Bath time...an adventure in itself!

When I was 6 months pregnant, I remember toiling over the baby registry...what kind of baby towels would we need? How many onesies should I register for? What's the difference between Diaper Genie II and Diaper Genie Elite?! The one thing though that I knew exactly what I wanted was the baby bath tub.

I had seen the PERFECT baby tub several months prior and had read review, after review, after review on this adorable "Whale of a Good Time" Tub! It was said to be the safest and most practical tub on the market. This adorable blue whale shaped tub with a matching whale toy was just what every momma to be wants to give their baby a bath in.

I was so excited to see the whale tub at my baby shower...and later that day as I put all of the gifts away I imagined what it would be like for me to bath my little guy in his new tub! For weeks, every time I opened the closet door in the bathroom I saw that cute tub sitting there! I WAS SO EXCITED!

After the birth of Sammy, I was disappointed to learn we had to wait for the umbilical cord to fall off before we could use the new tub...so I waited patiently for the cord to fall off. One week...two weeks...THREE WEEKS passed. FINALLY the umbilical cord fell off...and off I went getting the new tub ready!!!

Sammy, 3 weeks old at this point, sat in the tub as we washed him. Eric washed him...and I took picture after picture of a stunned Sammy in his whale tub. When Sammy was 2 months old that whale tub just brought dread to my life...Sammy hated bath time! Not only did he hate bath time...he REALLY REALLY REALLY hated bath time!!!! This wasn't just fussing and crying, this was turning bright red, screaming at the top of this lungs, looking me in the eyes with tears streaming down his face, and spitting up the previous meal! My dreams of bath time faded...it became a thing of dread as Eric and I played Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide who would bath Sammy next.

I tried EVERYTHING to make him like bath time! We tried warmer water, cooler water, more water, less water, we let the water run while he was in the tub, we played music, I got in the tub, we sat him in the tub without water, we splashed water, and we made bubbles...EVERYTHING! But with no luck...he hated bath time.

I read EVERYTHING I could get my hands on to find out why Sammy hated bath time. What was wrong with him? What kid hates bath time??? And then I found the answer...MOST kids hate bath time somewhere along the way! And my experience as a first time mom shown through! I had no idea! All this time I thought it was me!

So after this realization, I calmed down and volunteered for bath time. Eric didn't fight me for it! Samuel needed a bath...and I was his mother and had to do what was best for him. Sammy has skin problems, so without a bath every other day we are battling break outs and dry skin.

After trial and error Sammy is going on 4 months of age and he actually likes bath time. Bath time today looks much like this: Sammy gets to play naked for 5 minutes before bath time (he LOVES to be naked)...the water is a perfect 98.5 degrees (thanks to our turtle temperature gauge!). As soon as Sammy hits the water I begin a deep voiced rendition of Row, Row, Row Your Boat which I sing the entire bath time...including dramatic faces!!! I also have to maintain fairly good contact with Sammy and swing my bangs back and forth. Sammy also gets to see the little orange whale toy every time I move to a different body part to wash. In the meantime, Eric stands behind me giving Sammy encouragement and making additional faces.

Yes, between Eric and I we are college educated, fairly intelligent people...who on a regular basis sings Row Row Row Your Boat while dancing around and looking completely ridiculous...but we love EVERY second of it...and my beloved Whale of a Good time tub has made for many many cute baby pictures.