newborn terrified of the bath

My 8 week old baby absolutely hates her bath and screams the house most of the time she is in the bath and even worse when we get her out. She seems to be quite scared of the water, she will usually startle when we first put her in, no matter how gently we do it. I have tried having a bath with her a couple of times and she was better but I can't do this all the time. Any ideas why she might be so scared? Is it possible she just hates being cold?
Thanks for any advice

Yes, if you think she is cold, then this could be why she is so upset. I assume that you are checking the water temperature properly and you are meaning that the temperature of the room is cold.

A couple of suggestions ... in our house we really can't heat the bathroom effectively, so we used to put the baby bath in DD's bedroom (we had a stand, but if you don't then you may need to put a mat or something down first depending on what type of flooring you have).

Also, don't feel that you have to bath her in the evening; if you want to do it earlier in the day so that it is warmer then do that. You just need to make sure that she is being bathed at least every second day, it really doesn't matter what time you do it though.

Aside from that, it's pretty normal for many newborns to not really like being bathed. You just need to get on with it, but make sure that you are as gentle as possible, and hold them as tightly as you can so that they are reassured.

Have you considered a shower. My babies liked to go in the shower with dad. They felt more secure being held tightly but could still be washed. If baby likes shower then you can try the bath later.

My kids also didnt take to the bath - they seemed to dislike the floating and always had to be held with both hands making washing them difficult at best. We have successfully tried the following.

Use a bath support (available at Baby stores, Target etc - the ones with a 'bar' between the legs seem best as bub doesnt slide down) and lay a wet washer or hand towel over bub - the weight of it seems to make them feel secure and if you pour bath water over the top occasionally will keep bub warm as well. Also a fan heater turned on in room before you run bath will warm the air (these are cheap.)

Alternatively as mentioned before we have showered our children most nights since they were born. The added bonuses are lots of cuddles for the parent in the shower and you both get washed at once (helps if other parent is there to get bub out).

Good Luck!!

hi there,
Dont worry Im sure your baby isnt scared of water. I think all new born cry when it comes to bathing at the start. Tiny tip that may work for you, it did for me. Feed your baby before bathing. I use to feed baby off one breast then bath and they once dressed and dryed fed off the other one. We normally did this at night, also helps with sleeping. Good luck and dont get to worried about it

Hi there

Try a face washer/flannel as pp suggested. When DD had her first bath in hospital, the midwife submerged her in the water (flannel already in there getting warm) and then put the flannel over her chest in which DD then gripped it with her hands. It was like a little security blanket for her, in which we could then hold her securely in one arm while the other would gently wash and trickle water on her.

We also had one of the baby bath seat things for when we got home, so she could half sit/lie in the water, flannel over her chest, and we had both hands free to wash etc. DD has a bath every night as part of her bed time rountine - and loves it!

I'm sure bubba will eventually love having baths soon and hope the above helps.

Cheers