Get rid of the bath?

butlere

Redoing our only bathroom and with water charges and a baby both on the way should we get rid of or keep the bath? No interest in selling anytime soon so not worried about lowering our property value, we don't use the bath at all but afraid we'll miss it when the kid pops out!

Stheno

I imagine you'd find it useful for the baby, plus taking it out may affect resale.

I know I'd be loathe to buy a house without a bath in the bathroom

wandatowell

If you got a kid on the way then you gotta keep the bath.

Scortho

Definitely keep the bath.

Ken.

Stick a power shower on the wall at the bath and put up a curtain rail around half the bath. Use shower for you and your partner and use bath for the baby. Similar to this

ABajaninCork

I come from the UK, and therefore am quite used to paying the water rates. Running a bath isn't as costly as you might think. You use more water running a washing machine! Do you have a power washer? Dishwasher? Sprinkler system? Do you use a hose? You might want to have a look at how those are used...

In any case, the water charge is a flat rate for now, as the meters have not yet been installed. Nobody knows what those charges will look like. So I think you're panicking unnecessarily.

And yes - if I were buying, I agree with the others. I'd expect to see a bathroom. If I saw only a shower room, I'd be heading for the exit. And with a baby, I'd say a bath is a necessity.

gctest50

butlere wrote: »

Redoing our only bathroom and with water charges and a baby both on the way should we get rid of or keep the bath? No interest in selling anytime soon so not worried about lowering our property value, we don't use the bath at all but afraid we'll miss it when the kid pops out!

http://www.bibabad.nl/

Get a temperature-limited shower so there will be less risk of burns

EricPraline

ken wrote: »

Stick a power shower on the wall at the bath and put up a curtain rail around half the bath. Use shower for you and your partner and use bath for the baby. Similar to this

Agree with the above suggestion, a bath + shower combination gives the best of both options. While lack of a bath will likely eventually affect your resale value, having a bath now will definitely make your life with the baby a lot easier. Good luck

Ken.

Also don't under estimate the joy a pregnant woman can get from taking the weight off by relaxing in a bath. She may not use it now but wait till the pregnancy progress's a few months.

ABajaninCork

ken wrote: »

Also don't under estimate the joy a pregnant woman can get from taking the weight off by relaxing in a bath. She may not use it now but wait till the pregnancy progress's a few months.

Most definitely! Most of my preggers friends couldn't wait to jump in the bath every night. And if you're in labour, the first thing the hospital will tell the mother is to take a warm bath. It helps to relax you.

ABajaninCork

By coincidence, I came across this article on the Independent just now. Have a read - it's interesting, and a lot of what's suggested makes complete sense.

Off-topic, but with the advent of the water charges, it'll stop the idiotic practice of running water in a vain bid to stop the taps freezing in the winter! Now THAT'S what I call a complete waste of water.

Victor

Stheno wrote: »

I imagine you'd find it useful for the baby, plus taking it out may affect resale.

Do people use full sized baths for babies?

Thoie

When they're really small, most people use the sink or a special basin, but once they're sitting up on their own, most people use the real bath for the baby. Not filled to the brim, obviously. Kids in general don't take to showers until they're quite a bit older.

A friend of mine lives in a place where the bath was replaced with just a shower, and didn't have the money to change it back to a bath. She has a 1 year old now, and curses the person who removed the bath on a daily basis.

ifeelill

butlere wrote: »

we don't use the bath at all

You cite water charges for the removal of the bath and then you say you don't use it

Moonbeam

with kids I find you really need a bath.

fleet

Got kids? Baths are also useful for washing blood and puke out of duvets that won't fit in the washing machine...

K.Flyer

Slightly off topic.
If you are renovating your bathroom and you plan on regularly using the bath for taking showers make sure that the standing area of the bath is well supported to prevent any movement. Movement is a common problem with plastic baths not installed correctly which leads to leaks between the top of the bath and the wall tiles.

No Pants

I remember being washed in the kitchen sink as a child.

vitani

Thoie wrote: »

A friend of mine lives in a place where the bath was replaced with just a shower, and didn't have the money to change it back to a bath. She has a 1 year old now, and curses the person who removed the bath on a daily basis.

