Does babies bath HAVE to be at bedtime?

[CoffeePuffin]

Sometimes things are really hectic here in the evening and I don't always get chance to give LO a bath before bedtime. I know it's encouraged to have it as part of a bedtime routine, but is it okay to sometimes give her a bath, say in the middle of the day? She's especially messy now since she's weaning and I don't want her skipping baths really. But will it mess up her sleep? Is it very discouraged?

 

[san fran shan]

I'm no expert but I say do what works for your schedule. I've bathed in the middle of the day after a big blow out. And I don't bathe daily. Usually every other day. On the night with no bath their sleep seems no different.

 

[Noelle610]

I think that's fine! With a bedtime routine, consistency is the key, so as long as you're doing a series of things that remain the same night after night so that baby recognizes it's time for bed it's okay. It doesn't really matter what you're doing. A bath is really relaxing for some kids and stimulating for others, so whether or not you choose to include it in your routine is purely up to you!

 

[Yikesy]

We do baths in the morning as there's more time!!

 

[Beccaboop]

We only bath little man once a week on a saturday morning atm cos he has very dry flaky skin and the midwives and health visitors said not to bath him too much cos it will make it worse. So im sure if you bath lo in the day that would be fine. x

 

[cissyhope]

Mine rarely have baths at night,I'm usually too tired plus I like to bath them after breakfasts as its so messy (blw) and they have their morning poos

 

[Cat lady]

You defo dont have to just bath at night, in fact, I find that bathing in the evening whips up my ds so he then doesnt want to go to bed and messes around. He is also old enough to shower, so in fact, he tends to shower after me.
xxx

 

[Tattoo]

I usually bath early evening, then playtime before the bedtime wind-down. A bath excites my baby, rather than relaxing her.

 

[AC1987]

I've never given my LO a bath a night, its always in the morning.

 

[Pixie19]

I've never done baths as part of a bedtime routine and Logan sleeps a good 10-12 hours at night. We are weaning too and its extremely messy lol
We bath around 2-3pm when Logan is happy and not tired as sometimes if he's tired he hates having a bath, if hes awake and playful then he likes to sit and splash around.
We dont bath him everyday and it doesnt mess his routine up on the days that we do bathe him.

 

[CoffeePuffin]

Thanks for all the replies ladies. I'm gonna give her a bath now!

 

[aliss]

My 1st, we didn't start it until age 2.5 at night. Helps him wind down but it's easier to bathe a 3 year old as you can just sit & read a book while they do their own thing. You don't have to do it at night with a baby. I don't!

 

[Aimee4311]

I never give her baths as part of the bedtime routine! She enjoys showering with me, but cries when we get out! So I bathe her in the middle of the day, so when she gets worked up, it doesn't disturb her sleep!

 

[bookreader]

We never bath at bed time either. He gets very excited in both the bath and shower, plus we find it easier in the morning. He doesnt have one everyday either, instead every 2nd or 3rd.

 

[robinator]

We have a bedtime bath routine. However, we switch it up when necessary. Like, I'm not going to have my baby go the rest of the day covered in poo when she has a lunchtime explosion

We skip the bedtime bath on those days!

 

[mellyboo]

Imalways tired at night too her bed time routine is more like rocking with me to wind down one hour before bed time and she usually has some cereal and a bottle and then i change her bum and its bed time... She understand bed time 100 percent some nights shes hard to put down but for the most part she's easy... now its naps were working on augh thats a task in it self

she gets her bath every 2nd day after breakfast

 

[PitaKat]

My LO only gets a bath 2 or 3 times a week as I don't want to dry out his skin. It's not part of our bedtime routine, he gets his bath whenever I find the time.

 

[biliboi2]

We don't have a bed time routine. But baths are usually in the morning.

 

[AllieCat]

I'm a big fan of breaking our routine. Although I have always been told babies thrive on consistency. I like to change it up since every day is the same for us. Sometimes we get buisy and can't do our bedtime bath... my daughter LOVES morning baths! She's always in such a good mood in the morning and a bath seems to make her even happier. Bath time is whatever time you feel like making it bathtime.

 

[bookworm0901]

Agree with everyone, whatever works for your family!

Bath time is a great wind down time for my LO and he will relax, no matter how fussy he is otherwise. I actually can't remember the last time I skipped a night bath (not a perfect mom, it's just so important to him), so it's a huge part of our evening routine. Now I'm scared to skip it, maybe he won't sleep the same! Actually, maybe it would be good if he doesn't sleep the same, he doesn't STTN or anything.