Showering with Baby...?

Updated on March 18, 2011
R.. asks from Cleveland, TN
26 answers

I have heard of many mothers who shower with their baby. I don't know how this could be safe... but if there IS a way to do it safely I wouldn't mind giving it a try. My DD is 10 months old, and this would be such a time-saver if I could just take her in with me, clean her up, hand her out to Daddy to get dressed while I finish up my shower. What do you do to make it safe? I think that a soapy, wiggly baby would be pretty difficult to hold on to... Not to mention trying to position her to get her clean while trying to keep my grip on her... Do you wrap her in a towel for grip, run the shower but stay more down 'in' the tub.. what? Thanks!

~Right now I usually give her a bath in the regular tub. She crawls around and has fun... but sometimes when I'm in a hurry it would be nice to have another option. :)

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So What Happened?

Aaaah. Thanks mommas! When I heard of showering with the baby, I pictured taking a shower while holding the baby, not letting her play on the floor of the tub. That does sound much safer... but still a bit of a hassle. lol. Our tub isn't roomy enough for it to be safe or convenient... I think I will just keep on letting her have her fun in the tub. :P

Featured Answers

D.G.

answers from Lincoln on

I never had much luck with that when I tried it. Always felt like I drop the baby! I have a baby bathtub leftover from my older daughter that also converts to a sitting position so if she's up when I need to shower I stick her at the other end of the shower in that. That's also what I put her in to bathe her. She likes to splash in the tub but I feel like she's a little safer than just sitting in the tub.

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K.I.

answers from Los Angeles on

I handed all my babies over to Daddy in the shower! Daddys are great at this stuff! So I say hand the kid to Daddy, then you get the clothes and the towel and then Daddy can hand the kid back and you can do the dressing part!

~My hubby loved this job...it was his 'bonding time'!

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P.W.

answers from San Francisco on

I remember showering with my daughter when she was a baby a few times, and it was wonderful, but she really was slippery and I was terrified to drop her. I definitely suggest sitting.

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L.A.

answers from Austin on

I tried it once, but it scared me to death.. She was way too slippery anfdwiggly. I needed to hand her off to my husband to get out, I have short legs, short arms and I cannot see without my glasses. The whole thing freaked me out..

The tub was much better, she was sitting and so was I..

If you try it, have your husband right there to help in case you need it..

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

I just washed my kids as babies, separately.
I bathed/showered on my own.

A baby in the shower at the same time... well where do you put the baby when you are washing yourself? Unless you have a BIG shower with a side area that is not all splashy?

A soapy baby is a slippery baby. Like a cube of ice.
And they wiggle.
Not safe to me.

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J.C.

answers from Philadelphia on

I bathed my kids in the kitchen sink at that age. It really saved my back from breaking. Once they could stand steadily I gave them a shower with me.

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J.O.

answers from San Francisco on

absolutely - i don't know why people don't shower with their babies and spend money on those tubs - except I get the slippery part. I had that baby tub but living in a city with limited counter space in the kitchen and bathroom - the baby tub was never used and instead - I sat since she was a new born on my thighs and filled the tub up just enough to keep us warm and get her cleaned. As soon as she could sit up around 6 months - I just sat with her the same - handed her off to my husband when she was done and took my shower. standing and holding her - definitely a challenge and I've only done it a hand full of times with really bad poop explosions :-) throw that baby tub away!

1 mom found this helpful

P.M.

answers from Tampa on

Your run the shower and sit together in the tub. You soap up your hair... clean most of baby... condition your hair and finish off baby - then hand her off to Daddy if he's there. If not - you have a swing or bouncer baby chair to lock them into while you quickly finish everything else.

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K.P.

answers from Seattle on

I take a bath with my son sometimes, makes it easier. I have a pull down shower head that I like to use. Works great for me. You can buy a pull down shower head with extension for pretty cheap.

I tried to shower with him, but its way to hard like you said because of all the soap and water making him slippery to keep a hold on.

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P.G.

answers from Dallas on

I always took a bath with my little one. It was just easier to wash the both of us. Or I'd shower fast while he played on the floor, then turned it into a bath for him. I don't know if there's any such thing as a fast wash unless you give them a sponge bath - it's not like they're running marathon's all day so I don't see a problem with a quick wash if you're short on time and the little one's not filthy.

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D.B.

answers from Charlotte on

.

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M.C.

answers from Pocatello on

I take baths with my daughter (2) and i have since she was about 3 or 4 months old. back then she was in an infant bath tub with a little water in it and I sat in a shallow bath of about 2-3 inches of water. I always had a hand on her and faced her while we "splish splashed". sure... it wasn't glamorous... but it got the job done to get us clean in record time!

when she was older I took her out of the baby bath and just had her sit up in the bath with me... which is what we still do.

I have showered with her... and how ya do it (or I did) was that I put her plastic highchair in the shower and basically gave her a "spongebath" while she sat in it... that way she couldn't wriggle away and slip to the floor. to get her butt I picked her up under her arms and wiped her down with soap and water with my free arm... while keeping her legs in the highchair leg holes. when i had to wash MYSELF i just handed her a toy or two and kept an eye on her.

however... i found it is easier to just run a bath and hop in when she got to toddler age. Our tub was just too slippery for my to feel comfortable with her standing in the shower, and she LOVES to play in the bath so we do that now.

I hope this helps!
-M.

J.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

I used to do it when our daughter was small...like newborn - 6 months. To make it safe I wore bath gloves for grip and for cleaning. When daddy would do it, he would hold her and I would scrub her up, then he woudl hand her to me. After about 6 months she just liked having her own space in the tub, so I didn't do it anymore.

