5 ways to enjoy, not dread, the bathtime routine {#JohnsonsPartners}

“I used baby products by JOHNSON’S® to care for my little one as part of a sponsored post for Socialstars {#johnsonspartners} – but you know, all opinions are my own. Obvs.

I vividly remember attending a “parent’s input opportunity” at a local toy manufacturer, when I first had my oldest, Lilianna. I was a stay at home mom and was cherishing every single second I could with my daughter. I thought everyone thought the same, especially when it came to the bath time routine. Yet, what I heard was that bath time for them was horrible. The worst part of the day. They were fighting with their spouse over who would have to “deal” with doing it that given day. I couldn’t understand it at all! I loved it! The smiles, the coos, the splashing…I thought every part of it was so cute. Yet, what I didn’t wrap my mind around was the fact that some of these parents were working and didn’t have the energy to conquer yet another task for the day.

Fast forward to now, four kids later…my thoughts on bath time. I don’t “dread” it, but thinking of bathing all the kids (ok, some shower…but still), is a daunting task!

There are five things I do to wrap my mind around this task..mentally as well as outwardly. If you are rolling your eyes at me, please…tell me what you do too! I’d love to hear. What I’m doing is working, but if there is something else that can make it less of a task and assembly line, I’m all ears!!

Enjoy the moment. They grow so fast. Like I said, I cherished every second of every thing I did  with my oldest. I have about 1,000 pictures of her in the bath. Seriously, those little buns. How can we not snap all those pictures of their cute little tooshies! While I’m thinking about my youngest now, I don’t have 1/10 the amount of pictures. And she is almost ONE. Sadness!! Back on track…cherish the time, even if you are exhausted too. 🙂

Get some new toys. It’s good to spice it up in the bath, but there are SO many toys on the market!! I have been burned with toys that grow mold in them. So when you are shopping, make sure you get the good ones. Not the cute, but totally cheap ones. Trust me, you will save yourself in the end. I have found that I really like Sassy, Kushies and Begin Again.

Mix up the time it happens. I am a rebel when it comes to bath “time”. Yes, I do it when it’s convenient…not necessarily the same time every day. That is so foreign to my friends who can set a clock by their child’s bath time routine. I found that my kids don’t rely on bath time in order to be able to sleep at night. They sleep because they are tired!  Plus, bath time at 11:00 am leads towards a great nap time for that day. Am I right??!! 🙂 One more note, I’m not exhausted and they aren’t exhausted when we do bath earlier. Leads to more fun and less annoyance. Win/Win!

Predictable products. I am not one to waver when I find something great. I then tell everyone about it. Here I am today, doing just that! From the first bath in the hospital until today, we have used JOHNSON’S baby products – they are a trusted brand in my book! Recently, I learned that they have reformulated their product. They have made a good product even better! The JOHNSON’S head to toe body wash is paraben-free, phthalate-free, hypoallergenic, has an added moisturizer that will help promote skin hydration in your sweet baby’s skin making it feel softer and more moisturized. Plus it has a great, improved hypoallergenic fragrance that is great for young kids, but designed for infants! You should totally pop over to the JOHNSON’S Facebook page, they are quite active over there. You should see what they are up to!

Put the phone away. Yes, this should go without saying, but I have caught myself sitting next to the bath and reading an email. Then, oh wait, another email/text/phone call comes in and it needs a response STAT! That would surely move the bath along, but not in a good way. Rush, rush, rush when all your sweet babe wants to do is splash, splash, splash. Put the phone away, it can wait. If it can’t wait, it wasn’t meant to be…in my opinion 🙂

Successful bath time equals snuggle afterwards. That, my dear friends, is priceless!!

So, what do YOU do? I’d love to hear from YOU! What makes your bath time routine great?