Bath Time With The Kids: Our Must Haves (+ giveaway)
I’m going to let you all in on a deep, dark, and—eek—dirty secret: our kids only take a bath maybe once or twice a week. It’s not that we’re anti-tub time (we all actually love it), it’s that we get busy, or dinner runs late, or we’re too tired to factor bath time with the kids into our daily routine. I mean, if ragu sauce is smeared across their faces and they have yogurt and banana nestled in their hair, or if the toddler ran around a lot and also jumped in puddles and then rolled around in dirt, then we break the norm and give them a bath. But usually? Tub time happens on Sundays and/or Wednesdays.
With two kids now sharing the space in our tub, I wanted to give you a peek at some of favorite things during bath time with the kids. These are all well-loved in our home from the time they’re itty-bitty until at least the toddler stage. Oh, and make sure you keep on reading, because I’m giving away one of my favorites below!
Here are our favorite things for bath time with the kids:
+ A (Safe) Place for the Baby
The little baby stage is scary enough, but add in a vessel full of water and a slippery tiny human who can’t do anything on its own, and bath time can be downright terrifying! Fear not, mama, because these two items are perfect for babies. The Blooming Bath Baby Bath was wonderful for the newborn stage. It fit right into our kitchen sink, and the petals were high enough that we didn’t worry about her head hitting any part of our sink. We’d trickle the water to the desired temp, fill up her side of the sink (with the Blooming Bath already in it) with an inch or two of warm water, and then we’d use the hose/sprayer to bathe her. And let me tell you—that thing was soft. So soft that I wish they made it in adult sizes. It can also be washed and dried, which is pretty convenient. We transitioned to the First Years Sure Comfort Deluxe Newborn to Toddler Tub once she started sitting up on her own. The girls take a bath together, so having the baby still contained to her own “tub,” but still actually in the big bathtub with her sister was a nice way to transition things and keep her from going all over the place.
+ A Comfy Spot for Mama and Papa
When you have little kids taking a bath, you want to be as close to them as possible, especially when you have bodies to clean and their hair to tackle (because squirm around they will). But for mom and dad, sitting and kneeling on the cold, hard, floor (even if you have a bath mat) will hurt after about five minutes. Enter the step stool and a kneeling pad—essentials for bath time. You can use either of these on their own, or you can combine them for extra comfort. Unless you have a super comfy bath mat, you’ll thank us later for getting one or both of these.
+ Toys for Tub Time
Having fun is what bath time with the kids is all about, right? These Crayola Bath Dropz are a hit with our toddler. She likes picking out a single color or mixing them up to make “new” colors. Along the same lines of adding some pop of color to tub time, she loves coloring on the tile and the tub itself with these Munchkins Bath Crayons. We have other random toys in there that I usually pick up from Target when I notice them on sale with Cartwheel. (You are using Cartwheel, right? It’s basically coupons you can get right from your phone! Get Cartwheel for Apple or Android here) (And since we’re on the subject of Target, please tell m you’re already using their RedCard. That thing is AMAZING and saves so much money. They ask you every time you visit if you want one, so just get one already!)
+ Lather, Rinse, Repeat!
If your toddler is anything like mine, the hair-washing portion of bath time is sometimes a struggle. I get it—water rushing down on your face can be a scary thing for a kid—but when you have a good product backing you up, it makes the whole process a little easier. The name alone of our shampoo, Shampoozle + Conditioner by Milk & Co., makes my daughter laugh. Laughter from your babes, my friends, is gold. Seriously, say it out loud right now: “Shampoozle!” I love it.
Before I lather it all up I let her get a whiff of the shampoozle (while I try desperately hard not to just sit there and sniff it right from the bottle, because it smells so gosh darn delicious—like sweet berries, but not overpowering, just enough to make you want to keep using it over and over and over again), and then comes the fun part: styling her hair. I waited a long time for her hair to be long enough to play with in the tub, and now that it’s finally here, we take full advantage of silly hairdos.
