Baby’s first bath is a special moment that then becomes an almost daily ritual. Tubs, towels, accessories … what do you really need? This mom finds that you may need less with baby No. 2.

by Laura Powell

The Tub

First Child:  Four different bathtubs (soft foam bear, Puj tub, Fisher Price tub and munchkin inflatable duck tub) and two bathmats (one extra long for full tub coverage).
Second Child: The foam is nice to lay them on for a sponge bath and for drying them off when they are so little and new. Then I dusted off the old Fisher Price tub because it fit nicely into the kitchen sink. Once they are sitting up, just stick them in the tub. This time we used a normal-sized small bathmat. We did try one of those inflatable bath rings (to help while having two in the tub) and it was hard to get the baby to sit up well and to pull her out. When filling the tub, Babycenter.com recommends you fill the tub with only 2 to 4 inches of water for babies.

The Temperature

First Child: Duck Thermometer.
Second Child: Hmm…feels fine to me. She likes it warm. Babycenter.com recommends making the water comfortably warm for baby and testing the temperature with the inside of your wrist to make sure it is not too hot. Most babies prefer the water cooler than adults do.

The Towels

First Child: Bathrobe, fancy hooded towels and a large collection of washcloths.
Second Child: I don’t think I ever used the bathrobe with my first. I still like large, nice hooded towels. Now that I have a toddler, the infant hooded towels seem not as nice when the baby now uses them. I recommend a large hooded towel like Kushies plush hooded towels ($33.99 at kushiesonline.com). You can never have too many wash cloths.

The Suds 

First Child:  About 20 different types of soap, wash and bubble bath. 
Second Child: I’m still trying to determine a favorite among the soaps. For now, we are using Mommy’s Bliss Sweet Slumber Baby Wash ($7.99 at Walgreens) and the Live Clean Baby Soap Bars ($6.99 at Walgreens).

Beyond the Bubbles

Storage
It’s nice to have toy storage. We like the Boon Frog holder ($34.99 at buybuy BABY). It’s easy to install, keeps toys off the bottom of the tub and has holes to let them dry out.
 

Toys – these are our favorites …
Baby Bath Ball from Munchkin ($5.99 at Babies ‘R’ Us)
Dunck Stacking duck toy from Skip Hop ($10 at skiphop.com)

 
l Wish I…
I wish I purchased the Skip Hop Mob Bath Kneeler and bathtub elbow rest ($15 each at Babies ‘R’ Us). I’ve slipped and sat uncomfortable bathing both kids and it got
really hard to give baths when pregnant with baby No. 2. This would have helped!

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