Cool bath in the evening - need your opinion

[nebulosity_n]

Hi, mummies!

I really want to know your opinion about this.
In our country there is one doctor, who is an author of dozens books about children's illnesses. His name is Komarovsky. He is very good in curing and preventing illnesses, but I think his approach to first year's sleep is strange.

He writes in his book that we should't feed enough our baby during the day, don't let him sleep enough until the evening. Then we should make him a cool bath (starting from 33-34 Celcium in newborns and down to 25 degrees) to make him play very actively. He explains this in such way - cool water stimulates the receptors of the skin and the baby starts moving very actively, which is very good for cardiovascular system and quencing as well. Also it is very exhausting for baby and after such procedure he becomes very hungry, eats a lot before sleep, and then sleeps peacefully for a long time (he promises at least 4-5 hours in newborns).

The question is about bath. Do you think it is really possible that after very active physical activity a baby can sleep longer?

My DS hated bath since he was born. I've tried different temperatures, lighting in the room and toys. He can "swim" only 10, sometimes 15 minutes. As he's very touchy, he almost always cries after bath. But without bath he "doesn't understand" that the night has come and it's time for long sleep. So I'm trying different aproaches and don't let him jump or play very actively as it's really hard to soothe him after such bathing. I also tried low temperature (29-30 degrees) and active play, as doctor Komarovsky writes. What do you think about this theory?

[michaeljacknnugg]

I'm not sure. The cool bath is supposed to help with sleeping? I don't think it would do a lot for me! I also think that what he's promising sounds completely normal for a newborn, so not something that the bath has improved (if that makes sense?).

It sounds like your little guy does need some careful attention to the end of his day, from what you are describing, and I think you're on the right track with trying different things. Are you trying something for a few days in a row to see if it really doesn't work before moving on?

If you want to post your bedtime routine (and maybe your EASY) too, then we can take a look with you.

[nebulosity_n]

Thank you for your answer! 
The reasoning behind cool bath is that it's supposed to stimulate active movements during bathing, which makes him physically tired, which in turn shold make him sleep better.

Here's our EASY routine (yesterday):
EW 6-00 (not always, but during last few days we have it), sleeps for 20-30 minutes
WU 6-45
E 8-00 BF, 9-00 solids
A
S 10-00-12-00 (I often wake him up)
E 12-00 BF, 13-00 solids
A
S 15-15-16-00 (sometimes I wake him up, because when he sleeps past 16-15, he gets very cranky and active in the evening)
E 16-00
A
E 18-00
A 18-20 bath
S 19-30 (I finished BF at 19-00, but he didn't sleep for 30 minutes after it. He looked around in darkness an my hands, rolled his head very fast and lisped "dadadada", tweaked his legs and arms. I didn't know what to do so I just held him untill he calmed down and then put him in his cot.)
2NWs

Our last activity looks like this: after BF at 16-00 we go for a walk in a stroller for 40 minutes to an hour. By the end of the walk he ofter gets cranky. When we get back home he has some more activity (he usually has better mood at home) while I'm preparing his solids. After dinner we go to the bedroom, where I close the curtains, turn on the night light and we prepare for a bath for a few minutes. Then we have a bath (I dim the lights in the bathroom and try not to stimulate him, but he still wants to jump and shout). Me and my husband try to calm him down, but usually he gets tired after 10 minutes and starts crying. I used to bathe him in cool water (around 30 C), but lately I've raised the temperature to 35 C hoping it would make him calmer. Then we carry him around in the bedroom to calm him down, but it doesn't always work. He also gets upset when we dress him in him pyjamas for the night. Only during the last BF he calms down completely and drifts away into sleep. I tried less activity time before sleep, but then he's not sleepy at all and it's extra hard to calm him down.

Another thing that worries me is that he started having extra long naps in the morning, because it leaves less time for the second nap (he often has catnaps in the afternoon). I've noticed that it was easier for him to have his 2nd nap finished by 15-30 so to be asleep by 19-00. He felt asleep faster and more peacefully. But I'm afraid it's not good to wake him at 11-00/30 from his 1st nap (I also feel strange waking him at 12-00 after 2 hours of sleeping).

