Bath Time-Ever Evolving

At first, we used a plastic bath tub with the sling attachment, in our kitchen sink to bathe our newborn. He used this tub with the sling for a few months at least and then without the sling until he was probably 6 months old, or even a little older perhaps. After that, he has bathed in the big tub with either myself or my husband, each night.

Our tub is not a normal tub. It is a very large sunk in tub, with a good 6-inch tile around the perimeter. It is sunk in the wall, covered with walls on mostly three sides of it. Leaning over to safely bathe our son would be nearly impossible and super uncomfortable.

As a blind Mom, I enjoy being in the tub with him. He plays with his toys and splashes and does whatever normal one year olds do, but I am right there to feel if he falls down or goes face first into the water etc.

The other night, my husband noticed that our hallway ceiling, on the first floor was leaking. As we examined where it might be coming from, it made sense that it was the tub. We still wanted to be able to give Noah a bath like usual but did not want to put more water than we needed or add any more weight or pressure to the tub until it was looked at and fixed.

So now, we had to give our son a bath, in the huge tub, without me being right there to feel his every move. Thankfully, it was my husband’s night to give him a bath, but what was I going to do the next night and so on?

My husband offered to sit with me as I sat on the tile edge of the tub. I put my feet in the water and positioned my right foot, kind of behind his back. This way, for some strange reason, if he fell backwards, I would know. Luckily, Noah is a noisy and chatty kid, so he is constantly making silly noises or talking up a storm. He still enjoyed playing with his boats, splashing everywhere, and tossing around his other toys.

I have noticed that every day of parenting, whether sighted or not, is filled with challenges, and figuring out ways to overcome those challenges. We’ve accomplished this one, and now it’s on to the next obstacle.