The Washroom–Bathing Babies

I loved bathing my babies. Actually, I learned to love bathing my babies. The first few baths I mostly focused on not drowning them. Each baby brought new challenges into my life.

I attempted putting Miriam in a tub very early and realized that she could not be found once I added the tear free suds. Even though I put a towel in the bottom of the tub for resistance purposes she slipped and slid out of my reach. It was suggested that I use a warm cloth to bath her but I didn’t feel like she would be clean enough without actually running water over her whole body.

With Hannah there was the invention of the sponge insert for the baby tub. This was a huge sponge with a scooped out middle that cradled the baby in the tub and kept them from slipping and sliding out of reach. This was a wonderful thing for both of us except that I felt like I had to put it in the washing machine every night to make sure it was clean enough for her the next day. I solved my problem by purchasing several so I could rotate the sponges.

When Christopher came along the baby tubs were now smaller and slanted with a seat inset at an angle so there was just very little chance of me losing him. I was much more relaxed and now also had access to a sink hose so rinsing him without balancing him directly under the faucet was possible.

I didn’t lose one child  and they came out of the experience clean and happy each night. My favorite part was wrapping them in a fresh towel and hugging them tight while I dried them off with lots of giggles and more hugs.  They survived and I survived and the most wonderful things of all was that every time it was a fresh start for both of us.

Lydia Patrick

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