Emma Howard: When a baby is born after nine months of comfortable and warm confinements in the womb, it's obviously difficult to adapt to be in new and much bigger surroundings. So the tummy tub was invented to ease this transition. The benefits have been acknowledged in hospitals and homes throughout the world by doctors, midwives and health visitors.
We have here to talk to us about the tummy tub is Christine Leah who is Managing Director of Tummy Tub, UK and with her, I am pleased to say, is Rachel Blackwell, who is also author of 'Absolute Guide to Parenting' and Rachel has brought her baby Loren (ph) along who is 18 weeks old, and she is going to really test it for us. She is quite used to it, isn't she?
Rachel Blackwell: Yes, yes, she has been bathing in it since she was about two weeks old.
Emma Howard: So really, so it's almost since from birth --
Rachel Blackwell: Yeah.
Emma Howard: And she loves it?
Rachel Blackwell: Absolutely.
Emma Howard: Let's find out a little bit about it. I have seen your catalogs Christine, and I just assumed that it was just a baby bath, a different looking baby bath, but it's more than that.
Christine Leah: Easy to think that but no it was designed not just to be a bathing a bath, but very much to be a reassurance product because bathing is great. Babies do generally want to relax in the bath, but in a conventional bath, the water cools down so quickly, they haven't actually got time to relax.
So the whole point of the tummy tub is really to help them feel relaxed, calm down.
Emma Howard: And in a position that's been used to inside your stomach.
Christine Leah: Absolutely, as you say for nine months, so being in that position, then suddenly come out and be in the big wide world and all the space, it's alien to them. So this takes way that transition a bit --
Emma Howard: So it's almost like a swaddle but in water, is that?
Christine Leah: Yeah and they absolute adore it.
Emma Howard: Well let's put Loren to the test. And I want you to talk more about it but if we lay Loren down, get her undress and tell me a little bit more about the tummy tub.
Christine Leah: Okay, well as you probably know it's developed in Holland. It was really -- a mom is actual using a bucket because some midwife actually said to her, you baby just doesn't like going on its bath, they panic. You are really get stressed about it and she actually brought in a bucket, not ideal because they are not designed as you are aware for actually bathing babies.
Emma Howard: Well I was going to say people will see this. I think that they could use a bucket, why can't they?
Christine Leah: Well because as I said, it just not designed. If you actually use a bucket, the shape isn't quite right. The material won't be right. It's not environmentally friendly. It won't have all the features and benefits that the tummy tub has got and it's just isn't correct.
Emma Howard: What are the features of it? It's very simple thing to me. It looks like a glorified bucket. If you pardon me saying so? So why isn't it -- I am glad. I am just agreed with you. So tell me what are the special features within?
Christine Leah: Well it actually took years to get these special features --
Emma Howard: Two years of development.
Christine Leah: Yeah. It's got the ergonomic hand grips which make it easy for carrying which is really important.
Emma Howard: That's for you, not the baby, isn't it?
Christine Leah: No, no, from the baby's point of view, the smooth edges and it actually rounds down so when the baby sits into the tummy tub, their little bottoms go right away down, it's a feeling as if they are in the mother's womb.
Emma Howard: Right but we will see Loren demonstrate this.
Christine Leah: Absolutely. It's also which, if lifted up, you will see underneath, there is an anti-skid base, like a little rubber ring.
Emma Howard: Oh I see.
Christine Leah: Yeah. That was holding it, so it can be virtually used on any surface which makes it great. If you are going to take it away traveling because babies really love their own little space. Go anywhere, take your tummy tub and your baby will be happy.
Emma Howard: And for all those parents who have very fretful children and they are waken in the night, you know we hear so many stories of parents driving their child round in the car seat in the middle of the night, you can presumably use this at 4 O'clock in the morning to calm your child.
Christine Leah: Absolutely brilliant, that's what -- and that's the main purpose of it, you bathe your baby but babies do get stressed, teething, colic.
Emma Howard: And talking of -- she is looking very happy. Loren, would you like to take a dip for us.
Rachel Blackwell: And what she is taking to doing is standing in it so we just need to --
Emma Howard: So will she sits, first let's have a look. Oh, oh she is smiling. She is very easy being. Well why don't you tell us Rachel how it's been for you? What's your experience of using this with your lovely daughter?
Rachel Blackwell: Well basically, she is a lot calmer. We did try her in the normal bath.
Emma Howard: In the big bath?
Rachel Blackwell: Yes. And you know it's two seconds in there and out and in here she can stay in for a while. So what we normally do is we bathe, either bathe her before or use this method where we bathe her like that. So just to wash her, sorry. But yes, when we get her to sit in here.
Emma Howard: And when she is sitting, I mean, isn't it the crucial part that her knees come up and -- that's the whole point, isn't that?
