The Number Field

Jenny has been reading some internet forum for mothers whose babies were born in February. Once in a while she tells me about the hot topics. Bathing was one where our practice differed from that of others. Some parents report nightly baths (almost since the day of birth) and cite them as helpful in establishing a schedule. We have tended to bathe Elena every few days, just before she starts to smell too much of sour milk. Also, we've thought Elena is still young for a schedule.

Our baby bathtub has an infant sling to facilitate safe sponge baths in the early days. We've used it even though Elena exceeded the maximum recommended weight at birth. It seems safer to keep any part of her from submersion, and we are first-time parents so we're entitled to be a little uptight.

After we took a long family walk yesterday afternoon, Jenny wanted to take a shower. Even though Elena had already been given a bath, we decided to see how she would react to the shower. She was already pretty happy when I took her in, and got a lot of enjoyment out of the shower. She liked feeling the water on her skin as Jenny moved her in and out of the stream. She also started kicking her legs like a little swimmer. We didn't soap her up, so she didn't get too slippery, but I had brought in a glove/washcloth just in case we needed to get a better grip. After Elena's shower time was over, I put on her pajamas while Jenny finished up.

Because of the positive experience, we're going to expand Elena's bathing options. In addition to more showers, it's time to unhook the baby bathtub sling and let her body soak--the tub is configured so that we can still keep her head safely out of the water. It's good to see Elena developing in personality and capabilities, along with her increases in height and weight. In that vein, she's been smiling so much that we've been able to get some good happy-time pictures.