Few things are as nerve-wracking to first-time parents as bathing your brand new baby.
I mean; they are just so brand, flippin' new, and their head is all wobbly and there is water and how the heck do you manage to hold them
and actually wash them – all with just two hands?
Sounds familiar?
I know. I was that soldier too. The whole process was not made easier by the fact that my baby girl seemed to hate the bath and screamed the house down whenever I tried to give her a bath.
And so, I did what I am sure many new parents resort too – called my mum crying because, well, what else can you do?
However, she delivered – as mums tend to do.
"Remember she is only just getting used to being on the outside," my mum, who trained as a paediatric nurse said. "Everything is so big and open and cold to her – she is used to being inside the warm, cosy womb."
Then she delivered a little trick that completely changed bath time for us.
"Try draping a cloth over her tummy when she is in the bath and just use your hand to scoop water over it, so it stays warm and wet. This will feel a little more comforting and safe, and might just settle her."
And guys – it worked a charm.
Not only did she not scream, she actually seemed to enjoy her baths now that she was obviously more comfortable and felt a little less cold and exposed.
So, now I pass this little trick onto any new mum I know, as so many find bath time with a newborn to be a little stressful.
Feel free to do the same. After all – motherhood is a learning curve, and we should all be passing on all the little tricks and hacks we learn to each other – any little thing that make this crazy journey easier, sure isn't that what it is all about?