Sorry for long story! I'll appreciate any suggestions!

[koe2moe]

Hi there!

I just found Komarovsky's website!  I find that that a fascinating idea.  I'm trying to get it around my head.  When the temperature receptors are stimulated, they send signals to the brain and the brain will then signal to raise body temperature to maintain steady body temperature.  It sure will be exhausting for the baby who is learning to maintain homeostasis.  I have heard since I was young that some people/theory advocate a cold shower everyday for good health.  I personally hate it as it is too much of a shock to my system, I have sensitivity to cold.  It says on his website that his books are translated into chinese, so I will see if I can get them to read. 

I hope the other ladies can help with the routine. 

[michaeljacknnugg]

Me too, it's been a while! Not sure if he is having enough day sleep and isn't ot by late afternoon?

At that age my spirited DS used to *insist* upon time on the floor to get his exercise (crawling & cruising) in - that was what tired him out rather than the bath.

Have you tried a bath at a different time? He might just be too tired for it at night.

[nebulosity_n]

I've tried bath after lunch (actually I filled bath with little water to let him crawl and sit), and it was OK. But he became very active and after that he "wanted" active crawling on the floor. So I try to make more quiet bathing in the evening. In fact he always laughs when we come into the bathroom and likes the start, but then he becomes tired very quickly. I'd stop bath in the evening, but I don't know any other actions to be included in our night sleep preparations. He likes reading very much and it stimulates him, as well as music and other toys (like mobile; we used it by 5 months, then he started to crawl and chew the toys ).

He usually sleeps about 3 hours during the day. And for last week (or even more) he sleeps very long during his 1st nap (I woke up him after 2-2.15 Hour). I'm afraid he's getting not enough sleep at night so he sleeps longer in daytime. We still have 2 BFs at night (1 DF including) and he started to do activity during the night and can't soothe himself, so his night sleep became 12 hour minus 1 on even 2 hours of activity. I'm trying to work on it and I think I almost finished with DF.

[michaeljacknnugg]

Is there an issue with him wanting more activity after an earlier bath?

It's not right for all babies, but the only way we could get DS to stop moving (he was an extremely active baby!) and relax before a sleep was to watch something gentle on tv whilst having a snuggle. Books and bath were just too much for him at this age. Later on we transferred back to the more traditional bath-book-bed routine.

[Buttonbobs]

Hi there, just a thought, you say he "swims" inthe bath for 15/20 mins. Have you tried a shorter bath? My DD plays in the bath for a while now but she's nearly 2 and she was certainly not in the bath for so long when she was younger.

[barbaraz78]

I second pps. We had to move bath from the bt routine to before dinner at a certain point (ds was older though) because, after a change of routine (probably the 2-1, but don't remember exactly) he was too tired and didn't manage the frustration of going out of the bath, so he had a meltdown every time we took out of the tube. Doing it before dinner was much better and we avoided the meltdown.
I also think that 15 mins are a pretty long bath for a 7 mo.

[nebulosity_n]

Thank you so much for all your replies! 

Is seems that he "wants" more activity after earlier bath. Actually it's rather hard to estimate as in the evening he often becomes very happy and active. And I'm always wondering if he is too tired and hyperactive or undertired and needs more activity and fun...

I think that I should try shortened bathing, less then 10 minutes. Also I'll try earlier time for bath. I have no idea how to quit the bath in the evening for the baby who smiles when we walk by the bathroom.

And I want to ask one more question. Am I doing right waking my LO from 2nd nap?(I feel strange as recently I had problem with catnapping and now I'm actually making him). It looks like this:
WU 7-00
S1 10-15 - 11-45/12-00
S2 15-00/15 - 16-00
Night sleep 19-15/30

[Erin M]

If he's sleeping ok at night, you're probably doing ok waking him from that second nap.