Splish splash I was taking a bath! (Mothercare Bath Set)

Member Name: karalouk

Product:	Mothercare Bath Set
Date:	27/03/09 (163 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Thermometer, hooded towel, top and tail bowl

Disadvantages: Badly designed bath tub, bath tub not needed, overpriced

Before my baby was born I was told I was having a girl, but friends and family kept winding me up by saying I was going to have a boy! This made me paranoid so when choosing a theme for her nursey I chose a safe unisex colour and design.

I decided to go for a range from Mothercare called Teddy's Wash Day as they were a browny beige colour, had teddies on and were very cute. I brought a bath set which included:
- A large plastic beige bath tub (with teddy on one side)
- A fluffy beige towel with built in hood (with teddy on washing line embroided on hood)
- A paw shaped sponge
- A beige top and tail bowel (with teddy and cat on one side)
- A beige thermometer with colourful edges (with teddy and cat on)

The set cost around £30 - £35 and came in transparant packaging (a bit like clingfilm so the bits didn't go missing). I feel the price I paid for it was a little too much as I could have got the same set without the teddies for half the price. Still it did match her other stuff which was nice - but I suppose a bath set doesn't exactly count as nursery furniture and looking back it wasn't actually that neccassary that it matched her other stuff. Teddy's Wash Day was also available as change mats, highchairs, bedding, curtains, rugs, borders, moses baskets and lanterns, to name a few. This range is no longer available at Mothercare but you can still purchase it at certain places over the internet (just google it).

The bath tub
The bath tub was a complete waste of time. I only bathed my daughter in it a couple of times. It was awkward supporting her in the bath, using the other hand to wash her and bending over in some back breaking position. There was a plug in the bottom of the bath you could put the plug in, fill the bath up, put it on the floor in another room and when you were finished put it in the bath and unplug it to drain out. The plug was useless though and the last time I used it the plug came out and the water soaked my bedroom floor. The plug couldn't be fixed and just kept popping back out everytime I tried to put it in. The bottom was supposed to be non slip but it wasn't. There was also 2 soap holders on the edges of the bath (who actually uses a bar of soap on a baby!?) which kept falling off and going missing.

The towel
The towel was a good quality towel. It had a hood attatched to it so I could dry her hair (or lack off) at the same time as I dried her body and she wouldn't get cold after bath time. No bobbles or bits ever came off the towel and it was soft and fluffy - suitable for newborn skin. I still have the towel now and even though she can't fit her head into it anymore it still comes in useful.

The sponge
The sponge was soft and suitable for newborn skin, although I never really found much use for it - I prefered just using my hands. I don't really know what else to say about a sponge to be honest!

Top and tail bowl
I personally find top and tail bowls a great invention - the bowl is split into 2 sections - one part to wash the babys upstairs (face etc) and a seperate part to wash babys downstairs. This was an invaluble piece of equipment for the first couple of months after she was born.

The thermometer
This was probably the most useful bit of equipment I had for bath time - infact I used it up until she was about 1 years old. The thermometer was made of a waterproof cardboard and had a thermometer strip in the middle of it. To use it you just placed it in the bath - if the bath was too hot it would glow up red, if the bath was just right it would glow up orange and if the bath was too cold it would glow up blue. The coloured sections also had a temperature underneath so you knew exactly what temperature the water was at.

-------------------------------------

Overall I thought the bath tub was a waste of time. I wouldn't advise getting a baby bath, instead use a normal sized bath and put something like a foam support in - that's what I'll be doing with my next one anyway. It was overpriced and I would remind people that it doesn't matter if your babys bath set doesn't match his or hers furniture because it's not a piece of furniture, it's a piece of equipment and nobody will even notice if it matches or not!

As for the hooded towel, top and tail bowl and thermometer - they were all very useful to have for a newborn.

The sponge wasn't a must have but I suppose one always comes in handy.

Summary: basically an average bath set.