Spa Baby: Babies Bathe European-style

When the press release for Spa Baby came through in my email, I was instantly curious about this new way (new to me, anyway) of bathing a baby.  I giggled at first and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to experience it for myself.  The timing was perfect, as baby Teagan had just made her arrival and I received the Spa Baby tub to try out.

The above photo is Teagan between 5 and 6 months old.  I’m posting snapshots of her bath in our Spa Baby from a video that I had taken.  I ultimately decided that I didn’t want to post the video of me bathing her.  You can see a baby being bathed in a Spa Baby Tub on the Spa Baby website here if you would like.

I had mixed feelings about the tub, at first.  I had trouble getting Teagan to settle into the tub.  She was kicking her legs a lot and I had to wait for her to calm down a bit before washing her.  When she finally did calm down, things went much more smoothly.  I don’t believe that it’s because she didn’t “like” the tub, it’s that she’s not used to taking baths.  It’s freezing here in the Midwest and I tend to do a lot more sponge bathing until the weather warms up.

The Spa Baby website has great tips that I highly recommend following if you have purchased or are planning on purchasing one of these European-style baby bath tubs.

My own tips would be to use a shampoo, conditioner and/or body wash from a pump.  It’s much easier for you to hold on to the baby (if the baby is smaller and can slip around easier) and pump the wash into your hand.  What I did was use body wash and squeeze a bit into the water before I put the baby in and I just used that to wash her up.  As you can see, she doesn’t have much hair, so no need to go crazy with shampoo at this point.

Roll your sleeves up ahead of time or wear a short-sleeved shirt!  As you can see from my photo, I had a long sleeve shirt on and mid-bath, tried to roll it up.  It wasn’t all that easy because I was trying to hold on to the baby from slipping everywhere.  You really have to get a good grip on the baby  because they do slip around.

Wear a terry-cloth bathrobe or drape a towel over the front of you for when you’re ready to take the baby out of the tub (so you don’t get soaked and so you can quickly warm the baby).  Have another towel ready to throw over the baby.

The tub is like a bucket, the sides are higher around the baby and so is the water, so you do need to be more hands-on with a tub like this than with your basic baby tub.  Preparation is key.

Again, the Spa Baby website has excellent tips that you should read before bathing your baby in the tub.

Overall, I do like the Spa Baby tub.  I like that it keeps her warmer than sitting up in standard baby bathtub.  I think if you use it often enough, the baby really enjoys the bath and you become much more comfortable and in control.  I do think this would make a really fun, unique shower gift for someone.

A great thing about this tub is that it’s made from a safe and non-toxic plastic (polypropylene).  No polycarbonate, no bisphenol-A, and has no paint (per the Spa Baby website).