9 1/2 Month Old Daughter HATES Baths / Water

give her a doll to wash
or
give her tub paints/crayons

both of those helped my kids get over this. One girl the doll did the trick, the other was the doll AND the paints together (painting the doll, lol)

My mom was just telling the story of my older sister who hated baths. She stopped bathing her for a month, and when she put her back in the tub, she had forgotten her fear.

This happened to my son and he was diagnosed with sensory issues. Have Early intervention come out and evaluate him. I would look up the internet sensory issues and what to do to help with bath time and they will give you tons of ideas. Good luck, they do get better the problem now with my son is I can't get him out of the tub!
\J.

Another vote for trying the shower. I took my girls in the shower with me almost right away. I did this with my first, and then the twins (all girls). It was a quick way to get them all showered.

Hi D.,

My daughter is 11 mos and she used to love bath time. It was my husband's favorite time of the day with her. Since last week, she started shaking, screaming and crying (her face and body turn red from crying so hard). At first it was halfway through the bath, then it was when we entered the bathroom, last night it was while we were still in her room but walking into the bathroom for the bath.

We have tried a bunch of different bath toys to distract her. This works momentarily. We are thinking of getting a new bathtub or getting in the tub with her next bath time.

Sorry I do not have any suggestions that have seemed to work. I was responding to you since my daughter is having the same problem and was wondering if you could email me if you find something that works and i will do the same.

we have the primo euro tub. my daughter loved taking a bath until recently. I was wondering if you could purchase this tub and let her sit up or lay in it (there are 2 options for bathing depending on age or size) with no water in the tub in her room, etc. to get her used to the tub. give her some bath toys to play with, then when she is used to it, put the tub in the bathtub with no water and see if she will tolerate that, next step would be to add a little water at a time.

not sure if this will work, but you can give it a try
good luck

Hello, I used to take my baby in the shower with me and hold her against my chest the whole time. That way she can see your face and see you talking to her. Do it when your hubby is home, he can have a warm towel ready to get her so you can dry off too. Best wishes!

My 2nd child (boy) hated his baths from day one. And unfortunately it didn't get any better for a long time. I did everything to distract. Taking a bath with older sibling worked pretty good but still the fear was there. I just put the least amount of water in the tub or even bathed him in the sink. He felt more secure in smaller areas where he had control. I would say he finally got better by 1 1/2 - 2year. I know seems like a long time. However, another problem that was connected was he was deathly afraid of swimming. He wouldn't even go where he could stand for a long time. This is even after he got use to the bathing. As age 3, I finally did swim lesons during the summer and I regretted not doing it earlier. He cried the entire time but after that he was a fish. He still doesn't like getting his face sprayed and likes to be in control. Maybe try swim lessons now. Help your child know that the water can be fun. It may be painful to hear them cry but I do feel the more they are exposed the more comfortable they will get. Good luck.

My daughter went through this a few months ago, she's 17 mos. now. We never had any bad experiences or anything I could think of that would scare her. In our case, I think she just didn't like me lying her back in the water to wash her hair. I installed a shower massage that has a very long hose, and we now do a combination bath/shower. She LOVES it! I put some water in the tub and she'll sit on the bathmat and then I blow some bubbles, which she loves, and we sing songs to relax her. I get her washed well while she's sitting in the tub, and then I let the water go down & put the shower massage on to rinse out her hair. Its a process, but I can't get her out of the tub! She loves playing under the shower. I never did try letting her take a shower w/me, but that also wouldn't be a bad idea to get her used to the spray from the shower. Whats nice about the shower massage, is you can adjust the spray to just a mist so theres not alot of water coming out.
Good luck & hope this helps!

Have you tried putting her in the bathtub with your older girls? My 2 girls (4 & 14 months) have been bathing together since the baby got too big for the baby tub. They love it! I also bring them both into the shower with me (it's a little crowded lol!). Good luck!

Hi,

I agree with Jenny E. - this may be an early sign that she has sensory issues. It would be a good idea to have her evaluated by Early Intervention (the state program for 0 to 3 years). The evaluation is free. Good luck!

My litte one hated the water too but not quite as extreme as yours. I finally figured out that she does not like the water at all cold. I actually would make the water hotter than what I thought it should be. She was much happier. Sometimes the water would be hot enough that it would make her skin red but she had no problem with it and was much happier. Maybe you could try this.

