When my husband and I went shopping for baby baths, we found the traditional options a bit too cumbersome for our needs. Living in a flat we needed to source a bath that would be space saving, not something that we would ultimately have difficulty storing away in between bath times! I know some would say that a sink, washing up bowl or bucket does the job perfectly adequately but like any mum-to-be I wanted to offer my new arrival something a little bit more special than that!! This foldaway bath is a perfect solution.
The bath inflates much like a paddling pool (be warned - you need a fair bit of puff to inflate it!) with one end tilted up to allow baby to rest his/her head comfortably (although obviously baby's head needs to be supported until he can support it himself). When you have ensured that the legs have snapped into locked position you are ready to start filling it. Another warning here, I would not advise filling the bath and then moving it into position. If you can imagine doing that with a paddling pool then you'll understand why! This bath is not a rigid structure, like the big plastic ones you can buy, and unless you are super careful water could end up everywhere.
We tend to put the bath in position - whether it be on top of the changing table, on the living room floor (on a towel!) or even in the big bathtub and then fill it. If in the latter then we use the shower to fill the bath; otherwise it's a case of filling the bath by bringing water to it in a more travel friendly container. This may sound a bit long winded but bear in mind you don't use a lot of water in a baby bath. And it's not as if you can't actually transport the bath filled up because you can. I just find it too precarious to attempt. Plus I am way too clumsy! Hubbie has done so successfully; as has Granddad!
Once the bath is emptied and dried out, the four plastic legs can be taken out of their snap-locked position and folded inwards. The whole bath can then also be folded in half. Voilà, one bath folded away and ready to be stored till the next bath time. Ours lives in the bathroom down the side of the big bath!!
A big plus point of this bath is that we can take it away with us on overnight stays or should be go away for a few days. Unlike the traditional baby baths it hardly takes up any room in the car.
Obviously the bath's use is limited to how quickly your baby grows. Once Lily is supporting her head we will no doubt start bathing her in the family tub so she can have a bit of a splash around. Until then, this has proved a great buy - and we got it when it was in sale so it was a bargain!!
© 2011 Sharon Marie Denman
