Bath Time Equipment

Updated on September 10, 2008
C.C. asks from O Fallon, MO
28 answers

My 7 month old boys are getting too big for the baby tub we have been using for their baths, yet it feels too dangerous to let them sit up alone in the tub for fear of hitting their head against the tub. What is the next step for bathing? I have seen bath rings, seats, and blow up tubs on-line but am confused to what is the best thing. Anyone have any practical advise? Thanks all!

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So What Happened?

Thanks everyone for your input and advise! It is much appreciated. The most common suggestions were the kitchen sink, the Safety 1st bath ring seat, cushy pads, the "Safer Bather", and plastic swivel seats. Since I have not gone out to purchase any products yet, I have been bathing one at a time in the kitchen sink for now and it is working out! :) Thanks again. It was really neat to see how many people responded. This is a neat community of mothers!

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A.C.

answers from St. Louis on

I used one of those seats that attaches to the side of the tub. It isn't very expensive, but it works very well at keeping them from moving around.

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J.D.

answers from St. Joseph on

Please be careful about what type of bath ring to get. I got one from a friend (the blue kind with the little rings on the front). The very first time I used it, I reached up to get a wash cloth and my son leaned forward tipping it over and went face down in the water. Because of the ring he could not sit back up. Thankfully I was right there and could grab him. I found out later that the rings are now recalled and not sold in stores.

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S.C.

answers from St. Louis on

when my baby was to big for the baby tub I bathed her in the sink sitting up...when she got to big for that I bought a tub seat...she has been in the tub playing without anything since she was about 1.5 months...I bought one of those tub faucet covers and she get very little water in there...just enough to cover her legs...sometime we play in the tub together...then she gets more water...but I never leave the bathroom...

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M.B.

answers from Kansas City on

There is a bath tub seat at babies r us that allows babies to sit up in the tub, but still be supported.

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D.N.

answers from Kansas City on

I went from a baby bath tub to the kitchen sink. if your boys can sit up, they will be able to sit and splash while you bathe them. if not, you can still support them with one hand while washing with the other. To make sure they didn't slide, I'd put a small towel in the bottom of the sink to sit on. Then I could use the sprayer to rinse them off with. No sprayer, I used a cup. Hope this helps.

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M.A.

answers from St. Louis on

We used the plastic, not blow up, seat, and it worked out great until they outgrew it, but then they could sit on their own without problems.

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T.M.

answers from St. Louis on

We used the inflatable tub inside the larger tub and it worked great for us. It felt a little more enclosed (and less scary) than the big tub, plus the bubbles and toys stayed within reach! It also helped when I rinsed his hair--I could lay his head back on the cushy tub and rinse without getting water and shampoo in his eyes. When his bath was over, we would dump it and leave it blown up in the tub, since it's not the sort of thing you want to blow up every day. Hopefully you have a tub devoted to your little ones like we did!

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A.D.

answers from Kansas City on

Around that age, I started hopping in the tub with my daughter to steady her and get her used to being in the big tub. Then we used one of those "bath pads" to cushion the bottom and also one over the edge of the tub so there would be no "head or chin" hitting if she toppled. Now we are renting and they have that stupid "textured bottom" tub that is no less of a risk of slipping, but now you can't even put a pad on the bottom because suction cups won't hold. SO, I ordered something called "gator grips" that adheres to the tub and still put the cushy pad over the edge of the tub to prevent bumps. Long story short...we have had her in the big tub since she was about 9 months old by herself with me hanging over the edge. (It was pretty safe until she figured out how to stand up and walk and try to get out!)
Good luck!

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M.D.

answers from St. Louis on

For that in-between stage going from infant tub to regular bath tub----How about a sturdy,plastic laundry basket? It's waterproof, open-sided so water flows in and out, roomy (especially a rectangular shaped one, baby can hold onto the sides for added support,hard to tip over between the weight of the baby and the force of the water, it corrals all the floating tub toys so baby doesn't have to reach very far, and it's CHEAP ! Then you can use it for its intended purpose when the baby is old enough to sit up by itself. Once a baby can sit up well, then I just used thick towels to line the bottom of the tub to keep them from sliding around. :)

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T.R.

answers from Joplin on

well, i used the little ring that suctions down on the bath tub and it worked great for us. just becomes a problem when they start getting really chunky legs. have you seen the inflatable bath tubs that sit IN your bathtub? i wish they had had those....would have used that when my kidd were sitting really well. but if they are still wobbly you can try the kitchen sink since its more form fitting due to being smaller or the ring.

