1 Year Old Cries and Screams After Bath

Lots of good suggestions here. I'll just throw in one more thought: sometimes kids just need to cry at the end of the day. They're tired and stressed out (being a baby is hard work) and they just need to vent. Once they get it out of their system, they fall right asleep. I was a bit like that and I see it in my own kids at times even today (they are 11 and 7). If none of the other great suggestions here works, you might think about this.

My 2 yo does the same thing. I think it is a combination of not wanting the bath to end and being cold. You could make sure that the area is really warm when the bath ends. We try to make jokes and make him laugh to distract him until he is dressed.

I noticed you said she cries until she gets her bottle in bed. Maybe give her bottle to her while you are getting her dressed. I personally don't think its a good idea to give babies a bottle in bed because then its even harder to transition them from a bottle to a sippy, its not good for their teeth and bedtime without a bottle will be harder and harder the older they get. You may also want to try to give her a binky instead of a bottle. Good Luck!

My baby turns 10 months old today, and she does the same exact thing. She actually likes the bath itself, but the drying off, diaper, and dressing is when she screams and cries. I try to get through it quickly then feed her. As soon as she's eating, she's fine. She also seems to hate getting dressed now. Almost every time I change her clothes she cries, but the second I'm done she's fine. Sorry I don't have any answers for you, but I can't wait to see your responses.

Hi Chasity,

My daughter went through that and for her it was just a phase. I would like to suggest changing the routine. Instead of laying down in your bed, try putting her on floor to put her diaper on and her clothes on. In fact, this age is an interesting age because children go through their first separation anxiety phase. (yes there are more). Don't worry, she should grow out of it. Try also doing bath time at a different time during the day. At this age it's hard to tell why children don't like something. Don't fret, you're doing fine by taking care of her. Have fun.

My kids did that too. What I figured out is the lotion makes them cold after that warm relaxing bath. You may want to consider a baby oil instead. She is a little overly tired, so also try starting your routine about 30 minutes earlier. See if this helps.

Try having her bottle when she gets out of the tub. You don't want her pearly whites to become Nasty rotting teeth. My son went threw that same phase and just toughed it out is all I did!

is there any way to give her a bath sooner (before she gets so tired)? i found that it was such a struggle to do baths at night b/c my daughter was tired and would get so fussy, so i switched it to the mornings. now life is much easier.

Hi C.,

I am sorry to hear that your child is crying so, since you have tried moving the bathtime away from bedtime. Have you thought that maybe some of the bath products you are using could be irrating her skin? She may not notice until her skin gets dry,and then the burning and itching begins? It could be bothering her vaginal area, I know in the past soaps, especially scented ones irratated one of my daughters.

Do you use bleech or a seperate detergent for your towels that you do not use on her clothes?

I would eliminate the soaps, lotions one at a time and see if that helps. Her crying is telling something is wrong, unfortunatly you have to play the guessing, and that can be stressful.

You could give her a bath in the morning--completely change it up! Then it might be a fun, not tiring, experience.

Hi C.,
It sounds like your little one is just very uncomfortable. Even I can get a little cranky right after my bath if it's chilly in the house. She'll get used to it one of these days. In the meantime you may have to just grin and bear it.

The only thing that you might want to be sure of is that the towel you are using to cuddle her up is *very* soft. I think you mentioned that yours is a "fluffy" one, but if it's anything like the kids towels we used to use, it can still be a little rough on the skin. Once we started using an "adult" soft towel instead of a "kids" towel our little girl was much happier after the bath. Hope that helps a little!

Take care,
A.