Bathing baby and Bathroom renovations.

I remember Leo's first bath so clearly. He was two days old and so tiny. His Dad was the one to bathe him, the nurse carefully showing us how to hold his body so he was secure, his little head rested on the forearm, my husband's grip firm but soft around his tiny arm. So scared of dropping our perfect slippery child. 

The first time I bathed Leo I was petrified. I had refused to do it for ages, that was my husband's job and I was not going to do it. I didn't want to drop him, he was always such a wriggler and I didn't know how I would hold onto him without hurting him. After much convincing and knowing my husband was right there to help me if I needed I decided it was time for me to give it a go (Leo would've been about three weeks by this stage). As I carefully lifted him from change table to bath I felt my grasp around his arm tighten, I was so stiff and tense, Leo was so calm and trusting. Leo relaxed into the water and as the bath went on I felt my son's demeanor rubbing off on me. I had watched my husband do this so many times before I knew the routine. One washer on the head, one on the belly. Wash all the creases, in and around the legs, toes, arms and hands, oh and dont forget the neck goop.... The small bits of gunk that form in the folds of a baby's neck. Don't forget behind the ears and be mindful to keep the washers on his belly to keep him warm. 

We bathed Leo in his small baby bath, he loved his small bath. We broke our backs filling and emptying it but the joy on Leo's face when he saw his bath being filled we didn't mind the back pain. As Leo has grown his bath has gone from looking very comfortable to a tight squeeze, we knew it was time for a bathroom renovation. 

Our previous bathroom, although quite new, was small and dingy with a shower and no bath. The whole shower would wobble when you opened the door and the vanity was a ridiculous waste of space. 

So for the last two weeks we have had tradesmen in and out of our house building what we began to call 'Leo's bathroom'. 

Renovations with a baby are hard. Especially when the baby's bedroom is next to the room getting redone. We basically said goodbye to our daytime sleeps in the cot and hello to sleeping whenever and wherever we could. 

We spent our days waiting around for tradesmen to come, the builder, electricians, plumbers, water proofers, plasterers, painters, I never realised how many people it takes for such a little room. There was so much coming and going, so much disruption to Leo's normal routine, I hadn't showered in about five days and I began to think is this even going to be worth it? Then the bath went in and it was beautiful.

From that moment I didn't mind the coming and going of tradies, we managed with the change to our normal routine and it was exciting knowing that they were getting closer to giving us our bathroom and Leo having his first 'big bath'. 

Our bathroom was given to us yesterday (with the exception of a shower screen coming later this week) and I LOVE IT! I would go through the 'toughness' of a reno with baby over and over again if it means getting rooms as beautiful as this one. 

So we can put the baby bath away for good, Leo had his first bath in his new bathroom last night and he thought it was amazing! So much water, so much room, he was loving it, splashing and crawling up and down the bath it was so fun to watch. 

Bath time has changed so much from those first few weeks, no more holding on tight, no more face washers on the belly and good luck catching him for long enough to get all those bits of neck goop out!