Seventh Baby Syndrome/ Selah's 1st bath

Seventh Baby Syndrome: the realization that many of the things you did, and baby products you owned with baby one and two were completely unneccessary, and take up too much ever-needed space and/or time.

I must have decided that one of those space-wasters was the big plastic baby bath tub, because I couldn't find it anywhere. We really only used it for the "First Bath". Each "bath" after that would consist of Paul handing the baby to me in the shower to do a quick wash and handing him/her back out. It's much more efficient and keeps baby warm. That works until they can sit up and then they take a bath on the floor of the shower or with another of the younger kiddos.

I almost skipped the whole "first bath" scenerio, but for the sake of pictures in the baby album... here it is. Selah's umbilical cord fell of at 5 days old. All the kids born in a hospital took around 2 weeks to lose it, but the ones born at home were all under a week. I attribute it to the wash-down they give the babies in the hospital. It's well-known that babies are born with a great deal of good bacteria on their skin and when they have their first wash within hours of being born, all that good stuff gets scrubbed off (as well as being chilled and having to lay under a warming light away from mom for at least an hour... a lousy introduction to the world). At home, aside from maybe a washcloth to the hair, I don't give them a bath until after their umbilical cord comes off, giving them a few days to absorb that good bacteria. After all, I'm guessing, God wouldn't put that all over their bodies without reason...

This picture reminds me of when she was first born.

One thing that we haven't skimped on, though, is daddy's help with the first bath. He's been there for each one to take pictures and wrap baby up afterward. Makes for a great daddy/daughter picture...