This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with Johnson’s® and Latina Bloggers Connect but all opinions are my own.
Remember when your children were tiny and they depended on you for absolutely everything? Those first couple of years felt like they lasted forever. They were arduous and while down in those trenches of motherhood, I’m pretty sure that every one of us wished them away. Then one day, suddenly, not only could they walk they could run.
But there were good solid bonding moments amongst all that exhaustion and minutia in the early days, only you might not have realized it then. I remember breastfeeding my daughter, every hour and a half in those first weeks. In all honesty, it felt like she never left my breasts. The hours upon hours of staring into the face of that amazing, little person who I’d spent my entire life waiting to meet were so profound. There’s nothing that I wouldn’t have sacrificed.
I remember those first baths. The careful juggling of fragile perfection and praying that I wouldn’t break her in some meaningful way. I held her gaze and her teeny fingers in my hand as I gingerly let the lukewarm water pour over her like sunlight spreading over the world at the beginning of a new day.
Bath time was always a time of bonding with my girls. When they were toddlers, we’d take bubble baths together, blowing the suds around and laughing, chatting together and singing songs. There was no place else that I would have rather been. These moments are where my daughter learned to focus her attention, to grab, to talk and to understand the words I was saying to her.
I can still remember my daughter being 18 months old and being so excited about her night time bath that the Big Guy and I had to spell “B.A.T.H” because if we said the word out loud, she’d be running out of the room, taking her diaper off and making a mad dash for the tub.
Every night, the bathroom would fill with the relaxing scent of baby wash. She’d splash and play as our special bedtime ritual began. After bath time and before reading to her, I’d help her relax by massaging her her tiny little legs and arms with JOHNSON’S® lavender scented baby lotion. After that, she’d climb up into my lap and cuddle into me, while I read her a favorite book or two. The scent of lavender takes me right back to those early days of motherhood.
Once our second daughter came along bath time was two sisters bonding. Squeaks of delight would echo through the house as each sister made the other laugh while they spoke their secret sister language, sharing inside jokes and understandings.
Bath time has always been a special bonding time in our house, a special time when moments turn into memories that last a lifetime. Fresh and clean bath time smells evoke great and powerful emotions of the most precious moments in a baby’s life. Just remember that sweet smell of your precious little one after bath time. Bath time is about #SoMuchMore than just getting clean.
For more than 120 years, JOHNSON’S® has been committed to the happy and healthy development of all babies, pioneering the science and setting global standards in baby skin care by providing products that are formulated and designed with baby in mind.
Because JOHNSON’S® believes in enhancing baby care rituals that unlock and release the full power of the senses, and providing parents an opportunity to nurture baby’s ability to learn, think, love and grow, JOHNSON’S® researchers are now working with external experts to further explore and understand the role of sensorial experiences in happy, healthy baby development.
For updates on this research, follow @JohnsonsBaby on Twitter.
What is your favorite bath time memory with your child?
–
This is a compensated collaboration with Johnson’s® and Latina Bloggers Connect. However, all opinions expressed are my own.
[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]