Terror in the tub!

Roper — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:11:00 GMT

Something strange is happening. Until recently, Elsa was our little waterbaby. She loved taking baths. Or as Woody Allen might say, she more than loved it. She lurrvved it. She would get all excited when she heard the water running, and, once in the tub, would splash and laugh and generally have a good time, playing with bath toys, giggling with Clio, letting me make shampoo horns in her hair, etc. But the past few times we've tried to bathe her, she's been miserable. Not just whining or complaining, but all-out screaming, standing up and putting her arms around us, desperate to get out. This, of course, sets the empathetic Clio off, and she starts screaming, too.

We have no idea what's going on. The water isn't any colder or hotter than usual, and neither is the room temperature. She doesn't have any diaper rash or cuts or anything that might be irritated by the water -- not that we're aware of, anyway. It's just like all of a sudden she does NOT want to be in that bathtub. The only thing I can think of was one possibly, slightly traumatic bath event that occurred a week or so ago, when Alastair was away: after I'd taken both girls out of the bath and was putting Clio's diaper on, Elsa leaned too far over the edge of the tub and fell forward into the little inflatable tub inside, which was still full of water. I caught her right away and pulled her up, so she got only the briefest dunking, but she was frightened by it (as was I). She calmed down quickly, though, and I bathed her one or two other times after that without incident.

What gives? Can a toddler suddenly develop, for no apparent reason, an intense fear and/or loathing of the water? I felt like I was torturing the poor girl last night by not letting her get out of the tub. But her hair was quite crusty with banana and oatmeal and god knows what, and really needed washing. She'd also performed one of her trademark explosive poops earlier in the day, so she needed a good scrub. But hoo boy. Not happy about it. Maybe she's reverting to her newborn days, when she also didn't like baths. (Despite how completely different she looks now, the facial expression of bath-agony is remarkably similar):

I wish I knew why this was happening, so I could respond accordingly. Maybe she saw that brochure about lead content in our water that the city sent us recently? Or maybe she's initiated some kind of politically motivated hygiene strike? ("I refuse to bathe until babies are enfranchised!") Anyway, several possible solutions come to mind: 1.) Bathe the girls earlier -- not right before bedtime -- when they're not quite as cranky and tired. 2.) Try getting into the bath with them and see if that helps. 3.) Sponge baths and crusty-haired babies until further notice.

Any other ideas?

Baby Squared : Fear of bathing

Terror in the tub!