I had really been looking forward to Boop’s first bath. I thought she would love it. I thought it was in her genes. I imagined her cooing and splashing. I was planning to do it in the evening as we were winding down, hoping that it would calm her before bedtime. Websites about bathing a newborn said to wait until the umbilical stump had healed before attempting a bath. Based on our last visit to the pediatrician, her naval was in pretty good shape. They also suggested leaving a diaper on during the bath so the newborn doesn’t feel exposed?
Nothing exactly went as planned, as you might have guessed from the introduction. Boop had a blow out in her cloth diaper. When she was jaundiced, I celebrated every poopy diaper, as it helped to take the bilirubin away. Forgive me for not being as enthusiastic about poopy diapers these days. Boop hates having her diaper changed <This should have been my first hint that the bath may not be as fun as I had hoped>. And although I fought valiantly with wet wipes, Boop’s flailing arms and legs were making a bigger mess of things. So, I got the worst of the mess taken care of with wet wipes, and then I decided to try the bath.
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| Uncertain |
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| Unhappy |
Everything was still in packages; so I was trying to get things unwrapped one-handed with an unhappy baby in the other arm. I got the tub, I got the towel, I got the wash cloth, I got the baby wash, I got a clean diaper, I got the ducky bath thermometer. I didn’t really understand the ducky bath thermometer; it kept saying hot, even though it felt a bit cold to me <It would have helped if I read the directions>. Thankfully, I went with my gut--warmer. It was time to put her in. I took her blanket off, and she began to wail. I put her in the water. It didn’t help. I put the blanket over her in the water, and with some cajoling, I went over her with the wash cloth. After a couple of minutes, things took an increasingly unfortunate turn, and I pulled her out. Maybe better next time.
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