Can you skip the baths for a while? We didn't really start bathing my daughter regularly until she was a little over a year old when it was summer and she started getting into more stuff, feeding herself without assitance, and just getting dirtier. We used to wipe her down every morning with Mustela Physiobebe, a non-rinsing cleaning solution. Then, over the winter, we had to back off the baths again per her pediatrician because her skin was too dry and the baths were giving her eczema. So she only gets bathed once or twice a week. Maybe a take a break from the baths and gently re-introduce. You might also try getting into the tub with her and holding her and stroking her and soothing her. Or if she likes bubbles, blowing them for her in there to distract her. I'm sorry she's struggling. Good luck.

What about bathing her in a pool? Could you put it in the bathroom or on a beach towel in another room with just a little water? Do you have one of those little blow-up infant ones? Or letting her pick out a bathing suit and wearing it in the tub or pool?

I have to agree with Courtney, I am a mom of five and taking them in the shower or bath with you would be a great start to trying to overcome her fears. How about taking baths with the other girls? She might see them having fun and want to join in? Just a thought. Otherwise I can only suggest giving her a bath by using a cloth and a sinkful of water. Good luck!

Try layering a few large towels and the bear-shaped bath sponge (that they lay on) on the floor and just giving her a sponge bath. You can use a cup to pour water over her and rinse her hair. Will she pour water on herself if you give her a small cup? At least you'll get her clean while you try to introduce her to the shower, siblings bath, baby pool, etc. Good luck!

Have you tried getting in the bath with her and holding her? Otherwise you can try taking her in the shower with you or just lay her on a towel and wash her without putting her in the bathtub. Hope you find a solution.

have you tried taking her into the showwer w/you and holding her with her back to your chest and you standing with the water running down your back??? Slowing turning or leaning back into the water as if to slow introduce the sting of water to her?? My grandson used to be quite the fish and then decided he too hated the water. he is now back to loving the water. I believe it's a phase all kids go through. Hang in there and worry about something bigger......even if the doc was worried... I don't think being a mom of 4 myself that are all adults that you have anything to worry about!!!! J.

It seems like she is very fearful and uncertain of the situation so maybe she needs more security from you. Why don't you try taking a bath with her. Fill the tub about half way and sit in the tub with her and talk, sing, play, and dribble water on her. She will feel safe with you and once her fear is lessened she may realize that taking a bath feels good and can be fun. Once she is totally comfortable taking a bath with you, you can try bathing her alone again and I bet she is way less fearful. I took my newborn son into the bath with me from his first bath until he was about 7 months old. I had no problem transitioning him to bathing alone. My son is now 16 months old and takes a bath every night and he loves the water.

Hello...

Well..my first thought was is your daughter afraid of other things? Does she cry alot for other reasons or for no apparent reason at all? Does she like to be held? I am wondering if maybe it's a sensory issue. Or...did she have a bad experience with water? Bad for a baby might be water too hot or cold or something unintentional of course, like that. I would try and pay attention to other type of sensory things. Maybe keep a journal of things..when she cries, etc. Pay attention to the smallest things. Does she respond to noises? Does she like to be touched?

If you don't want to wait for the year mark, tell you doctor that and see if there is anything else that he can do/suggest now. Or..even get a second opinion.

I hope this is helpful. I wish you all the best!

B.

my son did the exact some thing---in the end, what worked was one of us getting in the bath with him. Now he loves it, although we still take a bath with him so I am sure our next problem will be trying to get him in there alone. but it works for now and it is a fun time for us in the tub. We don't give a bath every night (usually every other) so it is really not all that much harder just to get in with him for now...good luck!

Maybe, just a sponge bath. She is already getting clean during diaper changes. Becareful, of bubble baths with girls. The soap can be very irratation to private parts. Could she have a little yeast infection going on. Then when you put her into the water it causes her pain?

Wish you the best.
J.

I know this is unusual, but it is possible she'll prefer shower over bath. I hve friend who gives all her kids showers and hs since they were 3wks old. I tried giving my baby a bth when he ws 5months and he loved it. worth a try!

Bless you with all those daughters, wow! Have you tried making it smell good...using a healthy product line of course, for bubbles (let me know if you need recommendations) or letting her play with something she loves in the tub-a doll that can get wet (give her a bath too). Using her senses may help. Has she watched the other siblings have FUN in the tub? Good luck!