How to keep almost-moving baby safe in tub?

[Anonymous]

Our son is 9 months old and recently realized he could pull himself into sitting upright in the baby bathtub, so we graduated him to a free-range bathtub situation. The issue is that he is jussst about ready to crawl AND pull himself up to standing, so he spends all of bath time trying to do one rf both of these things, but as he's not actually good at either it's pretty stressful/tiring for me to make sure he doesn't fall directly onto his face in the water/smack his face on the side of the tub/etc. How do people manage this phase of bath time? Just deal with it and realize he'll be more coordinated in a few weeks? Use one of these things: https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-Bathtub-Backrest-Stability/dp/B078941ZC8/? Something else obvious I haven't thought of? Tips and tricks greatly appreciated!!

I'm generally okay waiting it out but my parents are coming to watch him for a week later this month and I'm worried they won't be able to control his flailing as much as I can.

[Anonymous]

We had a suction cup seat that was almost like those Bumbos

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our son is 9 months old and recently realized he could pull himself into sitting upright in the baby bathtub, so we graduated him to a free-range bathtub situation. The issue is that he is jussst about ready to crawl AND pull himself up to standing, so he spends all of bath time trying to do one rf both of these things, but as he's not actually good at either it's pretty stressful/tiring for me to make sure he doesn't fall directly onto his face in the water/smack his face on the side of the tub/etc. How do people manage this phase of bath time? Just deal with it and realize he'll be more coordinated in a few weeks? Use one of these things: https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant-Bathtub-Backrest-Stability/dp/B078941ZC8/? Something else obvious I haven't thought of? Tips and tricks greatly appreciated!!

I'm generally okay waiting it out but my parents are coming to watch him for a week later this month and I'm worried they won't be able to control his flailing as much as I can.

This is the age where you keep one hand on them at all times and make bath as quick as possible.

Also a few firms "sit down" when they try to stand. It won't stop it completely, but they'll get the idea that bath time lasts longer if they stay sitting.

For your parents, I'd have them do sponge baths on the bathroom floor with some washcloths. A good wash cloth to the face/neck/head and a quick soak of the butt, and baby is good to go.

[Anonymous]

If your kitchen sink is big, you can also try a sink bath. It's much easier because you don't have to bend down so much!

[Anonymous]

I switched to showers very young - i'm in there with them and get my shower out of the way, they can play with toys on the floor and move around with no risk of drowning. all 3 of mine loved it

[Anonymous]

Shower or bath together. Suction seat option is good too.

[Anonymous]

I basically kept a hand on his hip 100% of the time, and if he started to pop up even an inch, I would push his hip back down and say "No. We sit on our butts in the bath."

Because he never got more than an inch out of a sitting position, he realized pretty fast it was futile to even try, so the phase was pretty short (Maybe 5 baths?). But I think that only works if you can catch him quickly 100% of the time. If he has the chance to even get into a new/fun position, it's much harder to teach them (cause they're babies and they don't understand what you're saying).

Unlike other people's approaches, this made bath time take waaaaay longer for a little while, because half the time was spent holding him in a sitting position, but it was worth it in the long run (not even long run, medium run).