I was reading one of my cohort’s blog posts yesterday when I was stricken by surprise. She mentioned that she bathes with her baby and that people find it strange? REALLY?
I shower with Matthew once a week or so. He loves his bath time and it’s part of his nightly bedtime routine (yes, he bathes every night), but I LOVE having him in the shower with me. It just seems natural. He skipped his bath last night due to being out too late so I popped him in the shower with me this morning. We had a great time! Our shower is pretty big so he crawls around in it while I get clean. He loves it!
Do people really find this strange?
The first time I bathed with Matthew, he was little…. tiny. He was very congested and the doctor said I should take a bath with him. So I did. It is one of my favorite parenting memories so far. He was so happy to be so close, skin to skin, and I was too, quite frankly! He even cozied up on his own to nurse. Pure happiness for us both!
I look forward to being out of town because it means we for sure will bathe or shower together. Our first shower together was a few weeks ago at my sister’s. She suggested I do it to save time, and was shocked we hadn’t showered together yet. The reason we hadn’t is because years ago, my other sister plopped her 1 year old son in the shower with me (much to my horror!) and I almost dropped him. Truly. He was so slippery and I caught him just as he almost hit the floor. That terrified me, so I just didn’t think to do it with my own child. I’m so glad my sister suggested it a few weeks ago because I LOVE it!
Is it really THAT strange?
As you can see, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this. Another cohort commented that she bathes with her baby but wasn’t sure if she should include it in her “how I parent” blog entry. I am just stunned by this. Who judges such things? Apparently some people do.
So in support of family bathing, I am going to be bold! I am going to go outside my comfort zone here and post something I wouldn’t normally post! My sister snapped a couple photos of Matthew’s and my first shower together. Here they are:
All the Sun For You 
April 18, 2012 at 11:24 am
Honestly, when I first heard about people doing this I thought it was kind of strange, not in a strange way, but in a how-do-you-not-drop-the-baby kind of way. I would totally think they are too slippery to hang on to, and how do you wash yourself while holding a baby? I’ve taken one bath with Chloe once she could sit up, but we just have a standard size tub so it was hard to move around her and wash my hair. I’d love to hear how people make it work because I would be all for it, I just haven’t figured it out yet. Maybe if I take a shower and plop her on the floor with a toy while I clean myself, then finish with cleaning her? That could work…
April 18, 2012 at 11:40 am
That’s what I do. I don’t even give Matthew a toy (although I thought today that I should). He just loves to sit there and try to catch the water!
April 18, 2012 at 12:36 pm
Nope, not strange. I would totally do it if we were able. Cute pictures!
April 18, 2012 at 2:36 pm
I almost took pictures like this today of Stella and I in the bath, but I was too afraid of ruining my phone and my hubby wasn’t around to take pics. 🙂
I think people get more freaked out about it as the child ages. In my opinion, when the kiddo starts feeling uncomfortable with it, they’ll quit bathing with you (I distinctly remember showering with a parent and bathing with my sisters – AND I remember when I became body conscious and didn’t want to anymore so i stopped). I think the people who think it’s odd are the ones who aren’t comfortable having to address “why does daddy/mommy have ___ that I don’t have” type questions. Does that make sense? Maybe I’m wrong -that’s just the sense I get, based on who has given me weird looks/responses about it.
So far I love that time together!
April 18, 2012 at 9:20 pm
Funny…. I almost put in my post that I remember showering with a parent and habitually bathed with my sisters. Matthew took a family
bath with his 3 cousins a few weeks ago and LOVED it! I need to get the photos from my sister – they are cute!!! We had a 9 year old, a 3.5
year old, an 18 month old, and my 9 month old all in the jacuzzi tub together. It was precious!
April 18, 2012 at 8:00 pm
I was one of the people who asked Josey how she did it when she posted. I was too afraid to try because I know someone who dropped her tiny baby after a bath, and while he’s fine now, well, the “now” is the tip-off. When my husband said, “Why don’t you just take her in with you a few weeks ago,” I decided I felt confident enough to try. I found that I feel pretty safe. I leave her outside the shower on a towel and disposable changing pad (she usually poops for some reason) and take her in when I’m done bathing myself. She doesn’t love it–she gives me, “I’ll go with this because I trust you, but it’s pretty weird and a little scary,” looks every time.
April 18, 2012 at 11:17 pm
I love your description of her look! I don’t bring Matthew in until I’m almost done cleaning myself as well. He crawls around the bathroom until I’m ready for him and he seems to enjoy that!
Mira will learn to love it, I bet!
April 18, 2012 at 8:12 pm
I admit that I was uncomfortable mentioning it in my post, but was THRILLED to see it in Josey’s! There are a few reasons why I didn’t mention it though. I wrote my first draft of my post from a very knee-jerky place, but the crux of it was that ‘hippy dippy’ is kind of shitty. Then I sat on it for a few days, toned it down to be less defensive and more reflective, then had a friend edit it. I admit to omitting a few things that I thought I might be judged for (i.e. bathing, CIO), and have some regrets about that now. BUT. My blog is not anonymous (i.e. my DAD reads it), I have *just* stuck my toe in the water of blogging my actual thoughts and feelings, AND I was the target of some pretty nasty things during the whole PAIL/SQ kerfuffle. So I had a pretty healthy dose of fear with that post. I guess I just didn’t want to invite negativity to something I feel strongly about.
So, I was pretty pumped to see this post! I found this so inspiring, Courtney. Because it isn’t strange at all! I think it is beautiful. In fact, a friend of mine writes a parenting blog and I sent her a picture of HGB and I in the tub a few months ago for her bathing post. Her approach was more from the angle of her son having a healthy view of nudity and female bodies, and I can relate to those reasons as well. But, as with a lot of things, we’ll do it until one of us doesn’t really want to anymore. Although with this, selfishly, I hope that isn’t anytime soon!
April 25, 2012 at 8:05 pm
OMG you two are adorable!! I did it with both my girls, still do 🙂