How To Avoid Baby Bath Backache!

Bathing your baby is the best beginning to a calming bedtime routine and you can never start too soon. If you think about it, newborns have just come from a warm bath that lasted nine months! Of course we then put them into a huge bright space with an inch of water in the bottom and they don't enjoy it at all. In fact, a lot of them scream the place down and bathroom acoustics are very unforgiving on grown-up ears when babies scream, take it from me!

There are lots of nifty things around to help make bathing easier as little ones grow, from full length supports that hold them snugly as they lie back to seats that stick to the tub prevent slips and topples. These are absolutely great for older bubbas that have learned to love their nightly splash (also known as the soak mum/dad session in my house!) but sadly, no good for tiny infants.

The other pain, quite literally, is “baby-bath-backache”. I've known occupational therapists to gasp at the positions we adopt to keep our slippery newborns safe in the water. It's bad enough for even the strongest back to be bending over at a strange angle using both hands to support and wash a baby - any woman that's not long given birth will tell you it's agony and there's no gas and air available!

Thankfully, some clever genius has devised some baby bath sets that solve all these issues. It's called a Tummy Tub, it's shaped like a womb and holds baby in the foetal position with water up to the shoulders. Sound familiar? It'll feel even more so to a newborn, even low birth-weight or premature tinies can enjoy it, all it's missing is a heartbeat and the occasional tummy gurgle! The smart shape means baby is cocooned totally in water but it actually uses less than a standard baby bath, making it much easier to handle even when full and very eco-friendly. There's even a stand that lifts it to the perfect back-saving height then turns into a step as baby turns into independent toddler then a box for them to store their treasures in after that.

And staying with the theme, what about Clevamama baby bath towels.  Suitable from birth to two years, this fabulous piece of kit fastens around Mum's neck like an apron, keeping her dry and allowing her to lift her baby or toddler out of the bath with two free hands.  The special hood goes over baby's head to retain warmth whilst the gentle absorbent fabric dries any excess moisture - even from awkward nooks like between the toes.

Two recent additions to the plethora of baby bathing equipment out there but these items have won awards and make you wonder why someone didn't think of them years ago. Maybe because we were all busy clinging to slippery babies and then holding our aching backs...