Top 10 #8: Bath Tub/Seat

This is the eighth item in my Top 10 Things I Could Not Have Lived Without During My Baby’s First Year post.
We used a baby bath tub for the first nine or so months of Samantha’s life. We put it in our kitchen sink and washed her there. We used a Safety 1st Comfy Duck Bath Center and loved it! It fit perfectly in our standard-size sink, had a drain hole for the water, a temperature strip, two recessed holes for shampoo or toys, the foam part the baby lays on is slip-proof, and it came with a rinse cup and a sling for a newborn. We never used the sling because it basically suspended the baby over the water, instead of having her lay in it (not enough slack in the design of the sling).
My only complaint about this tub was that it was difficult to rinse the shampoo out of Samantha’s hair (what little she had!). The tub was inclined enough that, if we poured water on her head, it would go in her face. We ended up turning her whole body around and holding her over the end of the tub/sink with one arm, and rinsing with the other. It was a bit of a pain with a crying, wriggling newborn, but not too bad with an older baby who was accustomed to the process.

When Samantha was sitting up well and outgrew her baby bath tub, we bought a bath seat. We purchased an Aquababy Bath Ring. We’re very pleased with it. Even though Sam is sitting up just fine on her own, I still wouldn’t trust her to sit still in a tub for a bath. I’m sure she would squirm around, try to stand up, etc. With the seat she sits still, except when she can’t reach a toy floating in the water.

Related items

• Top 10 #4: Bumbo Baby Sitter
• Top 10 #2: Automatic Swing
• Top 10 #7: Exersaucer
• Top 10 #6: Front/Back Carrier
• Top 10 #3: Tummy Time Mat