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J.J.

answers from St. Louis on

As a mother of TWINS (now in kindergarten), I can relate. It is not easy when you are trying to keep 2 from falling over and hitting their heads. I used the Safety First blue plastic swivel seats. They suction to the bottom of the tub and you can lock them so they don't swivel. They were WONDERFUL!!! My kids could safely splash and play and I had my hands free to wash each one. They were also very durable... they were both in brand-new condition after they outgrew them.

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J.H.

answers from Kansas City on

try the inflatable tub bu especially baby!!! It inflates and fits inside your tub!!!! I highly reccommend!!!!

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S.V.

answers from St. Louis on

I never used a baby tub. I always used the little thing that they lay on in the big tub. You have to always be watching them but you are supposed to do that anyway. Sometimes I would join them in the tub if I felt like taking a bath myself. When they started sitting up, I would sit them up on that thing, and they would start getting away from it whenever THEY were ready. It's okay for them to get there heads in the water and learn how to put their face in, as long as you are there, they won't drown. The first time may shock them of course, but all of my children never were afraid of water because I didn't shy away from water in their face! I would pour the water in the face as newborns and they didn't mind, they learned how to not breath in water that way. They love water so much now.

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M.L.

answers from St. Louis on

I give my 8 month old his bath in the kitchen sink. I fill the sink and he can sit down in there. It's what I did with my older one also. That way I don't have to worry about him being in the big tub, there is hardly any room in the sink for him to move around.

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D.E.

answers from St. Louis on

For my sons, the ring-type seats (that attach to the bottom of the tub) with toys that help keep the baby intertained during the bath were a great transition between baby tub and sitting unaided in the tub. These also have strong suction cups on the bottom to keep baby securely in one place as opposed to sliding around the tub.

If your babies are small, you may have to place a towel under their bottoms and drape it over the back of the ring to give a better fit. (Yes, it will be wet.) If the ring is too large they will slide down and that is not safe.

I do not like the laundry basket idea. The baskets are too big, they would slide and tip over easily with the motion of the sloshing water (even in one inch),and those holes are often not smooth and forgiving to delicate baby fingers.

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R.E.

answers from Kansas City on

C., I recently had to come up with a solution to the same problem as my 9 1/2 month old is crawling out of her tub. I am happy to say I solved the issue with a dollar. I purchased a 12"x18" non-skid bath mat w/suction cups from the Dollar Tree for the bottom of the bathtub. Now she can sit and take a bath like a big girl and her bottom never even moves. Plus I have found it's easier to clean all of her nooks, crannies, and rolls by leaning her back on my hand. She loves the bigger area to splash in too. Hope this helps and good luck!

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A.S.

answers from Kansas City on

I purchased a safety first bath ring seat. I had to buy it off of ebay b/c I could not find them in the stores. It is blue, swivels and sticks very well to the bottom of our tub. Im thought on the blow up is the boys will be able to stand right up in it. The seat helps keep them in a bit. Good luck.

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C.L.

answers from Kansas City on

It's honestly your own personal preferance! You can move them to the kitchen sink and do the baths one at a time, or one in each side of the sink. You can buy a lil blow up tub to place in the bigger tub. You can by a non slip mat for them to sit on in the tub. Or you can go with a bath seat! I think when my older son was big enough to sit on his own, and to big for the baby tub, I just moved him to the regular tub an that was it. I was there with him the whole time, so it was easy to make sure he didn't slip and bump his head, but with 2 in the bath at the same time, you might want to get something to help out ; ) I got a bath seat for my youngest, because my shower is a stall shower, and I can sit the ring on the built in seat in the shower and it works good. He's two now, and occasionally he'll get in the seat still, it's that or he opens the door on me the whole time = P LoL Do what you feel is best for you and your boys!

