Baby Ice Bath
This past weekend was a big running weekend for me. I participated in the MARSOC Run The Beach 8K on Saturday with my Stroller Warriors. Then I convinced two of my friends (who also ran the race with me) to join me on my 9 mile run Sunday morning. We had a lot of fun running but as you can guess my legs were tired by the end of it all. A common practice in the running world is to do ice baths after long runs. Ice baths, while they sound crazy, are the easiest way to ice your joints and muscles which helps to prevent injuries.
The first time I did an ice bath I got two bags of ice and put them in the bath tub with cool water. I then sat in the ice for ten minutes. This time I decided to forgo the trip to the C-Store and see how I did with a home made ice bath. I filled the bath tub with cool water and then dumped in all of the ice from my freezer.
With Garrett gone I didn’t have anyone to watch Nora so she hung out on the side of the tub while I got in the ice bath. She immediately started screaming and wanted to get in. It made me laugh because I was thinking she really must not understand the change in temperature. She thinks I’m having a regular warm bath and this is anything but that! She kept fussing to get in and began climbing the bathtub wall in an attempt to get in the tub. I quickly tired of getting her off the wall without letting her fall and decided to let her put her toes in. I figured the shock of the cold water would teach her a lesson and she wouldn’t be able to get out fast enough.
So I dipped Nora’s toes in the water and then set her outside of the bathtub. She started SCREAMING and frantically trying to throw herself over the tub head first into the water. So I thought maybe she just hadn’t been in long enough to feel the coldness. So I put her back in the water and let her stand there for a minute. No crying, no fussing, she just smiled and stared intently at the ice cubes that were floating around.
I put her out of the tub and again SCREAMING to the max. So I took off her clothes and just let her hangout in the bathtub with me. She loved it and chased the ice cubes all over the place. I told a friend of mine this story and she told me her mom used to buy different shapes of ice cube trays to make ice toys. She said she and her siblings loved it and she planned on doing it with her kids. After seeing how much Nora loved it I think I’m going to give it a try! And Brooke, ice cubes might be a solution to your bath time terrors!
…just don’t forget that ice can pose a choking hazard, so keep a close eye on baby!
Would you put ice in a bath with your baby?
