Shnuggle Baby and Toddler Baths!

I’ve always given a bed time routine to my little ones which involves a bath first and then a massage before a story. The actual bed time gets a bit lost in all the chaos of a larger family and though we don’t seem to manage slumber with a regular clarity (we’re way off the mark by most people’s standards), we do always punctuate the day with this calm down trigger to say it’s time to at least think about it! It doesn’t matter the hour, what we’ve been doing or where we are I always like to incorporate it to make it feel like we’ve done the day right. As a result they’ve been bathd in sinks when staying away, sat in buckets to be splashed a once over when camping even and at 2am on my wedding day (next morning really) I still got Florence in the bath before changing her bridesmaid dress for a babygrow. It’s my thing, I do it whatever the weather or scene and that’s just that!

I have often found however that it’s not always the easiest! I mentioned the bucket camping trip bath for starters but I remember burning Raffie’s leg on the tap, still hot from running the water, in my Dad’s bathroom sink once (I cried, he was fine) and wishing I’d taken his actual bath with me. But it was unwieldy and big and an awkward shape to travel with and to be fair, not entirely all THAT handy at home either! Having to lean over a bath to support a baby in a smaller bath isn’t ideal but that’s the way it was. With Posie now though and we’ve been introduced to a baby bath which is far more effective, easy t o use and it would also travel well to boot (not that we’ve been anywhere yet but we will, oh we will)! I was sent the Shnuggle Baby Bath to use with her and though I’d seen them before I’m afraid I’d kind of dismissed it as being more expensive than those big ones and not realising the benefits of paying extra to have so much more ease. But the ease of one affords far outweighs the little bit higher price tag I now fully am able to understand having used it every single night for 3 months!

The Shnuggle Baby Bath with a foam back rest is such a fabulous product I would now say to my friends it is imperative that all new parents make the investment. It IS an investment and it works so well at helping with an easier bath time that I just wouldn’t want to be without it. So, the main piece of information you need to know is that the design is much smaller in circumference to a regular babybath, higher, almost bucket like but with ends which taper out to accommodate a baby properly. Because of its foot print it fits in the sink (mine is a larger style Butler sink but I am told it does indeed fit most) meaning you don’t have to lean over. There is also a stand that you can buy so that you can give the bath standing up anywhere, anytime. It also in its design has thought about how precarious it can be giving a tiny baby a bath and with its special “Bum Bump” at the bottom it helps keep the baby in an upright position for a comofortable bath even when newborn. While you certainly can’t go away and leave a newborn in the bath, you can watch them like a hawk as they sit unaided and for that it’s absolutely marvellous. With a line to show you where not to fill over and a foam back rest for the baby’s comfort it also helps guide you, and the baby, into a safe and easy bath. You actually have a hand free to wash the baby while you’re back doesn’t break as you do it.

Now that Posie is a little older we like to have it inside our own bath sometimes too as with the help of that bum bump and back rest there is less leaning over needed even when down that low and though our bath is small (I mean who buys a bath without seeing it – erm, us!) both the baby and the Toddler Bath (which Raffie has been using ever since Posie has had hers) both fit in it together nicely.

Like the baby bath, the toddler bath has a maximum fill line making it safer to use and also the foam back rest for comfort so that it is softer and not as cold on their backs. They both have foam plugs which are handy for letting the water out and like the bum bump it has a similarly well thought out base with a contour to make sitting inside as easy as possible for a relaxing and fun bath. The base is slightly textured on the surface, this is to increase how grippy it feels to be reassuring to the little one. I can see how used to Posie will become with her baby bath and this toddler bath makes a nice transition for a child to move up towards having a proper big bath which isn’t necessary on both water usage or for them to feel like a small fish in a big pond which must be quite frightening when you’re super tiny. Raffie is over the moon with his bath as initially he felt quite jealous of Posie in her lovely one. He insisted on getting inside her bath after she’d finished each evening and though he just about did fit, he is much better with this slightly bigger one just for him! The baby bath takes a child to at least 12 months (though like I said, Raff at 3 and a half CAN fit in) and then the transition to a toddler bath is a nice easy step!

Both the toddler bath and baby bath actually take up less room than our old traditional baby bath and the little one stacks neatly inside the bigger when not in use. I plan on taking both away with us when we go too as the shape won’t use a massive footprint in the car while I can pack it high with their clothes. MUCH better than a camping bucket bath and like at home when we al fresco bathe (a top tip I was given for sunnier days) I shall use the baby bath to fill up the bigger one first. I can’t tell you what fantastic products these both are, how helpful and brilliant in their design. I’ve given it a good shot but I suspect it might be one of those things that you can’t fully appreciate until you’ve tried it and can see for yourself the difference! I’m advising all the pregnant people I know that they are the way forwards when it comes to bath time because… Well, they just are!

Shnuggle themselves say they make clever baby products and the truth is, they’re on the money in their own description. We’ve been using not just the baths but the Washy Rinsing Bath Jug which hangs on the edge when not in use and when using ensures water doesn’t go in the baby’s eyes (not withstanding big brothers and their “help”), the Wishy Bath Toy which lights up (Posie loves this), comes apart and can be played with in many ways as well as owning a lovely texture for sensory bath play and the hooded towel which is lovely and soft and cosy as well as, and I can personally vouch for this as am rubbish at getting stains out, washes well and easily! We also have the bath brush but Posie hasn’t really got much hair yet so I’ll have to report back on that later!

After the bath it’s time for Posie’s massage and Shnuggle to the rescue again with their yoga play mat. I’ve used this in my baby massage class which I shall also be writing about this week and essentially it’s one that’s as easy to take out with you as it is to use at home. It rolls up into a carry handle that easily clips off and makes a nice super padded mat for the baby to lie on for a massage. Or just over at the park. Or indeed if you need to change a nappy when out if you have it on you!

Without meaning to sound like we have sponsored all our baby days with Shnuggle we have used a couple of other products which we love too including the Moonlight Night Light (game changer – I’ve written about this on Instagram) and the air bed side crib which we have only just started using this weekend but which already, after one night, has no complaints from me. But I’ll tell you about them both on here properly another day!

We have been gifted these products and LOVE them.