Rachel Blackwell: I mean she just started doing this.
Emma Howard: And of course, when a child has just learned a new skill, why does she want to bathe? Because you are standing now, you won't show. So you can stand. We don't want you to stand like that.
Rachel Blackwell: We want you to sit in it.
Emma Howard: Oh lovely. Oh lovely, and this is the optimum position, is it?
Christine Leah: Yes, yes. I mean when they are smaller, you actually need slightly more water because ideally up to about 12 weeks, they need to be kept as warm as possible and they really do enjoy it then. But as they get little bit bigger, they don't need quite so much water for obvious reasons. They don't need the same reassurance and also of course splashing starts as well and they really enjoy it. And you will find that because of the buoyancy of the water, their little legs actually seem to get stronger and like Loren, she wants to push, she wants to push down, and stand up in the water.
Emma Howard: So how much life does this have here? Loren is 18 weeks is standing up. I mean for how much longer could she use one of these?
Christine Leah: Well, it was actually designed for babies up to 6 months but to be honest, we have toddlers two-and-a-half and three still sitting in them. I have actually had photographs of, I have got one actually of the - and the lady is a midwife, her two-and-a-half year old little boy likes to sit in it and he holds onto his six week old little sister, at the same time in it, because he insists he must get in it first because it was his home first --
Emma Howard: Well that's toddlers for you. One thing that would concern me is that at some stage, they have got to get used to an open space. So they have got to go in the bath. Then if you have got a toddler, you would like both of your children in the bath together. Do you think perhaps you are protecting them too much with something like this.
Rachel Blackwell: Well I have just been on holiday for two weeks and with -- we didn't take this with us, and she had a bath right normal so --
Emma Howard: So she was fine.
Rachel Blackwell: Yeah.
Christine Leah: They, they adapt so quickly.
Emma Howard: And everyone would be wanted to know how much one of these cost? How much would they save?
Christine Leah: The clear one 18.99 in shops.
Emma Howard: And you say clear one, because of course, next to it, we have got a loverly sparkly pink one --
Christine Leah: Absolutely. We have also a blue sparkle one. That's the --
Rachel Blackwell: See now, she is putting her legs up and everything.
Emma Howard: Oh yes, so this is the classic feet position. I hope we can see this on the camera because she is demonstrating it beautifully for us and she is very happy, very happy. And you think that she can then make the transition, you have seen it has been --
Rachel Blackwell: We have just done it as I said for the last two weeks so --
Emma Howard: And did you ever use it to calm her down?
Rachel Blackwell: Yes.
Emma Howard: You did. So it wasn't just a bath for you?
Rachel Blackwell: No, no.
Emma Howard: Because of one of the things that new parents often say is that they buy all of this equipments, this will be something people will see in a catalogue and they will be saying, do I really need this because we have ended up buying everything, we didn't need all, but your experience is --
Rachel Blackwell: Yeah, put her in that, no matter what time as you set out there, two, three in the morning if she is not feeling relaxed, you can put her in that --
Emma Howard: But you don't want to get into the habit of that of course.
Rachel Blackwell: No.
Emma Howard: That's in the last. So if you've got an emergency, get off her in the night, or she will be up getting you up. Oh look at her hair, she is just loving it, isn't she?
Christine Leah: She wasn't colic bathing, was she?
Rachel Blackwell: No, no.
Emma Howard: Would it health colic?
Christine Leah: Yeah indeed, first of all, the idea would be to massage which really helps and then once they go in the tummy tub, the position really helps to sort of lift the wind and it really does help, a lot of the midwives really do recommended on that basis.
Emma Howard: You had a lot of medical support, hadn't you? Doctors and midwives think that it's a fantastic idea. And of course it's a simple idea, with babies all of the things that have taken of, it's a very simple idea.
Christine Leah: I think the most simple concepts usually are the best, aren't they?
Emma Howard: Yes, it's the old cliché but this is the true one.
Christine Leah: Yeah it is true.
Emma Howard: And just remind because I know that at the end of this, I think people will be thinking well we have got a bucket that's quite big, that's similar to that shape.
Christine Leah: No, it's not so.
Emma Howard: And you are really stressing that there was a big difference.
Christine Leah: Absolutely. I mean this has gone through every safety, everything it should possibly go through, it has a Germany TUV safety certificate. It's been through STR and it is very, very important that it does have all those safety tests and it took two years to develop the tummy tub. It wasn't just a bucket.
Rachel Blackwell: I am trying to putting her in a bucket.
Emma Howard: It's the one real dimension, isn't it?
Christine Leah: Yeah.
Emma Howard: But she is now at 18 weeks, a much bigger baby than a newborn. When she was so much smaller, how did that feel putting her in it?
