

Our baby bath had a drain hole so we could empty it into a bucket without heaving the whole bath to the sink.

thanks so much everyone.

this from 6 months is great - still using for 16 month dd.