Limited useful lifespan
Written: Mar 01 '06 (Updated Mar 09 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Useful for the first 3-4 months of baby's life.
Cons: Can't justify buying this for the bath seat feature.
The Bottom Line: Over all, while this tub has some nice features, there doesn't seem to be much of a point to spending more for the "2-in-1" aspect of this product.
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| elysia7's Full Review: The First Years Bath Tub/Bath Seat Combo |
I received this tub as a hand-me-down before my baby was born. For the first couple of baths, I used the kitchen sink, but soon discovered that this baby bathtub was quite useful.
Description: The tub itself is made of white molded plastic, with a spongy, non-slip insert against which the baby rests her back. The white part is joined with a purple (or green, according to the Epinions photo) frame section which hinges at two points on either side, and has three suction-cupped feet. In the tub mode, the baby reclines at about a 30-degree angle, with her bottom resting against a raised "bump" at the bottom of the tub, also there to prevent the baby from slipping down. At the foot of the tub, at the baby's feet, there is a yellow spinning toy, which babies can't reach with their hands in the tub mode. To convert to bath seat mode, you simply lift the head part of the white tub upward and the purple section where the toy is, at the same time. The forward leg clicks easily into place, and voila - a bath seat.
Use: I used the tub on the bathroom counter next to my sink. I put baby in it without any water, and used a separate basin with water to wash over her with a washcloth (kind of like giving her a spongebath). This tub worked fine that way, except that even with the little bump at the bottom of the tub, my baby tended to slip down, requiring a couple of readjustments mid-bath. The only other problem I had was with emptying the tub afterward. I couldn't lift it off the counter easily with one hand (the other arm was holding baby), because of the suction cups. I had to drag it off the side of the counter to release the suction. There is a little plug on the bottom so that you can drain out the water without turning the tub over when you're done, but I only used that feature a handful of times. Overall, I would say it is not that necessary a feature. Especially because it's hard to get that plug back in securely, and once I had water start draining out during the bath all over my counter and floor because my baby kicked the plug loose.
I found that the bathtub was no longer useful when my baby hit about 4 months. Her head was sticking out beyond the length of the tub, so that when I tried to wash her hair, I ended up with water splashed all over the counter. The photo depicts the tub being used inside a sink, but given the size of the tub, you would need a pretty large sink to fit it inside.
The bath seat feature of this product is something I found less useful. When my baby outgrew the bathtub mode, I gave her baths by sitting in the regular tub with her, because she could not sit up by herself yet. Then, once she was able to sit up unassisted, I tried using this bath seat in the tub with her. I have to agree with the other reviewer who thought the seating position was awkward. It almost seems to push the baby forward, and doesn't much allow for reclining. The reason I'd want to use a bath seat is to allow myself the ability to use both my hands to wash my baby; yet with this, I feel that I have to keep a hand on my baby to keep her from leaning forward too much and dunking her face into the bath water. This pretty much defeats of the purpose of using the bath seat at all. And I found that my baby wasn't any more interested in the spinning toy feature now that she could now reach it easily. It's rather stiff and doesn't spin easily. It kind of looks like a waterwheel that should spin when you dribble water down onto it, but that is definitely not the case. My baby was not very interested in playing with it, and prefers to play with her floating toys (rubber ducky, etc.) in the bathtub. Problem is that sitting in the bath seat, she can't reach those toys easily. So after a couple of times using the bath seat, I have gone back to getting into the tub with my baby for bath time.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
elysia7
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Location: Silver Spring, MD
Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
30-something-year-old military lawyer and mom to a precious 2-year-old daughter.
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