Rachel Blackwell: Fine, I mean when -- I put her a lot less water in. I mean when I first put her in, I put far too much water and putting her, I saw the level come up but my husband bathes her in this most evenings.
Emma Howard: And feels very comfortable doing it?
Rachel Blackwell: Yeah, yeah sure.
Emma Howard: And of course you have developed it, you have changes it.
Rachel Blackwell: Can I take her out now?
Christine Leah: Yes. We don't her to get cold.
Emma Howard: Oh it's a lovely temperature.
Christine Leah: We see again, less surface area, so the water stays warm for longer. That gives her not just that extra time to actually enjoyed being in there. You are not just bathing your baby, you are giving them a lovely experience as well which is really important.
Emma Howard: Yeah and then in the winter the big tubs bottoms gets cold very quickly.
Christine Leah: Absolutely and I swear by that my nine year old son is actually a really good swimmer because he loved this tummy tub. I am probably totally wrong with of course.
Emma Howard: And love of water starts at here.
Christine Leah: Yeah.
Emma Howard: Just, when I first saw quite sure how it worked because it does lots of different things.
Christine Leah: Yes it does.
Emma Howard: Let me just move, so I can move that out the way, move this in.
Rachel Blackwell: I will just move this over here.
Emma Howard: Thank you very much indeed.
Christine Leah: This is a whole new thing, okay.
Emma Howard: That's the lit, that comes with it.
Christine Leah: Yeah but what it is, it also applied like this, and you have got a little stool that it's really a progression from the tummy tub. You use it as a stand for the tummy tub, if you want to sit on a chair, you can bathe your baby then at knee height. Well that's what it's developed for.
Emma Howard: So, yeah this is a much better height, when -- sitting on the sofa, I could do. I am here --
Christine Leah: Well a lot of people want to do that. A lot of people still love doing it on a the floor which so you have got a choice.
Emma Howard: And they are splashing a lot of course, you -- it's best to probably to be having a sort of big towel or something on the floor.
Christine Leah: Well, yeah, I mean once they start splashing, well that's sort of part of the fun of it, isn't it?
Emma Howard: Oh yes, wonderful. You just want to make sure you are in the right room.
Christine Leah: Absolutely that helps or something good on the floor to help to stop it. But after that, you actually take the tummy tub off. If you could lift that off, it's got a cup in here. That's an attachment cup and that comes off. It's all there nice and firm at the moment. But then you can just put the lit on, and --
Emma Howard: So I can put the lit on, obviously I am swapping the colors around --
Christine Leah: It doesn't matter --
Emma Howard: There you are.
Christine Leah: Very good, switch that down there --
Emma Howard: And that would come lower.
Christine Leah: You can take it down or you can leave it like that. So for child then, as the toddler is growing, can have a seat, then when he wants to clean his teeth, have a wash, use the --
Emma Howard: So it kind of step --
Christine Leah: Absolutely. So step or toe stool and it works really well.
Emma Howard: And have they been very popular, these?
Christine Leah: The tummy tub or the two steps stools?
Emma Howard: You will need two steps stools, because we know how popular tummy tubs have been?
Christine Leah: Absolutely, we have the two step stools in just over a week ago and we sold out.
Emma Howard: So they are very new?
Christine Leah: Yeah, very new but we have just placed a massive order so we got another lorry coming in from January.
Emma Howard: And can you get the them instead of ray of rainbow colors, versus the clear one, the pink one and the blue one?
Christine Leah: Yes, clear, pink and blue but they are all, as you can see, it's translucent because it's really nice to be seeing what your baby is doing from side angle not just from down at all which is important. It's fully propylene so it's all in there and environmentally friendly.
Emma Howard: As indeed to your nappies, you have environmentally friendly nappies also.
Christine Leah: We work with this, we will work with this.
Emma Howard: Yeah it's really good to see it. I think it's the way that we will have to go. It's been fascinating, hasn't your daughter behaved beautifully - and clearly happy - I mean it would have been interesting had you been fretful before and we put her in, and it would have calmed her down. But she is very happy wherever she is.
Rachel Blackwell: She is very lucky, she is very good.
Emma Howard: And from an early age had something when she was more fretful to calm her down, so it has worked for you. And presumably you will be keeping this for your second or third.
Rachel Blackwell: Yes definitely.
Emma Howard: Or handing to friends -- so that it can be passed around and used by everybody.
Rachel Blackwell: Well I would keep it for the next one definitely so --
Emma Howard: So no chance of buying the other -- I have got an eight week old baby. I will have to go, well I can see. Thank you very much for coming into and explaining these. And Loren, that was a smile, thank you and Rachel thank you very much for bringing her in.
Rachel Blackwell: My pleasure.
Emma Howard: She beautifully behaved, lovely.
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