Bathtime

I've been doing morning baths with Eli for a couple of weeks now. It's become a fun, relaxed morning routine - even on days when I'm going to work we often start with a leisurely bath first! I start off showering to get some steam in his nose, and then put the plug in and taps on for a sitdown bath. There is a big difference in his showering in the past week - instead of throwing his head up into the flow of water, he just chills out underneath the shower head as if it's the most natural thing in the world. He is enjoying his bath more too. Yesterday was the day he really started to kick and float by himself. Up until now he just lies there and floats, completely still. Today he had progressed further and was pushing off the edge of the bath with his feet. I kept the water more shallow than usual and let him lie by himself and move around more freely, watching closely so he didn't turn his head into the water. He is inclined to attempt to drink the bath if I let him! He has some cool squirty toys, but his only interest is when I use them to squirt water on them. He doesn't watch them float yet or touch them. Bathtime is fun for me though - lots of singing, and games, and water splashing about. One day I kept topping the bath up until I ran out of hot water, then we had to get out! To get out I put the hooded towel on his head, then I lie him in the bed of towels I have outside the shower, and fold the towels around him. Now he smiles and starts pulling the towels over his mouth and sucking them, although he used to be confused. I then quickly turn the shower back on and rinse myself off, and dry myself before I take him to get dressed. So far it seems fine, although once the weather is colder I may need to rethink that strategy. When we did night-time showers his Daddy used to come get him out and dry and dress him. That was a nice routine, but we always felt rushed and never knew when to fit it into our evening. Really loving this new routine instead. I still skip a day if I feel like a solo shower, but I look forward to my bubba baths too!

Photos from 20th April: