Fiona's first bath

OK so I'm a little slow on getting these up. No, today was not Fiona's first bath! We did this Saturday night, I'm just now getting to sharing though.

Her first bath was SO cool. I've never been one for the baby tubs. I don't like them and I've never known a baby that does either. Whoever thought it was a great idea to half submerge a naked baby in warm water while leaving the rest out in the cold didn't really think this through! Krystyne and Allie got sink baths until they were big enough for the tub. You know the kind. Fill up the dish pan full of warm water and dunk the baby in there until they're too big for it. Generally somewhere around 18 months. This is a great idea since it saves your back and you don't have to spend 20 minutes bent over a tub. Jane just got run through the shower with her dad until she was 6 months old. By that time we had figured out that it was easier to stick the kids in the shower with dad than to go through the trouble of a bath. And the girls loved it. So, that's what they did until they were no longer oblivious to the difference between boys and girls and eye level was no longer appropriate (hey Daddy - how come you have this? yank! OW!) . Jane was about 6 months old when she had her first tub bath and was not thrilled about the whole experience.

Doug and I decided since having a bath in the evenings is one of my guilty pleasures that we would try to put Fiona in with me when she needs a bath. Plus it would be some good Mommy time for us. It gives me the opportunity for more than just feeding time since pretty much when the girls are home they take over all the good cuddle time and Papa takes the rest when he gets home. Since I've got work and school during the day we don't get much cuddle time then either.

Fiona has decided that she doesn't like any time that involves removing of the clothing. Diaper changes, pajama time, nothing. After making sure her bits were proudly on display for the ultrasound so we knew she was a girl, she's developed some modesty. Diaper changes usually involve quite the fit since it means exposing her bare little bum to the world. Once she's properly covered she's fine, but before that she has no problem voicing her displeasure with our decision. This did not bode well for bath time since it would require actually stripping her down to nakedness. At bath time I filled the tub with baby bath bubbles and took a few minutes to relax and let the water turn to a more acceptable temperature. Just under boiling is fine for me, but a little much for such delicate skin. When I was ready to be done I let Doug know it was time to get the baby undressed (and I covered up some since I knew we wanted pictures). She did not disappoint us and let us know in no uncertain terms what she felt about our plan. The most amazing thing was once I put her in the water she was instantly quiet and calm! She loved the water. I just held her head and let her float and she was so calm and peaceful. She opened her eyes and looked around and was truly content with the whole experience. I was able to wash her body without fuss and even shampooed her hair with no problem. She seemed perfectly content to just enjoy the water. The girls really enjoyed the whole thing too. They thought it was pretty cool how calm and happy she was. After a while we decided to get out and that seemed to be a big to-do. To be naked in the water is fine. Before and then after - not so fine! She screamed and generally voiced her displeasure at being out of the bath and not dressed. But, once she was dressed again all was well. She got to enjoy some cuddle time with Papa and was calm and happy. She fell asleep not long after and was content for quite a while. I'm really looking forward to making this part of our night time.