Evie at 8 weeks is really enjoying her bath. She is smiling, splashing and exercising happily and I am thrilled with her progress.
At this stage I’m not incorporating toys into the bath, I’m simply concentrating on using the water to stimulate her.
I have also started to include action songs into the bath time routine. I’m doing this to introduce her to the concepts of kicking and splashing while trying to develop a real love of the water.
Evie is now really comfortable with both back and front floating. These floating activities make up the majority of bath time. When floating I’m trying to ensure that I hold her as soft as possible so she can feel the waters buoyancy.
While back and front Evie is submerged as low as possible in the water. Here she can feel weightlessness and this helps her to relax and be comfortable in the water. Because I’m holding her so low I need to be constantly observing to ensure she doesn’t swallow any water.
Conditioning remains important during bath time. The aim of conditioning is to prepare baby for their first underwater experience outside the womb.
By consistently using the verbal trigger ready go, followed by pouring water over the face, Evie will soon show that she is responding positively to the conditioning process. She is already on her way as she is happy and confident when the water is poured on her face.