The big bath sponge (Mothercare Shaped Foam Bath Support)

Member Name: belglen

Product:	Mothercare Shaped Foam Bath Support
Date:	18/08/08 (91 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simple idea, very useful

Disadvantages: None really

The big bath sponge.

I have three children the youngest of whom is now 10 months, with all my children we have used the big bath sponge, and I even bought one for my sister when she had her baby. The big bath sponge is an oversized sponge that you use to support your baby in the bath rather than bathing them with it.

I have had 3 different sponges over the years, a new one for each child, I think the first one was green and the 2 subsequent sponges were yellow. Basically the big sponge is a large shaped sponge contoured to lay a baby on. I had bought an over the bath baby bath for my first child but found it very cumbersome, she was a very small baby, just over 5lbs and we were very wary of bathing her. My husband was dispatched to try to find something more ergonomic than the baby bath, he came home with a big sponge from Mothercare. To be honest I was a bit sceptical at first but it proved to be one of the most useful baby products we bought.

Basically you put the big sponge in the bottom of the bath, fill the bath to the required level and then lay the baby on the sponge, then bathe the baby. The baby does not roll off the sponge because the inner core is slightly recessed, encasing the baby, this leaves your hands free to wash the baby all over. Obviously you never leave the baby alone in the bath but the sponge does give you some added freedom to wash the baby and get your towel when you are going to lift the baby out. This is a totally uncomplicated bath aid but one that is really essential. After our first child this was always top of the list of baby items when we were having our other two children.

We used the big sponge until our babies were at the very wriggly pulling themselves up stage, then we just used it like a bath mat to sit them on and keep them from sliding. The sponge is recommended from 0 to 12 months and we bought ours from Mothercare for about £7.00, I am not sure if they are available elsewhere.

The only downside is that the sponge needs to be rinsed clear of any soap suds and left to air dry after each use.

A really simple idea but a truly useful product.

Summary: A useful product for bathing small babies