I love that this Milk Baby shampoozle (I just can’t stop saying that word!) has the conditioner built right in, because now we only have to rinse out her hair once. It’s also tear free and made from all natural ingredients. They’re 100% made down under (in Australia), but you can buy them on Amazon—woohoo for two-day shipping!
If the Shampoozle + Conditioner wasn’t enough, Milk & Co, created by Australian Olympic Swimmer Michael Klim and his wife Lindy, also has a Moisturizing Qweam (also not a typo, and also ridiculously fun to say), that is wonderful post tub time. It’s not greasy and is made with lovely natural oils like geranium oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, and avocado oil. It’s also lightly scented with rose geranium oil, and it contains one of my favorite things in the world: shea butter, leaving your skin super soft.
The kind folks from Milk & Co. are giving away a Shampoozle + Conditioner and a Moisturizing Qweam to one of my lucky readers. Keep reading and then enter below for your chance to win! (And don’t say I didn’t warn you when you start walking around saying “shampoozle” and “qweam,” because once you start, it’s really hard to stop!)
+ Adorable Towels
I’m pretty sure adorable hooded towels were one of the first items I added to my baby registry the first time around. I mean, you can’t get much cuter than your clean, naked baby wrapped up warm and tight in a little bunny towel. I like that these grow with them—use them when they’re babies, all the way up to the toddler stage—and they’re super, ridiculously soft. My babies always seem so vulnerable when they get out of the tub, so I love that these wrap them up from head to toe.
Enter below to win a Milk & Co.’s Shampoozle + Conditioner AND a Moisturizing Qweam
*Only open to residents with a United States/APO/FPO address
*Thank you to Milk&Co. for sponsoring today’s post, and for becoming our new favorite shampoo(zle) and conditioner to use during tub time!
What are your favorite products to use during bath time with your kids?
As a second time mommy – I’ve seriously thought of dropping the $ on the bloom bath!!! Such a great piece!!!! And don’t worry- bath time is a couple of times a week at our house too 😉
Yes! I got the blooming bath the second time around and wish I had it the first time!
Great ideas thanks! I’ve never heard of the Milk products before how fun! Where do you buy them or is it just online ordering?
You can get them on Amazon! Woohoo for two-day shipping 🙂 http://amzn.to/1WAFPoc
We’re once a seekers too ? It’s just so dry here that too many bath and their skin starts to fall off
So cute! Love the smile! x
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Ok how come I have not heard of the blooming bath until now! I might need to get that ASAP for baby #3– we don’t have a bathtub here for the kids so the older ones shower and the baby will have to take sink baths!
I am using st. ives products right now but I really want to try these products now(:
Go to bath product is definitely bath toys! (and lots of towels on the floor since Rhys is quite the splasher!)
We don’t do bath every night in our house either! I was starting to think we were the only ones….lol Thanks for the amazing list!
I don’t have kids yet, but I’d agree with the importance of a comfortable place for mom!! I strongly dislike kneeling on bathroom floors
So true! Bath time is a tough time when you are so busy! I work from home too so sometimes baths happen before dinner!
What a fun giveaway!! I’d love to try those products, my kids need tear free, but I had to switch awhile ago to Dove because it’s less irritating for my almost-two year old’s sensitive, eczema skin and I’d love to give this a try (because Dove is NOT tear free and there have been issues!).
My kids love the bath crayons, and hooded towels are definitely the best, I made some for my two older kids last year and they love them because they’re so much bigger than the ones you buy in the store.
We have to have hooded towels! The kids love love love them. We have been looking for a kids friendly shampoo and conditioner to love…
Def cups to rinse heads. My kids hate to lay down!
Bubble bath is the #1. Regular ol tear free soap just doesn’t give the same splash satisfaction.
I must have a good tub to give a bath to the bag and also go shampoo.
I have the newborn to toddler tub, too! It’s so easy to use. Glad I’m not the only one that styles Mohawks in the tub!
The color crayons look fun. I bet my kids would love them.
We don’t do baths every night in our house either! Real life.
I found my girls the best hooded towels for Christmas. They’re big enough to keep them warm and their favorite characters!
Fun post!
*visiting from The Blogger Life