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T.L.

answers from St. Louis on

I went to Babies R Us and they had a bath tub where it was for 0-24 months old...One side was for the yuounger ones to lay down, the other side is to sit up...I think it is by Primo and it is white...My daughter is 18 months now and loves this tub, but she is trying to crawl out so I am watching her more closely

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C.S.

answers from St. Louis on

I did the kitchen sink thing with my oldest and she loved it! I don't plan on doing it with my 8 month baby because there are usually dishes in it now. Ha! I have been using a bath seat. It works really well. I used it a little on #1 and a lot with #2. The problem I found while using it with kiddo #3 is that the suction cups do not stick to the tub in this house. I have a nonslip surface in my tub. If she leans for anything, she starts to fall/tip over so I really have to be on guard. If you have a tub that doesn't have a nonslip surface (aka - it's smooth) then it would suction cup down and swivel while playing. It is a little hard to clean baby's bottom, though, since they are sitting on it. The other problem that I have found with it (again because of the nonslip tub) is that when I pick up Lindy, the seat comes with her making it hard to get it off of her while I am holding her. So, if you have a tub with a smooth finish, I would highly recommend it. If your tub is a nonslip type, I don't think that it would be for you, especially if you are having multiple children in the tub at a time. Something else I have done, in a pinch, is fold a towel in half 2 times and lay that on the floor of the tub for a "cushion". Then, they could either lay or sit on it while bathing and they are less apt to slide around. Happy bathing!

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T.M.

answers from St. Louis on

I have 2 kids and have used the "Safer Bather" - you can find it online on Target or Babies R Us. It works great. I even used it until he was about 2 just to sit on something soft in the bathtub. Check it out...

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K.D.

answers from St. Louis on

I tried them all. The one i found to work the best was the bath seats. I found on that hung off the side of the tub and had a elbow cushoin which helped out alot. But since it hung off the side of the tub in never moved. The only tricky thing is it was alil big in the bottom area for my son, son he slid around once in a while. But it still held him up and in. I loved the seat.

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M.G.

answers from Kansas City on

I give my daughter(almost 2 years old) a bath in the kitchen sink. She was a big baby and didn't fit in the seats you put in the tub. I really like it because I don't have to bend over the tub to wash her and I can use the sprayer to give her a final rinse with clean water. Good Luck!!

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K.B.

answers from Wichita on

Hi C., you can use matts in the big tub and bath one at a time or hubby can bathe one and you the other! We have used some of the items you mentioned in your post, even the kitchen sink. Tub is easier if you both work together. More fun and splashing too.

God Bless you and your awesome blessings.
K. Nana of 5

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K.S.

answers from Kansas City on

Have you tried just bathing them in the kitchen sink w/o using the baby tub?

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S.D.

answers from Topeka on

You don't need a bath ring to give them a bath that is a waste of money,I remove the bath tube once they out grow it and can sit up very well.They don't need to stand up to give them a bath they can sit everytime and you can only fill up the tub a little bit with bath water if you'd like however at this age I don't and it is less time in and out and were done.If you are right there and don't leave them unattened in the tub they will be fine you may need to do one at a time. You'll be surprised on how well they adjust to sitting independently to take a bath.SAHM of 2 and 1 more on the way

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N.L.

answers from Kansas City on

I highly recommend the Primo's Eurobath....it looks huge, but it has easily fit into our regular size bathtub....I had a couple of different infant tubs, and this was by far the best.....we used it with our son until he was probably at least 1.5 years old and use it with our daughter who is 12 months...you can get it at most Babies r Us store.....I purchased it after seeing the raves reviews on the website and in a baby bargains book. Here is a link:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2404856

N.

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C.K.

answers from Springfield on

It's been many years, but I had a water proof padded ring with 3 legs attached and suction cups for the legs.
The ring was secure on the bottom of the tub, the ring was small enough that my daughter couldn't slip down/through.
I'm sure that there is something way more advanced now, but the suction cups were a great idea.
Good luck,
C.

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