Water Torture
Well, according to the little counter at the top of the page, as I write this, Emily is 106 days old, which means she's had about 50-odd baths so far in her life.
Which means there's been about 50 times in the last 3 months that the neighbours must have considered calling the police, social services, or someone to find out what kind of terrible tortures are going on next door.
Emily hates baths. She screams and screams 'til you GET HER OUT OF THAT HORRIBLE SLOOSHY STUFF! She has even gotten to the stage where you only have to hold her over the bath and she's already on to what you are up to, and of course starts crying.
She has also recently perfected a technique where, rather than just go for the 'eyes scrunched up crying' she keeps her eyes open, and stares straight at me, as if to say 'why are you doing this to me' as the tears run down her face.
We've tried a little warmer, a little cooler, etc. to no effect.
But tonight, something of a breakthrough. About half way through, the crying stopped. There certainly weren't any smiles, but we got through the rest of bath-time sob-free.
Too early to call it a turning point, but you never know....
So, parents out there - is this the norm? Do all new babies hate the bath to start, and then come round to it? And what age did yours stop the crying? Post your comments below.
Cordelia (562 days old) hated them for a few months, tolerated them for a bit and now actively likes them, although she still cries a lot when we rinse her hair after a hair wash (despite use of hippy organic non-stinging shampoo). My advice is, take a photograph of her in full-on screaming mode to take out and embarrass her when she's 15 and taking 3 hours in the bathroom to get ready.
When our girls were babies, they loved baths, but hated getting their hair washed. Eventually they've come round to the idea, but Lauren was about nearly 3 before she was totally okay with it. Alana's okay sometimes, but still freaks out at other times. Sorry, not much help am I!
Has she got enough ducks in there? I find a good book keeps me quiet for at least an hour in the bath!