Bath Time Essentials

Bath time is a very beloved activity in our house. It gives my kids a chance to play, and I get a few moments to enjoy them at the end of the day.

I had a more traditional baby tub with my first child, but a friend introduced me to this one when I was pregnant with my daughter. It is wonderful. While it won’t work too well in the kitchen sink, my daughter highly preferred it to our other tub. Best of all, it allowed me to bathe my kids together safely from the start.

I don’t like tear-free shampoos and baby soaps. First of all, they’re not really tear-free. (Try washing your hair with Johnson’s and keeping your eyes open during the rinse. It doesn’t feel great.) More importantly, tear-free things are achieved through chemical additives. My kids have done fine with diluted castile soap as shampoo and body wash. You can find it at the grocery store or pharmacy, and it’s super cheap.

These products are fun, and we only use them occasionally. The bath paints are very cool and easy to clean, and my kids love mixing different colors of the bath drops to change the color of the water.

This thing is killer for washing babies. Do not, I repeat, do NOT register for any of those hooded baby towels. They are big enough only for newborns and small infants, and people are obsessed with buying them, so you’ll get them whether you ask for them or not. Leave them off the registry and instead add an apron towel or two. This bad boy will allow you to wash and dry your little love without getting soaked yourself.

I hate having to replace rubber duckies every few months. (They get mildew and mold, so you need to get rid of them regularly.) The Green Toys bath toys can be soaked in bleach and cleaned with an old toothbrush. We have a seaplane and a boat, and they’ve lasted forever. A major bonus is that these toys are made in the US from recycled materials.

These are made of wood, and I haven’t had ours for long enough to speak to their longevity. I can, however, say that my children love them, and they are super cute.