Bath Time and Hating Water

They all go through this.. It can be lots of different things they are more aware of..

The water in their faces, the slippery feeling, the water going down the drain.. sometimes, they are afraid they will go down the drain.. The hot, the cold. Not in the mood for a bath when they are tired or were having fun and now are interrupted. Knowing this leads to bed time..

Does he have a bath seat? Maybe him being able to sit in the seat not facing the drain would help.

Otherwise do the sponge baths and whip him in and out as fast as possible.. Use ear plugs to take the edge off.

Just give him a sponge bath.
Kids/babies/toddlers, OFTEN go through spurts of hating water and/or baths.
It is very common. And your baby is normal.
And they also are very young, so they "fear" things. Which is also normal and developmental based, per their age.

To a baby, hair washing and bathing are the same thing.
It is after all. It is done, at the same time.

When my kids were babies and very young... and when they hated water/baths/washing hair... I would use a washcloth... dampen it and put PEA sized drop of shampoo on the washcloth and rub ("wash") their hair, that way. Then rinse their hair, with a cup.... tilting their head so the water does not cascade down their face or ears.
Easy.

Washing a baby's hair, does not have to be done, everyday.
It will dry out the hair.

walmart sells a cup thing that has a rubber side to go against their head so the water doesnt get in their face.

My boys were both born with lots of hair and hated getting water in their eyes. I bought foam visors for them, like these:

http://www.amazon.com/Sassy-Suds-Sun-Visor-Pack/dp/B00414...

I found mine at Babies R Us. They love them! My oldest is really good about tilting his head back now, so we don't need it for him. My almost 3 year old is catching on, so hopefully I won't need them much longer.

Before I bought the visors washing hair was a screaming nightmare. Not sure if it's the hair washing, but if it is these could really help.

There is a little hat type thing made for children to wear when they get the hair washed but can't remember the name of it. It fits like a cap with a bill that keeps water off the face. I would also lay him slightly down while you hold his head in your hand and not pour water on him if that's what you're doing. If not maybe you could get in with him one or two times and support him well so he knows he's safe. All this to say it's a stage most kids go through. One of mine thought she would go down the drain about that age. She outgrew it fairly soon. And that was her fear even taking her bath with her sister who was close to her age. Just reassure him and go gently and he'll get over it before you know it.

My son went through this as well. We tried new toys, had a friend over to give them a bath together.. in a few weeks things will be different.

Good luck

Stop washing his hair. His hair does not need to be washed every time. My son loved bathtime but hated hairwashing. We went weeks without washing his hair and it never got smelly or gross. He is really young to understand you telling him you will not wash his hair but try anyway. Stop washing his hair for at least a week. Buy some fun bath toys, buy some natural bubble bath, and let him eat a special snack in there. Pull out all the stops because although you can skip hairwashing, he is still in diapers and that area needed to be cleaned properly every day. My son is now 3 1/2 and he finally willl let me wash his hair without crying.

My little boy did that too -- at about about 18 months! I was really surprised, too, given how much he'd loved baths. We realized that it was mainly the hairwashing -- I started using a wash rag. Also, we started to let him pick out what toys to bring into the bath(non-bath toys that were OK to get wet, like legos or his plastic animals). Now, at 3 years, he takes this nightly decision very seriously :). Finally, letting him "bathe us" helped him re-adjust. Good luck!

My son, who is 4, has always hated having his hair washed--even when he was just a baby. I wash his hair with a washcloth, including rinsing it. I keep his hair on the short side so it's not a big deal. I just rinse the washcloth out in the bath a few times and rub his head gently with it until I can feel all the shampoo is out. And I keep a dry washcloth within arms reach in case any water drips in his eyes. He loves the bath, just hates the hairwashing. If I poured water over his head, he would freak out. I even have that rubber sided pitcher thing other people have mentioned, but that is way too scary for him. It's not worth this battle or freaking him out when the washcloth method works. Good luck!

Distraction. Buy some toys and bath crayons.

My guy was this way since he was a newborn, he absolutely HATED water, even sponge baths were an ordeal. Yet he became a water-loving soul around the time he turned two, he will now bathe and play for about 15-20 minutes, and cooperate when I wash and rinse his hair, even take showers.

Just keep at it, fill the tub before you take him in the bathroom, keep the water off as much as possible when he's in the tub, use baby wash for bubbles to make the water more appealing and get him in and out as quickly as possible. On the days you don't put him in the tub give him a sponge bath. If you think it's having his hair washed that triggered this get him a shampoo shield and maybe after a few times he'll realize the water won't get in his eyes.

Hang in there, if my guy learned to love baths your son will eventually enjoy them again.

Go fast. There were nights I'd stand DD on a towel and wash her as best as I could while she screamed. If you can, try one of those visor things to keep water off his face, or tell him to "look at the sky" to look way up. I use my hand to cup the water and keep it off DD's face. She NEEDS conditioner for her supercurly hair so we have to do this 2x.

A lot of kids go through that phase.