6 Month Old Now Does Not like His Bath

We lived in an apartment that only had a shower when my son was born. We showered with him and he loved it! Maybe he wants you close, and maybe the distraction of the running water will help keep him entertained.

Good luck!

I went through this with my son, who at that time was 6 months. My parents as teachers rep talked to me about bathing with him. It worked VERY well. It took a little getting used to at first, but we had a routine down and I think that I enjoyed that time with him too. We talked and played with the water. By the time he was 8 months and sitting up on his own, it was an easy transition to put him in the water by himself, and he did not complain at all.

Good luck.

We always turn up the heat before we give our kid a bath in the winter time. He may just be cold, so see if that helps. And oh, don't forget the bubbles, that could help calm him down and avert his attention!!:)

I agree, dont get water on his face, when I wet his hair I make sure I get the back of his head and for his face I just use a damp wash cloth. My son is almost five months, if you get water on his face, it looks like hes seen a ghost, he freaks out! I turn up the heat too for the bath and close the door so it stays warm in there. Also when you have dry skin, it is extra sensitive to hot/warm water, so maybe go a little cooler and see how that goes? Also I dont know if this just happens to me but if my feet or hands are really cold and I put them in warm or hot water, it kind of hurts. Maybe warm him up a little before the bath? My son does ok in the bath, he always looks pretty nervous though...lol. I did notice that he looks interested in the water, he will hold his hand out and I will run water over it for him, he thinks its kind of interesting. I thought thats a good distraction. I just finally got him to smile and relax a little when hes in there. Hes so serious, I think the sound of the water running also makes him nervous? And last but not least I use one of those things in the bath that look like a bouncer, but its made for the bath and its mesh so the water just goes through it, so hes not actually submerged in water, Im just running it over him with a cup. It works out great because he ALWAYS pees in the bath so hes not actually sitting in pee water and I dont have to keep chaning the water! I wish I would have had that for my daughter, I never really knew if she peed, Im sure she did and I didnt know but with my little mans water fountain, its hard to miss...lol. I have notcied boys are picky about a lot of things!! Always have to please them...haha! OK I hope SOME of this helps =). Good luck!

Have u tried getting in to the tub with him? Our son loves it he has a blast when either me or his dad are in there with him! Or try putting toys in the tub with him? Thats what works for our son!

I would just tell you that it is usual for this to happen several times in the first 2-3 yrs of baby's life and it is short lived.Give him his baths as needed sing to him and be quick he'll be fine.

My daughter went through this about 12 times. First she loved to bathe, then she hated it, then she was fine until I washed her hair, then she was fine when I put a wash cloth on her face when I washed her hair. Now it is getting better again. Kids are weird and they go through these phases. Just continue to give him baths, but make them quick. Eventually he will get over it.

If this started when the weather turned really cold, it could be that he's cold in his bath. If you are bathing him in the tub then turn the heater on in the bathroom to warm it up and make his water a little warmer also. Good luck and God Bless.

My 2 youngest daughters did not like taking baths when they were babies. My husband takes them into the shower with him and holds them while I wash them. They both LOVE it. They would rather have a shower than a bath and they are 6.5 and 2.5 yrs old. Might want to give the shower a try.

J.

Maybe he is cold with the winter weather here. Try turning up the heat and making the bath a bit warmer.

Maybe he stopped liking his bath because it's too cold (he is naked and in a tiny bit of water in the tub after all). Put his clothes and towel in the dryer to warm them up. When you're ready for him to get out, have someone quickly bring you his towel so that it will be nice and warm for him.

My kids all did that. Take him into a warm bath with you.Talk reassuredly to him. Nurse him or give him a bottle there. It will make him feel secure and not balk. I know a lot of people that his has worked for!

My now 5 year old was like that. She would scream during baths and sounded like she was being murdered. We tried everything (even one of those smaller blow up bath tubs in the big bath tub) and nothing worked. We just grinned and bared it. She finally got to where the bath wasn't so bad, but hated having her hair washed. She screamed at the top of her lungs everytime we washed her hair. She finally out grew this just in the last year. But the smaller bathtub is really the only thing that I can think of that might help. It worked with my oldest and with my nephew.

That is what worked for us too, just getting in the bath with them. He can sit between your legs or lie on top of them if he is willing with a little water in the tub. Our kids absolutely loved baths this way. And eventually once they start having fun in there, you don't have to get in with them when you don't want to. Of course, babies don't really need a bath everyday, but if you want to continue the bedtime routine and the getting in the bath together doesn't work, you can just wipe him down with a soft washcloth and warm water or coconut or olive oil (both oils will clean him) every evening. Being in the tub with the kids was always a fun bonding experience for us. It is really fun to see them start having fun and experimenting with water, sometimes they just need your presence to feel safe and show them how much fun they can have!

I always watch super nanny I like seeing if I can get advice from her :), on one of the episodes there was this little boy that didn't want to take a bath and she put momma duck and baby ducks in the bath that's what I would try to do is to make it fun for him. and even the water crayons I hope this helps a little bit,good luck :)

D.

My suggestion is to change his soap and lotion. I like the Aveeno line myself for dry skin. It worked really well for my 6 month old son who had a bad case of excema. Also this is something we learned to do, as soon as you get your baby out of the bath within the first 3 minutes make sure you lather your baby up in lotion. that will help retain the moisture.

hope that helps

My son went through this at about 15 months, so I don't know if this will work for you, but thought I'd tell you in case it does! The thing that finally got him comfortable and able to sit in the tub as opposed to standing was using bubble bath. He always had bath toys but that didn't do it until we did the bubbles. Now I can't get him out! Hope this helps - good luck!