When I had Ellie she was so small we were actually a bit afraid of putting her in an infant tub. The first time we gave her a bath we decided to put aside our fears and try it, but we soon realized the infant tub we bought just didn’t work for her…at least not in the beginning. The newborn sling held all the soap, so after we rinsed her we’d have to re-rinse her in the sink.
We ended up bathing her in the little pink tub the hospital sent home with us. It was only about 12″x8″, and she fit perfectly in it. Of course she quickly outgrew that, but it worked the first few weeks. We did eventually use the infant tub, but that only lasted until she was about 4 months old. At that time she started throwing her head back and banging it on the hard plastic.
I wasn’t quite ready to move her to the big tub yet, so I set out in search of something else. A friend of ours had just purchased the Munchkin Inflatable Duck Tub for her son, and he absolutely loved it. The tub is recommended for babies 6-24 months who are getting a bit too big for infant tubs. The only store in our area selling this inflatable tub was Walmart, so I ran out and purchased one on sale for $12.
After Ellie’s next bath I knew my money had been well spent. It only took me about 2 minutes to inflate, and Ellie was splashing and playing in no time. The size of the tub is perfect. Ellie can sit in it with just enough room to stretch her legs out to splash, and I don’t have to worry about her going anywhere. She “lounges” in it while I wash her, then she’s right back to playing.
This tub has the features I wanted without having a lot of extras I don’t need, and bath time was so much easier. What are those features? For starters the bottom of the tub is textured so little ones won’t slip and slide around like Ellie would constantly do in the plastic infant tub. The “rings” of the tub provide the perfect amount of cushioning, so I don’t have to worry about Ellie getting hurt in the big tub. Oh, and there’s a suction cup on the duck’s “tail” that holds it in place so you don’t have to worry about it slipping around inside the big tub. There is also a drain plug to allow you to easily drain it without having to dump the water out.
When you squeeze the duck’s beak it quacks. Ellie absolutely loves to hear the duck quack, so I have to squeeze it quite a few times while she’s playing. The only downside to the quacking is that now she’s big enough to move around, and sometimes she’ll try to climb the duck’s head because she knows the quacking comes from something in that area.
One other feature is the temperature indicator. There is a blue circle that turns white with “HOT” written in it when the water is too hot. I did love the fact that the tub comes with it’s own temperature indicator, but I have found we don’t really use it. Don’t get me wrong…I don’t want my baby burning in her bath water, but the indicator doesn’t seem to be accurate enough to use. It normally tells me the water is too hot when it reaches 93 degrees, and I’ve found if I put her in the water at this temperature she begins shivering within a couple minutes. I always test the water with two Safety 1st Bath Pal Thermometers
plus my wrist. Both must read the same temperature somewhere between 94-97 degrees before I’ll put her in the water, and I believe you shouldn’t rely on a single method when it comes to keeping baby safe from water that’s too hot.
The only other downside is that the size of the head and tail of the duck make it a little hard to fill the tub directly from the tap, but the fact that the tub is inflatable helps. I just turn the tub so the side is facing the tap, and I push the side towards the tap to allow it to fill. I don’t mind this because the size of the head and tail mean Ellie isn’t likely to bump into the spout and get hurt while she’s playing in her tub. There’s extra cushioning in that area in case she does happen to fall (like when I stand her up to rinse her with a fresh cup of water, but the non stick bottom helps with this, too!).
Other than that we absolutely love this tub. Ellie was 6 months old when we started using it, and I see it lasting until she’s ready for the big tub. I’ve never had to re-inflate the tub at all, and it has withstood the cat using it as a bed whenever he feels like it. I was so afraid kitty claws would result in a quick death for this ducky, but it hasn’t received even a single pinhole. If we ever do have an air leak the tub came with 2 repair patches.
Overall this is definitely the best tub we’ve purchased for her. She’s free to splash around and play without getting hurt on hard plastic or the big tub, and it’s currently even doubling as Ellie’s kiddie pool on these hot summer days. It’s so lightweight and easy to carry that I don’t have to worry about deflating it to take it outside, although the fact that it deflates makes it perfect for travel or an overnight trip to Grandma’s when she’s bigger.
My $12 was well spent, and I definitely recommend this tub to any parent who’s ready to move their baby out of the infant tub but not quite ready for the adult tub yet. In fact I just purchased another one for my sister to use when her son grows out of his infant tub. Since she only has showers in her current house this duck tub will be perfect for her to use with the little one.
