Rub-a-Dub-Dub

Today was a bath day. I give Sophie baths two or three times a week depending on how dirty she gets, which since she is not independently mobile yet, isn't very dirty. As I'm undressing her, we do the Naked Baby Song, sung to the tune of the Macarena. I'm not sure exactly how that began, I couldn't even tell you when the last time I heard the Macarena was. But it's catchy and she seems to like it.

Although I have a little baby bath, most days I just use the baby bear bath sponge in the bathtub. This is a 2-inch thick sponge that is roughly the length of her body and has a baby-shaped indentation to hold her somewhat in place. I think you're only supposed to use these with very small babies, but when I've used the baby bath, she looked so awkward, kind of sliding down into it that it made me nervous. Plus, I could only safely put maybe one inch of water. What's the point? I might as well use the sponge that I'm comfortable with. The baby-shaped indentation only goes to about mid-thigh, so her legs and feet hang off into the bath tub. A small amount of water pools at the end of the tub and she generally spends most of the bath kicking her little legs in it as though she's making for the other side of the English Channel. I use a plastic mug that we got at a beer festival a couple of years ago (Is that in bad taste?) to dump water on her various parts.

She really seems to enjoy baths. I have to admit, I do too. Since it's wintertime and she is so often bundled up in her little outfits, I don't get to see her charmingly chubby legs and wiry arms and round little belly nearly often enough. I joke (sort of) that I can't wait for summer so she can run around (sort of) without any clothes on, except a diaper, of course. I read somewhere that a baby without a diaper is a loaded weapon and after a couple of unfortunately timed pees and poops, I do believe that. So, no fully naked babies here. I will like seeing a little more skin, though.

We're starting a swim class in a couple of weeks. I'm hoping that her comfort in the water will translate into the pool, but who can tell. As for me, I'm just dreading getting back into a swimsuit.