As a mom of three I have had some time to develop my own bath time ritual. Of course everything is a little bit of trial and error. But, when it comes to baths we always do things the same way. As my 5-year old is transitioning into her miss independent stage, I still have two babies under two that need mommy entirely at bath time. It’s always a little funky at first but eases into essentially the same routine with every child. Let’s face it, when baby’s brand new it takes some time to digest that you just brought a human into the world. Figuring out all about baby and how he or she likes their bath time can take a minute too. However, a couple baths later it’s rainbows and bubbles for both of you hopefully.
Older Siblings Get Dinner First
I really like to wait until evening time to give a good bath. Realistically, kids need the day to have their fun and a lot of times fun equals dirty. For my 17-month old, I feed her dinner first. For one, it fills her belly up. For two, she gets super-duper messy eating on her own and I don’t see the point in dirtying clean jammies.
When it’s all about baby bathing, for my infant I also choose to avoid the bottle until after bath time. My goal is to get him warm, clean, and cozy before I fill him up. I feel this helps my kiddos fall into a much sounder sleep. So if you can hold off on the bottle, I will add it definitely doesn’t hurt to have it made and readily available for baby immediately after the bath. Because let’s be real, splashing around in the tub works up a 2-month old’s appetite. An important part of our all about baby night time ritual is to have clothes pick out, diapers laid out, and lotion in arms reach. Yes, lotion is important but I’ll get to that later. This is the first step in bath time and makes the whole operation run a whole lot smoother. Nobody wants to fetch a diaper and frantically look for matching pajamas while holding a wet slippery infant. Save yourself some trouble and have those tasks tackled before the bath.
Nighttime is the Right Time
So, around 7:00 at night I get the bath water going. I would like to mention I use extra warm, almost hot water. Some people might think gosh is that too warm? But I’ve found my children like the extra warmth. Even my 8-week old has a pretty warm bath. I like to think it reminds him of sloshing around in the womb. Cooler water gets even cooler pretty quickly, which is no good especially if your kiddo likes the water and wants to hangout in the tub for a bit. My children love water so I’ve dealt with this issue first hand.
I bathe my 17-month old first and get her dressed etc. while I fill up the infant tub.
Any infant tub works. I’d recommend a kind to go out and buy, but, I’ll be brutally honest. This past baby, my fiancé brought home a tub from the Good Will. Can’t find a brand on it, works like a charm nonetheless. I will recommend Johnson and Johnson baby wash though. Right now, my absolute favorite is Johnson’s Cotton Touch Newborn Wash and Shampoo. It smells SO good, works on baby’s body and hair too. Any chance I get to kill two birds with one stone, I will take it! We also love Johnson’s Bedtime Bath Gentle Cleanser. Or as everybody in our house refers to it, “the purple bottle.” Again, it smells great and it’s designed to aid in putting baby to bed. I really have had excellent luck with all of Johnson’s body washes and shampoos. I think it boils down to scent preference. There’s an assortment. They all clean baby just the same though.
Do a Little Dance
Besides the pretty basic stuff there is something special we do every evening at bath time and I’ve found my kids love it. Heck, I enjoy it too. We listen to Disney music. It’s just something fun and just for the kids to enjoy during their unwind time. Most of you, I am sure, have heard of the Pandora app. For those of you who haven’t, it’s a free app that plays music. We use my iPhone, but there’s a dozen other ways to play music. Just pop “Disney” into the search bar. We love it. I sing, my 17-month old dances. She’s such a dancer, anytime she hears music she gets going. I think music is comforting and an awesome way to unwind so that’s why I’ve chosen to incorporate it into our bath time. It has helped me to create an experience that is all about baby and my children look forward too it. I stick to Disney with my little boy too. Not that he can understand it but it’s sound and infants enjoy that.
Being Prepared
Since I always have diapers or clothes laid out there’s no fuss after the bath. I put them in their diaper and this is when the lotion comes into play. Lotion is so important and all about baby massage. It keeps my baby’s skin soft, and makes them smell delicious. In our case it also aids with sleep because we use Johnson’s Bed Time Lotion. Also known as the purple bottle in our household. According to the label it’s clinically proven that when routinely used it helps babies fall asleep more easily and sleep for longer periods of time. I tried it, I loved it, I trust it, and I use it three babies and five years later.
While other mommies will find exactly what works for them, this is certainly what works for me and my babies. I’ll continue making this routine all about baby until my kiddos no longer need me to bathe them. To sum it up, our ritual is as follows: dinner, bath, music, lotion. Of course, after the final step “lotion,” we’re about all ready for bed. There’s no miracle method to a perfect night’s sleep, but by learning all about baby massage, I have found this is the one that helps my babies sleep most soundly and allows this momma to get a couple hours of shut eye too.
The Independent Child
My 5- going on 30-year old is becoming pretty independent at bath time. I let her have some space, but let’s face it, any kid unattended can result in a huge loss in bath products. She loves to play with the stuff. So, she loves baths because they’re more fun. There’s more water and time to play when it can be all about baby without mom!
Bath toys are essential. We have this neat light up Ariel the mermaid doll that my daughter really digs right now. She’s no longer in any kind of kiddie tub. However, we still use a cup for rinsing. Any cup works. I use a dollar kitchen cup from Walmart. Even with her being five I still really like to use Johnson and Johnson products. I typically let her pick her body wash. She’s a fan of the good old original hair and body wash. It’s the yellow bottle. When she’s lucky or for special occasions she’s gifted stuff like bath bombs or bath fizzies. We don’t use these products every day! Her skin is sensitive and sometimes it’s a little rough if she uses something really perfume-y or something too frequently.
When she showers, I wash her hair. I’ve left her to do the task on her own and when I smell checked I figured out she wasn’t shampooing. So do it yourself to be sure. I soap up a wash cloth and let her have a sense of responsibility by letting her wash her body. Of course I do it too. But at this point she’s getting a great handle on how to wash, so I like to let her do it herself to some extent.
Lice Prevention
Unfortunately lice is a thing for school age kids. Because I know families that lice has spread to and that it can happen pretty easily at school. We sometimes use a special shampoo. It’s just a preventative measure. Sort of smells like a citronella candle so some people might hate that. But, oh well we’d rather be safe than sorry. The shampoo is called Fairy Tales Rosemary Repel Daily Kid Shampoo. There’s also a partnering spray that works awesome for flyaways.
We play the radio when she has her bath. This kid is a music fanatic so I let her listen to music and play for a while in the tub. I think it’s important to remember sometimes 5-year olds have long days too. It’s her first year of full days at school. Being a kindergartener can be tough sometimes.
She does her own lotion after bath time with some supervision. We do pajamas, brush teeth, and then it’s time for a book before bed. Although she’s no longer a baby, it all started with it being all about baby bathing and finding out what works for us.
About the Mom: Fallon Sullivan
Fallon Sullivan is a supermom of 3. Self-proclaim “sort of a hot mess and sort of have it entirely under control”. She is 27 years old but has been doing the mom thing for five years. She is honest and loves to read, write, and do reviews.
