Ever since Darcie was first born, she has been a total water baby. I don’t know if it’s because she was born in the birth pool or if it’s simply because most babies just do love water. But either way, it has always been a great way of calming her down if she is upset or unwell and these days it fills that awkward gap between dinner and bedtime. Bath time usually lasts a good half an hour at least in our house; she plays with her toys, splashes water everywhere, drinks the bath water (gross, I know), plays with the bubbles and always says ‘teeth’ at the end to remind me that we need to brush her teeth.She has recently been going through a phase of not enjoying having her hair washed, I say not enjoying but that is really a massive understatement. As soon as she realises I’m about to wash her hair she turns into a full on Houdini and is determined to get out of the bath one way or another. After a few painful weeks of this, I managed to combat the problem by bringing the Little Tikes Swim to Me Puppy up for bath time on hair wash days. So now Darcie gets to wash his hair ears while I can get on with her hair. We’ve been using Child’s Farm bath products ever since they were recommended to me by a friend. They are a little more pricey than some other brands but are so gentle on the skin that I think they’re worth it. Plus they smell absolutely amazing and the scent actually stays on Darcie for quite a while which I haven’t found with any other brands we’ve used.
Child’s Farm kindly sent us some new products to try including a conditioner which I had never used before. Darcie has such long hair now and also a tendency for getting food in it, and so it can often end up quite tangled by the time hair wash day rolls around. Now that she is distracted by her toy dog, I have extra time to shampoo her hair and then condition it too. I don’t do it on every hair wash, just every so often and it leaves her hair so amazingly silky smooth, and like I said before it just smells incredible. They also sent some other products that I haven’t tried before including baby oil, moisturiser and nappy cream. These aren’t products that we use as frequently but I have noticed the skin on her arms getting drier in the winter and so I’ll be trying out the moisturiser to see if it makes a difference.
After Darcie’s bath I wrap her up snug in two towels and that’s when she usually gives me the best cuddle of the day. She stays in the bath so long that it’s usually pretty cold by the time she gets out so I think she mainly cuddles me for warmth but it’s so lovely the way she wraps her arms so tightly around my neck and snuggles in. I then get her dressed and give her her milk while reading her a story before bed. I love this process of winding down after a long day. Sometime she’ll ask for two stories but they are all quite short so I have no problem reading as many as she likes. The I lay her in her cot with her teddy and tuck her into her new duvet and say Goodnight. This little bath and bed routine has been the same for a while now and it really is one of my favourite times of the day.
Unless she then decides not to go to sleep, in which case I take back everything I just said.