When we moved into our home around 2 and a half years ago we fell in love with the house and its location,l. Although one of its downfalls was that it didn't have a shower. As we are renting and just before we moved in the landlords renovated the bathroom and replaced the bath with a shower cubicle, it is unlikely that we will be getting one any time soon. This wasnt much much of an issue when it was just me and my fiancé living here, as we had lived in previous places without a shower. However when our daughter arrived, it became apparent that we would have to become more inventive in in our approach to washing her than we had originally thought. It dawned on me this morning, while my fiancé and daughter were sharing a shower, that this is probably quite a common problem for a lot of parents. Especially if you live in small homes or flats. So I thought I would share some tips on how we cope with keeping our daughter squeaky clean. 1) Kitchen Sink I think since the dawn of kitchen sinks they have been used by mothers to wash children. Especially while they are quite young and still fit in the basin. I, myself, have very fond memories of sitting in my nannys kitchen sink while looking out into the backgarden, and remember her telling me that my mum used to do the same. Personally for me I found this more suitable when our daughter was between 1-9 months as she was small enough to fit inside. And even though we had bought a baby bath, it rarely got used. Mainly because it was a pain to fill up and empty, plus by using the sink it saved my back from being bent over for 10-20 minutes at a time. 2) Relatives/Family Members Baths We are very fortunate that both my mum and mother-in-law live within 15 minutes of our home. And as we see them both frequently, we often use this opertunity to hijack their bathtubs. When my daughter was still quite small usually me or my fiancé would get in with her for some nice bonding time. But as she got bigger and could sit up alone we started placing her in tubs and laundry baskets. (This is great because it stops the toys floating out of reach and stops them slipping under as much as there's more grip.) Now she's big enough to handle the whole tub on her own, of course with supervision. I work 4 afternoons a week and so on the days where either my mum or mother-in-law has her, they give her a bath and get her ready for bed so all I have to do is pick her up and go home. Which is really handy when I've had a busy day at the office. 3) Shower Sharing I understand that a lot of people may not have the luxury of having family living in close proximity to allow them to use their bath tubs on a regular basis. And we are always faced with this at the weekends when we spend a lot of time at home. However what we find works best for us is shower sharing.
From around 10months or so my partner has been getting into the shower with our daughter. At first he would sit on the bottom and let the water fall on them both. But as she's gotten older and more stable he tends to stand and let her play with toys on the floor or the shower cubicle. First washing himself and then washing her. And occasionally we do let her go into the shower by herself and I will help her apply soap and rinse her hair etc. This has been working really well for us so far. We are expecting a new arrival this June and I have been thinking about shower/bath arrangements which will allow our eldest daughter to be involved with the bathing of her new little sister. Especially in those early weeks, as I'd like to help them create as much of a bond as possible. What I'm planning on doing is allowing my daughter to sit with her feet in the kitchen sink while we wash the new baby, or maybe re-introducing the baby bath so that we can all sit around as a family. But I suppose we will figure this out as the time comes. Thank yoy so much for readimg. I hope you have found this helpful if you are worrying about washing your child in a bathless home. I'd love to here about any alternative methods you have come up with if you are also in the same situation, as well as how you may have helped any older children feel included with bathtime for new siblings! If any of you are not aware I am now on Facebook and have just started my new YouTube channel both in the name : Day of Knights. Where I am planning to post Day in the Life videos, room tours and how I organise my home. So please like/follow/ subscribe if you are interested in keeping up with all of that! Thanks again for reading. Georgia Day of Knights
1 Comment
Debs Knights
18/2/2017 02:55:35 pm
Loved this! Xx
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About Me.Hi, I'm Georgia. Working Mum and Fiance. Join my Family as we try and navigate this roller coaster they call life. Archives
August 2017
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