Life with a Baby

How to Safely Co-bathe with Your Infant

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Before my son was born, I took a bath every single day. So, after he came, I felt a huge part of my relaxation and recouping time had been taken from me and I was determined to get that back.

Jake's first non-sponge bath
Jake’s first non-sponge bath

My husband and I had been giving our son baths in his baby tub and he loved them! But, the only time I could take a bath was during his bedtime and I was usually too tired at that point. So, I resorted to trusty Youtube and found helpful videos on how to co-bathe safely and independently.  

My son was four weeks old when I first started co-bathing with him. He still had a very floppy body and head and I had to consider this.  After some Youtube research and thinking up my game plan, I came up with the following:

How to Safely Co-bathe with Your Infant

  1. Fill the tub and make sure the temperature is safe
  2. Line your baby bouncer with a big, clean towel and place it next to the bathtub
  3. Undress baby and place them in their bouncer using the towel as a blanket
  4. Climb into the bath by yourself, then once seated, uncover your naked baby and bring them into the tub with you
  5. Slowly introduce their body to the water by dipping their toes, legs and eventually whole body
  6. Wait to soap the baby up until the very end to avoid the water becoming too slippery while in it bath together
  7. Bathe as normal, playing, singing and talking with your baby
  8. When you are done, put the baby back in their towel-lined bouncer and wrap them up while you get out of the tub
  9. Proceed with usually after-bath routine
Jake in his towel-lined bouncer.
Jake in his towel-lined bouncer.


As he has gotten older, I haven’t needed to use the bouncer as a transition helper, because I can hold him with one arm and safely get out of the bath. My son loved this routine! Pretty soon, I had bought his Otteroo (read more on that here) and added that a few times a week during bath time.  

Otteroo
Jake in his Otteroo

Co-bathing has been nothing but a positive experience for both of us. It gives my son the freedom to explore the water and splash around. He also becomes very relaxed when I hold his head and let him float on his back. I get my R & R bath time back. And, it makes my son very sleepy which is a win-win for both of us when getting him to bed. Even if you weren’t a bath person before your baby, I highly recommend trying to co-bathe!