Bumpie Tip of the Week: How to Help Baby Enjoy Bath Time

How can you get baby in and out of the tub—without tears? Try these tips from users on our message boards.

User frankie119 says the best trick to helping baby love bath time is to make sure he never gets cold. “We put a space heater in the bathroom on 80 degrees so it’s warm when he gets out,” she says. If you don’t have a space heater, try user 54hj96er34ws’s method. “My fiance or I take a shower first so the bathroom is nice and steamy," she says.

For a happy transition into the tub, the extra warmth of a towel or washcloth on baby’s skin can make adjusting to the water easier. “We have a body towel that we drape on top of him to keep his chest warm,” says frankie119. “It’s shaped to fit perfectly around his neck, across his sides, and down to his legs.” Skin-to-skin contact can also do the trick. “I usually keep one hand on him and wash with the other,” says user Lollilately.

To get baby out of the tub without tears, make sure he stays as warm as possible. Lollilately lays a towel on her son’s bouncer next to her before bath time. That way, he can go straight from the water to the towel. “I also lay another towel on his changing pad so he has a dry one when I get there, because by that time the other one is damp,” she says. “I use a lot of towels, but my son screams less!”