Product Review

Bathing A Slippery Newborn Is Terrifying. This $35 Tub Made It Less Scary.

Nobody prepares you for the sheer terror of holding a soapy, squirming infant over a tub of water. Here is what actually helped.

I will never forget the first bath we gave our daughter at home. My husband was holding her with both hands like she was a live grenade. I was pouring water over her with a plastic cup, absolutely convinced that at any second she would slip out of his grip and my beautiful newborn would become a tragic story I would have to explain to my mother-in-law. She was crying. We were sweating. The dog was barking at the running water. It was a complete circus.

After that traumatic experience, I decided we needed professional help. By which I mean a proper baby bathtub. I bought three different ones over the course of my daughter's first year, and here is what I learned about each one.

The Contenders At A Glance

• Angelcare Baby Bath Support — $35 — 4.8 stars — 22,000+ reviews on Amazon
• Fisher-Price 4-in-1 Sling 'n Seat Tub — $39 — 4.7 stars — 15,000+ reviews on Amazon
• Skip Hop Moby Baby Bath Tub — $45 — 4.6 stars — 8,000+ reviews on Amazon

Angelcare Baby Bath Support — The Newborn Hero ($35)

The Angelcare looks almost too simple to work. It is basically a plastic frame with a mesh fabric stretched across it. You set it in your regular tub, fill the water to the right level, and lay your baby on the mesh sling. That is it. No buckles, no straps, no complicated assembly.

But the mesh is the genius part. When your baby is lying on it, the mesh cradles them gently and keeps them from sliding. Water drains right through so they are not sitting in a puddle. And because it is a sling design, their head is elevated slightly above the water line. You do not have to hold their head up with one hand while trying to soap them up with the other.

The first bath we took with the Angelcare, I actually cried. Not because it was hard, but because it was so easy. I put my daughter on the mesh, she did not slide anywhere, I had both hands free to wash her, and she actually seemed to enjoy it. She kicked her little legs and splashed and did not scream bloody murder for once. My husband and I looked at each other like, "Wait, this is what bath time is supposed to be like?"

With 22,000 reviews on Amazon and a 4.8-star average, the Angelcare is clearly doing something right. It is also incredibly easy to clean. The mesh dries fast so there is no mildew smell. You can rinse it off in two seconds between baths. And it folds somewhat flat for storage, though honestly I just left it in the tub full-time because it is not in the way.

The only downside is that it is really only useful for the newborn to sitting stage. Once my daughter started sitting up on her own, the mesh sling was not really necessary anymore. That is when I moved to the Fisher-Price.

Fisher-Price 4-in-1 Sling 'n Seat Tub — The Long Haul Winner ($39)

If the Angelcare is the newborn specialist, the Fisher-Price is the multi-tool. This thing has four stages built into one tub: newborn sling, infant seat, toddler seat, and then eventually just a standalone tub. The idea is you buy it once and it grows with your baby from birth to about two years old.

For the newborn phase, it comes with a sling similar to the Angelcare. Not quite as nice in my opinion, but perfectly functional. The sling hooks onto the side of the tub and keeps your baby elevated. It worked fine, but I personally preferred the open feel of the Angelcare for those early months.

Where the Fisher-Price really shines is the toddler stage. Once my daughter could sit up, we removed the sling and she sat in the molded seat. The seat has a little bump between their legs that keeps them from sliding down, which is nice. And the tub itself is deeper than the Angelcare, so there is more water for splashing. She loved it.

At 15,000 reviews with a 4.7-star rating, the Fisher-Price is a well-loved product for good reason. It is sturdy, easy to clean, and the stage system genuinely works. I used it from about five months until she was 18 months old, which is incredible value for $39.

The negatives: it takes up more space. It is a big plastic tub that you have to store somewhere. And the newborn sling is not as good as the Angelcare. If I had to pick just one tub for the whole journey, this would probably be it. But if I could buy two, I would get the Angelcare for the first few months and the Fisher-Price for everything after.

Skip Hop Moby Baby Bath Tub — The Cute One That Did Not Quite Work ($45)

I wanted to love the Skip Hop Moby. I really did. It is shaped like a whale and it is genuinely adorable. The little whale tail as the backrest, the cute spout. It looks like something you would see in a catalog for a nursery that costs more than my rent.

And for the first bath or two, it was great. The whale shape cradles the baby nicely. The built-in foam pad on the backrest is soft. There is a little hook on the side for hanging washcloths, which is a nice touch.

But then our daughter hit about three months and got bigger, and the problems started. The whale shape, while cute, is basically a slippery slope. Literally. As she got heavier and the bath water made everything slick, she started sliding down the whale's back. The foam pad did not provide enough grip, and I found myself having to hold her in place with one hand while washing with the other, which was exactly the problem I was trying to solve by buying a baby bathtub in the first place.

The Moby also holds less water than the other two tubs, so the temperature dropped faster and she got cold quicker. And the plastic used for the whale tail has these little crevices that collect grime. I spent way too much time cleaning mold out of whale tail crevices.

At 8,000 reviews with a 4.6-star average, plenty of people love the Moby. And I get it. For newborns who are not very mobile and do not weigh much yet, it is a perfectly nice tub. But for the price ($45, the most expensive of the three I tried), I expected it to last longer than two months before becoming frustrating.

The Verdict

If you are having a baby or know someone who is, start with the Angelcare Baby Bath Support. It is $35, it works beautifully for the newborn stage, and it will save your sanity during those early weeks when bath time feels like a high-stakes operation.

The Fisher-Price 4-in-1 is the better long-term investment if you only want to buy one tub. It works from birth to toddlerhood and the price per use is basically pennies.

The Skip Hop Moby? It is cute. It photographs well. But I would not buy it again, especially at the highest price point. Save your $45 for a good baby bathrobe instead.

Bath time gets so much easier once your baby can sit up on their own, I promise. You just have to survive the slippery newborn phase first. And a good baby bathtub makes all the difference.

Where To Buy: The Angelcare Baby Bath Support ($35) is available on Amazon with Prime shipping. The Fisher-Price 4-in-1 Sling 'n Seat Tub ($39) and Skip Hop Moby Tub ($45) are also on Amazon.