Nobody tells you how stressful bathing a baby is. Everyone talks about how lovely it is — the splashing, the bubbles, the tiny rubber duck — and it can be lovely, eventually. But in the early months, before your baby can sit independently, bath time is a two-handed, full-concentration exercise in controlled anxiety. One hand supporting the head, one hand washing, no hands left for anything else, and a constant low-level awareness that a slippery baby in a wet bath is a situation that requires your complete attention at all times.
My daughter Rosie is now nine months old. For the first six months, bath time was something I got through rather than enjoyed. Then I found the baby plus Bath Seat, and everything changed.
Why I Needed a Bath Seat
Rosie started showing interest in sitting up around five months, and by six months she could sit with support but wasn’t fully stable independently. That in-between stage is the hardest for bath time — she was too big and wriggly for the newborn bath support I’d been using, but not steady enough to sit in the bath without constant hands-on support.
My partner and I had been doing bath time together — one person holding, one person washing — which worked but wasn’t sustainable long-term. We both work, we have a toddler as well, and coordinating two adults for a ten-minute bath every evening was becoming a logistical problem. I needed something that would give Rosie safe, supported seating so I could use both hands to actually wash her.
My requirements were specific:
- Genuinely secure. Not just stable-looking. Actually secure, with a mechanism that prevented tipping and a base that wouldn’t shift on a wet bath surface.
- Easy to get the baby in and out. A seat that required wrestling a wet, slippery baby into position was not going to work.
- BPA-free and baby-safe materials. Non-negotiable for anything that goes in the bath with an infant.
- Something Rosie would actually enjoy. A seat she hated would make bath time worse, not better.
The baby plus Bath Seat with Bath Toy met every one of those criteria, and the included bath toys were the detail that made me choose it over alternatives.
Why the baby plus Seat Specifically
The front-opening design was the first thing that caught my attention. Most bath seats I’d looked at required you to lower the baby in from above, which is awkward and requires a confident grip on a wriggly infant. The baby plus seat opens at the front, so you can sit Rosie in from the side and close the seat around her. That sounds like a small thing. In practice it’s the difference between a smooth, calm process and a stressful one.
The safety lock on the front opening was the second feature I looked at carefully. The seat locks closed and cannot be opened accidentally — not by a baby grabbing at it, not by the seat flexing in the water. That lock is the thing that lets you relax slightly, which is the whole point.
The suction cup base was the third consideration. Four suction cups on the underside of the seat attach firmly to the bath surface and hold the seat in position even when Rosie is leaning, reaching, and doing the enthusiastic splashing she’s become very committed to. I tested the suction before putting her in the first time — I couldn’t shift it with a firm pull. That’s the level of security I needed.
The BPA-free, baby-safe plastic was confirmed in the product specification. The material is smooth, easy to wipe clean, and has shown no degradation after three months of daily use and regular cleaning.
And the eight included bath toys were genuinely the detail that made me choose this over a seat-only option. Rosie needed something to engage with in the bath — a baby who is bored in the bath is a baby who is trying to climb out of it. The toys are soft, easy to grip, brightly coloured, and have kept her happily occupied while I actually wash her. That engagement is what makes bath time enjoyable rather than just functional.
I found it in the Baby Bathtubs & Bath Seats and Baby Bathing collections, and also in the broader Baby & Toddler range. It arrived two days after ordering.
The First Bath
I set the seat up before running the bath — pressed the suction cups firmly onto the dry bath surface, confirmed they were secure, then ran the water to the correct level (the seat keeps Rosie’s torso well above the waterline). I opened the front, sat her in, closed and locked the seat.
She looked at the toys. She grabbed one. She looked at me. She grabbed another one.
I washed her hair. She didn’t notice. I washed her back. She was busy with the toys. I washed her front. She splashed. I dried her off and got her into her pyjamas in about twelve minutes total, which is approximately half the time bath time had been taking when it required two adults and constant repositioning.
I stood in the bathroom afterwards feeling slightly emotional about a bath seat, which tells you something about how much the previous situation had been wearing on me.
Three Months On — The Honest Verdict
We’ve been using the baby plus Bath Seat every evening for three months. Here’s the honest report:
- The suction has never failed. Not once. Three months of daily use, wet bath surfaces, a baby who leans and reaches and pulls at things. The seat has not shifted. I check the suction before every bath as a habit, and every time it’s as firm as when I first attached it.
- The safety lock has never opened accidentally. Rosie has grabbed at the front of the seat repeatedly. It has not opened. The lock requires a deliberate adult action to release, which is exactly what you want.
- Bath time is now something Rosie enjoys. She kicks her legs when she sees the seat coming out. She reaches for the toys before she’s even in the water. Bath time has gone from something I managed to something she looks forward to, which has made the whole evening routine calmer.
- I can do bath time alone. Every evening, without my partner, in about fifteen minutes including drying and pyjamas. That independence has made a real practical difference to how we manage the evening routine with two children.
- The toys have held up. Three months of daily bath use, regular rinsing, left to dry between uses. No mould, no degradation, no pieces coming loose. They’re still as engaging for Rosie as they were on day one.
The Difference It’s Made
Bath time is the thing I look forward to now. Not dread. Look forward to. Rosie splashes and plays with her toys and laughs at the water, and I wash her and talk to her and it’s genuinely one of the nicest parts of the day. That transformation — from anxious two-person operation to calm, enjoyable solo routine — is entirely down to having the right equipment.
If you’re in the stage I was in — baby starting to sit up, bath time requiring two adults and constant vigilance, the enjoyment buried under the anxiety — the baby plus Bath Seat with Bath Toy is worth every penny. Browse the full Baby Bathing collection and the Baby & Toddler range for more options.
Check the suction before every bath. Enjoy the splashing.
Gemma Pearce is a part-time NHS administrator and mother of two based in Nottingham. She writes about parenting, family life, and the products that make the early years slightly less overwhelming.
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