apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

that picture is a riot!

I have a friend who swears by one of those mesh foldable bathers. (like this one)

http://www.target.com/Dex-Foldable-EZ-Bather-White/dp/B000AT18K2/qid=1205784612/ref=br_1_1/602-9531664-3613449?ie=UTF8&node=13866681&frombrowse=1&index=tgt-mf-mv&rank=price&rh=&page=1

It takes up a lot less space and the fabric is machine washable!

We have a folding tub that has an inflatable bottom and collapsible legs.

We have a 22 month old and a 2 month old. When the older one is in the bath, my husband holds the baby steady in the tub while I wash him off. So basically we just bath the baby in a regular bath tub. No extra equipment. But it definitely takes two people.

I laid my girl on a giant sponge made by Munchkin in the kitchen sink. That was the easiest because the when she was really little, she would slide down to the bottom of the plastic tub. On the sponge she could lay flat.
It cost less than $10 at Target, which was also a plus.

I use a plastic tub. This one.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2908454

I had a 10lb baby so the hammock was useless. I think I got 3 or 4 baths our of it. It only goes up to 10 lbs. After you outgrow the hammock you're supposed to just let the feet end down of the hammock so there's padding under the baby and he lays with a ledge holding him at his tush. I hated the tub at this stage. There was hardly any padding, but I really didn't start hating it until he was a supported sitter. He hate laying down in it but was too little for the next step which was sitting on the opposite end. There's nothing to help him sit. At this point I bathed with him a lot until he was capable of sitting on his own. We still use the tub now. We used it originally on the kitchen counter but since he's sitting up I just put it inside my tub.

I went on a visit to my sisters and had to use her tub...

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2403667

I only used it for a week but when we went through his supported sitting stage I was wishing I had hers. Although we recently went back and used it a few weeks ago (9months and 23lbs) he didn't seem to have any room to splash and play like he does now using the first tub.

I also had this tub in the beginning. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2392013

I used it because I didn't like the lack of padding on the one with the hammock. It worked until he was wanting to sit. It's not made to transition any further.

I remember my mom taking a bath towel, folding it and laying it in the tub. She would run about an inch of water and lay my brothers on it, giving them baths. So if her house is really that small she could opt for nothing at all.

Plastic tubs are bulky and take up a lot of space. The sponge they sell now a days might be her best option.

We also lived in a small apartment with our first baby and decided to try and do without the plastic tub due to lack of storage. We found it quite easy - especially as they get older and are able to set up on their own. We just filled the sink with warm water and placed a clean washcloth or handtowel at the bottom for softness and to help with slipage. I found it much easier than breaking your back bending over the bathtub. For quick clean ups Mustela PhysiObébé no rinse cleanser is fabulous. It lasts forever and smells great. You can find it at Nordstrom and other higher end baby boutiques. http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2791472?refsid=37479&refcat=0%7e2377897%7e2377898%7e2378739%7e2378740%7e2378875&SourceID=1&SlotID=1&origin=related

When my babies were newborns, I bathed them in the sink because they were small enough. As they got older, I took baths with them. (This was done usually right after I gave myself a shower first.) Taking baths together made sense in a lot of ways. They tend to be less slippery and potential dropping accidents less likey to occur since my whole body enveloped them, we all spent time together and had fun and all of us got our daily bath! My first born I had all the baby gadgets...the bathtub(s) were very uncomfortable and an extra item to clean. By the time, they were 8 mos and able to sit up, I would already transition them to the tub and not deal with buying more gear.

I used a plastic tub, but at 10 months, the girls are in the normal bathtub now. If space is a premium, your friend might like to try just putting the baby in the shower with her (or her partner--to remove the temptation of the breast if she's breastfeeding). My toddler has been bathed in a tub all his life, and when we have to stay in places with no baths, it's a major undertaking. I think you can buy slings that are shower-friendly to help with the squirming.

I bought every little gizmo out there for my girls. Not once, but twice. By the end of babyhood round 2 I realized that the diaper genie was never in the room I changed the baby, it was easier and cleaner to tie it in a disposable baggie and hit the closest trash can. I couldn't bear to leave the baby when I showered so she came with me. I think we used the baby tub once. Since we bathed this way from the get go, both girls were familiar with using a shower. They still (5 & 7) seldom take a bath unless its for fun. By the time they could sit up, I would lay a towel in the bottom of the shower and they would play under the water. And a clip over the doorway johnny jumper was used more than a swing, playpen and bouncy seat combined. My daughters would choose to dangle, then bounce rather than sit static. Even when they first started walking.

We had a baby tub, and I used it for our first child. We were both nervous bathing her, so bath-time was a huge ordeal for the first little bit. We'd fill the tub, bring it into a big open area (so we could tackle the bath from both sides), have towels laid out and ready to go...yeah we were dorks.

The good thing about that particular tub was that 1) it was built to fit into a double sink, I assume so you could bathe in the kitchen. We never used this method, but it could be a bonus for some people. And 2) it had a hook on the back so that it could be hung over the shower curtain rod when it wasn't being used. Certainly not "interior design" pretty, but it worked well.

When baby number 2 came along, our first child was a toddler. We just bathed them together in the large tub after that. Or I'd bring baby in the tub with me. With baby number one, we had every contraption under the sun. With baby number two, we had widdled our "gear" down to a sling, and a carseat.

We started out using a tub in the kitchen sink. When she wasn't so floppy and it wasn't a two person ordeal, we used the tub in the tub. At about 14 months we quit using the tub and just bathed her in the bathtub.

We were given two plastic baby tubs as gifts and never used either of them... we took turns sitting in the tub with him to give him a bath. It's fun and soothing and, I think, a great bonding experience :)

and LOL at that picture! I just don't want the baby touching the cheese grater!