My 2 year old is still using her baby bath as we only have a shower. I don't know what I'm going to do once she gets a little bigger. Not having a bath when you have children is a pain in the neck.

No Pants

vitani wrote: »

My 2 year old is still using her baby bath as we only have a shower. I don't know what I'm going to do once she gets a little bigger. Not having a bath when you have children is a pain in the neck.

Can she stand up? If so, get her into the shower.

Mr.Fred

Definitely keep the bath. We never use it unless I pick up an injury along the way and if ye end up like us we've 3 little ones in the bath at the min 1-2-3 :eek:

A shower is convenient to wash them off and the kitchen sink was handy when we'd only 2 but they don't have the same affect as the bath.

If you ever want to have a particular quiet night into the bath with the little one and he/she will be fit for their leaba once they're out.

For your own sanity keep the bath

Victor

No Pants wrote: »

I remember being washed in the kitchen sink as a child.

Do not use the kitchen sink for washing children, hands, clothes, etc. as it is unhygenic - use it only for food and food utensils / crockery, etc.

Mr.Fred

Victor wrote: »

Do not use the kitchen sink for washing children, hands, clothes, etc. as it is unhygenic - use it only for food and food utensils / crockery, etc.

I survived it. So did my kids does that make us unique.

murria

Our bath is rarely used but the times we did use it were when I was pregnant and when the kids were little. One of us used to get into the bath with them when they were tiny. It also gets used for a soak if someone has the flu or aches and pains. So I'd so keep it too.

Victor

Mr.Fred wrote: »

I survived it. So did my kids does that make us unique.

But not everyone does. This is how things like hepatitis, typhoid and cholera spread.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecal%E2%80%93oral_route

Some of the diseases that can be passed via the fecal-oral route include:

Poliomyelitis
Norovirus acute gastroenteritis
Giardiasis[1]
Hepatitis A[2]
Hepatitis E[3]
Rotavirus
Shigellosis (bacillary dysentery)[4]
Typhoid fever[5]
Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections[6]
Enteroviruses
Cholera
Clostridium difficile
Cryptosporidiosis
Ascariasis

Mr.Fred

Ah stop will ya it's not like you're throwing the dishes and baby bottles in with them.

You obviously sterlise the sink before and after. Sure do you wash your hands in the sink? Have you ever used public conveniencee toilets pay phones etc. I assume youve ordered a drink in a cafe or bar how many people have used the same glass was it cleaned properly.

Have you ever stayed in a hotel, used the bath or towels perhaps the glass left to rinse your mouth.?

I think there are far greater sources of bacteria than washing your own kids in the sink.

Anyway all that is way off topic.

No Pants

We did. Crockery cookware, children, a spare Honda 50 engine, a goat from a neighbour, a leper or two and a big bag of mafia money. All washed together.

When the baby outgrows the baby bath, you will need to have a bath. Its only now my small boy will get into the shower and he has long outgrown the little plastic ones.

iguana

Victor wrote: »

Do people use full sized baths for babies?

It's nice to have the option of taking a bath with the baby and is very useful if your baby goes through a phase of being terrified of the bath as they get used to it again with the security of having you to hold onto. And once my son could sit unassisted I found that a great way for me to have a shower while we're alone at home is to put the plug in the bath while I shower and he can play in the water in the other end of the bath. He has great fun and I can take my time in a way that I can't if he's napping and I'm conscious of the fact that he might wake and start crying.

crayon80

You'll definitely need a bath for a baby and more so when the baby is a grubby child They're also handy for soaking and washing bulky things.

sunnysoutheast

K.Flyer wrote: »

Slightly off topic.
If you are renovating your bathroom and you plan on regularly using the bath for taking showers make sure that the standing area of the bath is well supported to prevent any movement. Movement is a common problem with plastic baths not installed correctly which leads to leaks between the top of the bath and the wall tiles.

Also stand in the bath / fill it with water when sealing round the edge of it.

OP - no! keep the bath. Kids love a bath, and you can make it part of the bedtime ritual. Finally, not to put too fine a point on it, they can whiff a bit so a daily wash is ideal.