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W.M.

answers from Nashville on

I can't remember how old my son was when he showered with me but he was small, maybe a year or so. At our old house we had a regular tub and shower so I put the shower head pointed closest to the back wall so it wasn't pouring on him. I was mostly worried about my soapy water from shampoo rinsing and splashing into his eyes. He sat at the opposite end of the tub and had toys in there with him. He literally just sat and played with the toys and didn't try to stand or move around. You could get one of those rubber liners for the bottom of the tub so it is not slippery. Like a mat. After I was finished with my shower and he was good and wet, I would kneal down and wash him with his baby shampoo. Then I had a cup to rinse his head with water I got from the tub spout, not the shower. He loved it. Then daddy would come get him or I would have to step out and get a robe on then lift him out in a towel. My daughter never wanted the water splatting on her head so it never worked with her. She is 5 and still takes baths. ;o)
W.

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K.F.

answers from Cleveland on

We tried it once when my son was a year old. My husband took him in the shower just to try it out, I was so worried about him slipping and falling but my husband said he would be fine, but I was right! He somehow slipped and hit his head in our stand up shower and had a black and blue golf ball sized bump on his head! My son cried for a minute, I cried for an hour. We never tried that again!!

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M.M.

answers from Dallas on

The baby sits on the floor of the tub while you shower. You sit down and bathe the baby.

M.H.

answers from Raleigh on

My son constantly showered with either my hubby or I when he was a baby. One of us would get in and wash first. Then we would hand the baby over and do a quick wash in the shower (sometimes helping each other out with soap, shampoo, etc.) and then pass the baby off to the one out of the shower. It really was quick and easy, and my son loved being in the shower (he still does)!

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A.C.

answers from Raleigh on

We do this with my son who is now 2.5. He usually showers with daddy now since he's a boy. You do have to be careful b/c they are slippery. You could use a hand towel if it makes you more comfortable. When we do the shower thing it's usually just a quickie and it's important to have your spouse right there with a towel. For me it's mostly about a rinse and then I wash his diaper areas well just in case there is any residue that doesn't get wiped when he's on the potty. Other than that it is hard to get a really good clean. We shower him like every other day with the other day being a good bath with bubbles etc. Give it a try it really is a time saver.

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J.C.

answers from San Francisco on

I think I have showered with my daughter since she could sit up and play by her self. (she is 2 now) She sits on the floor and plays, we put rubber non stick things on the floor. I did it more out of necessity because I didn't want her crying by herself in the bathroom, or crawling around the house by her self. She has always loved the water and thinks showers are the best. I still gave/give her a bath at night though too, because that is when I wash her, and she relaxes to get ready for bed.
You are right though, holding a wet squirmy baby is not a great idea in the shower!

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A.K.

answers from Atlanta on

We love the shower. I have an 8 month old and a 3 year old. We have a shower stall with glass doors and a textured floor so that it's not slippery. I put the 3 year old in there by herself some nights and give her cups, toys and bathtub crayons. She plays for a bit and I can see her through the doors. Then I just reach in and soap her up and shampoo her hair and she rinses herself off.

The baby has also been taking showers since she could sit up. I don't really hold her much, I just sit her on the floor and she crawls around and plays. I soap her up while she's down there and then sometimes I rinse her hair and stuff with cupfuls of water. I think showering with a baby might be a little more difficult in a traditional tub w/shower curtain setup.

Sometimes all 3 of us get in there and it's a little crowded but it's quick.

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M.C.

answers from Dallas on

I have a mesh water sling that I use in the pool as well as in the shower. It definitely makes it much easier to hold baby while we both get clean.

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K.H.

answers from Huntington on

I shower all the time with my daughter -- she is 16 months now, but we started doing it regularly when she was about your daughter's age. I usually hold her and let the water run over us for a while, then when I get ready to do a serious wash, I sit her down and soap her up (I have a handheld shower head). Then, I let her play with some bath toys while I soap up, then usually pick her up for another rinse. I don't have a full sized tub...it is a shower, but my daughter doesn't mind when water gets on her face, which is such an added bonus --no water freak outs! I sometimes will finish her off, then hand her to my husband. My daughter loves then!

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A.S.

answers from Dallas on

I have a stand-up shower (no tub), in our bedroom. I put his yellow, infant, bath-sponge on the floor, grab some toys and off we go. I shower in the corner, so I don't get lots of soap on him and I take the shower head down and turn the flow of water down so it's more infant friendly when I wash him up. I leave the slow running shower head with him while I towel off and then I get him out. I've never had a problem doing this but, overall, I prefer to bathe him in the tub. He's almost 14 months.

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C.S.

answers from Victoria on

I put mine in with me when they could stand. I sat on the shower seat and held the removable shower head and would basically wet them down scrub them down and hand them off to dad while I finished up myself. They loved the running water and it is way quicker!

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E.M.

answers from Louisville on

i would do baths but never showers thats wayyy to dangerous

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S.E.

answers from La Crosse on

I did this when my children were really young - though we had a big shower. I bought on of those sponge/baby shaped things for the baby to lay in (for the tub)...then plugged up the shower so it was full of warm water (just like a bath). I washed off while watching the baby lying in the spongy tub thing playing with toys...being careful not to splash soapy water, and babies head was always out of the spray. Then bathed the baby the same way as I would in the tub.

Once my kids were old enough to sit up, I sat them in a tub seat with suction cups out of the spray, but with the shower stopped so they could splash in the water and stay warm - and play with toys just like in the tub. Basically it is exactly like I would in the bath, except in the shower. I washed off then washed the baby...then I never had to pick them up or worry about slipping, as it was exactly like bathing them in the tub add a few more splashes and WAY LESS TIME and effort. My kids LOVED it!

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