I got a tub with my first and used it once... I have three tiny tots now, and officially think those tubs are a waste. I like to put a beach towel in my bathroom sink and fill it with water, that way the towel cushions the baby, and can help support their head with the extra that I bunch up at the edge of the sink. You can use the towel to keep them warmer too. My vote- ditch the tub.

When my baby was new, I bathed him in a dish-tub (they are under $5 and used for washing dishes by hand, available at any box retailer like Target) because it was just the right size and didn't have any sharp edges or protruding faucets. Between baths I used it to store bathing essentials under the sink. When he grew to big for it, I opted for a $5 contoured sponge which he LOVED. It was a definite turning point in his enjoyment of bathtime. To save space, I squeezed it dry and just propped it on end in the tub. I didn't want a bulky fancy baby tub I would have to store and tote around when we moved.

We used the regular tub since my daughter was 2 weeks old (she had sponge baths before that). She was swimming in the tub when she was very little. She's 2yo now, and she does not like to take baths often (may be she does not like that we have sliding doors all around the tub)...

There's an awesome tub that is ideal for this situation. It's called the Spa Baby Tub and you can buy it here:

http://www.sweetpeasandlittlesprouts.com/

The baby actually sits up instead of laying down, which is a european way to bathe babies. Babies stay covered with the water so they're less likely to cry or squirm (which is a big plus when bathing a baby). The best part is when not being used as a tub, it can be a hamper, toy basket or whatever else you can dream up. It even looks cool. Also, it's BPA & phthalate free, made in Canada & completely recyclable for parents who are concerned about safe plastics & the environment. What more could you want from a baby bath tub? ;)

we received a tub at our shower but never used. it was a lot easier on the back to wash our son in the kitchen sink. for the first 3 months or so we used the mesh sling to prop him up but once he was able to sit up he loved to splash in the sink.

we recently moved to a bigger apartment and he is 8 months old and bathes in our tub. he loves to crawl around and splash in the big tub...we finally gave away the baby tub, since it was taking up too much space in the closet.

I just always have bathed with my girl, since the day she was born. We love our bathtime together, and it's really brought us closer together. It was the first place she finally nursed (at one month) and the first place she said a word. I wouldn't give up bathtime with the girlie for the world.

i'm using something similar to the mesh sling but with a cushioned pillow at the top. she has never cried while bathing. i think the brand is summer infant. my daughter is now eight months old and i've been using it since she was a newborn, although she is getting too big for it so i'm thinking of graduating her to her older brother's "baby" tub. it's the european style, with no padding. her brother began using this when he was about a year old and he is still using it at 31 months old. he is obviously old enough for the regular tub and he really doesn't have much room to play and splash, but we waste less water this way and bathtime is over fairly quick.

SaferBather all the way. That thing was awesome in the kitchen sink, and when my tot could sit up unassisted, I put a non-slip mat in the sink, and that's where we bathed him. No need for a tub or using the bathroom tub. We switched to the real tub when he started pulling up, but that still was a lot of mileage from the kitchen sink. Sorry, I am totally against buying a bunch of plastic doodads that just go into landfills.

You absolutely do not need the plastic tub, we gave ours away. Even if we had had room to store it, we didn't need it- we just used the kitchen sink and then the bathtub and both worked even better than having to deal withe stupid plastic tub. Which we then had to clean out and find a place to store and all that business. Save your money and your space and just use the sink and the tub.

Up until our daughter was a few months old, we washed her in a big pot! Then, we switched kitchen sink for a couple years. She's nine now, and gets a big kick out seeing the photo of herself being bathed in the pot.

We take showers with our 10 month old daughter often, especially earlier on, but she also enjoys sitting and splashing about in the baby plastic tub now. When visiting friends or family with a bath tub we take advantage and often get in all together.
The baby tub hangs from a nail high up on one of our shower walls, so it's always out of the way when not in use. Also a mini anti-slip mat does the trick and we place the tub in our shower so water everywhere doesn't matter.

we also used the saferbather (still do). in the kitchen sink then the tub. my daughter loves the thing.

The sink saves your back! (And uses less water) I only stopped using the sink when my daughter's legs were too long for her to sit in it comfortably...at about 19 months.

scary picture. i see a grater near the baby's hand and a kitchen knife a little farther off. where that my child, the photog would need an ambulance.

hi,
it's called photoshop.

We received a baby bathtub and promptly returned it, even though we had a 1000sqft (poorly designed) house. Where do you store something to big when you are using the shower? They're a rediculous waste of money and space, for us anyway.

I use the bathroom sink for my 2 month old.

My 17 month-old is happy to have a bath by herself in the big tub, but we went through the whole progression: plastic baby tub, kitchen sink, in the tub with me, and now in the tub by herself.

We have a big kitchen, and we always bathed her in her plastic tub in the kitchen, so we stored it there, by the back door. It was easier to bathe her on the kitchen counters, so I didn't have to bend over or kneel so much (I have bad knees). We stopped using the sink when she wanted to stand up the whole time and tried operating the faucet and such. When I moved her to the big tub, she would sit in the back and play while I showered (using a handheld shower), then she got washed. I let the tub fill with a bit of water for her to splash in while I got dressed.

We bought a baby bathtub and never used it. We ended up using one of those yellow bear sponges you get for $5 at any baby store in the kitchen sink. So much easier.

I was nervous about bathing my daughter in the sink. Maybe she sensed my anxiety because she screamed her head off whenever I bathed her in the sink. But since getting the Primo tub, she loves baths. The down side is storing it, but we keep it in the tub, and remove it when we take a bath or shower.