I’m very excited to have this activity mastered! It’s truly become our favourite time. I noticed after her first bath that baby Nur really enjoyed water so, every two days, we have our bath ritual that has now become a mommy-baby bonding session! I also decided to write this after I got my first smiles through bath-time, confirming my instincts that she’s been loving it for the past 5 weeks and giving me some reassurance!
My process is quite simple. I usually choose to bath her in the late afternoon so that she sleeps well in the evening and at night.
- I heat the the room before and throughout the bath-time so that she doesn’t feel cold at all. I fill her tub with warm water and line up soap, aqueous cream, shampoo, cotton balls, cotton pads, her towel and change of clothes + diaper on the side
- Get the music going! I was so insecure about the number of nursery rhymes I knew until the Rockabye Baby lullabies were suggested in my New Mom’s WhatsApp group! I get to sing songs I knew all along, from Beyonce to Nirvana, throwing me down memory lane with baby enjoying my ‘oh so sweet’ voice. Baby now watches me attentively while I sing! I stream these straight off iTunes
- I start with her hair, holding her over her tub with one arm. With the other, I use Baby Dove Shampoo and gently massage it into her hair while singing to her. Her eyes usually close now and she is at peace. Slowly I rinse away the soap
- Still holding her over her tub, I gently use a lightly soaped pad to wipe her face first, I repeat this with a new pad and just water and then with a dry one so she doesn’t fret while enjoying the rest of her bath
- I then hold her in the warm water so that her body is just submerged, similar to freely floating while swimming. She enjoys this part because I soothingly move her, allowing the motion of water over her body
- I use one hand to wipe a soapy cotton ball on her neck and ears, then another ball for her arms and armpits, another for torso and so on, letting the water wash away the soapiness
- I let her enjoy the swimming and floating a while while singing to her then we towel dry (pat down rather than wipe and using the warm heater air to dry her too )
- I quickly put her diaper on and massage her aqueous cream in, sometimes stretching her limbs just so she enjoys her mini-spa
- I put her warm clothes on, switch off the heater then feed her until she falls asleep
That’s bath time! A bonding experience with my baby! I think it’s so beautiful to find these special moments with your little one, whether it’s during 2am nursing sessions or during early morning walks, it’s the beginnings of making your family love rituals.
xoxo
SBJ
