Product Review : Clevamama Cleva Bath

Previous to having Tom I didn't have much of opinion on bath mats and probably would have thought I was a right saddo for caring enough to write this. Well, screw you young and not tired Sophie, because here it is!

Not all bath mats are created equal. Up until recently we used a body sized sponge to lay Tom on within our bath for a bath, none of those little baby baths for us! Doing this has given Tom lots of confidence in water, too much confidence some (Mr B) might say. Tom has now started to try and crawl and walk whilst holding on to the edge, whilst in the bath. This is when we decided we needed a decent bath mat. I checked in with my mummy friends and the Clevamama bath mat was highly recommended. I have used it enough times that I feel I can give an honest reflection of its quality. 

I ordered this from Kiddicare and it came the next day, it was £10.99 which pre Tom I would have scoffed at and gone to B&M, but what I liked about this  was its size, which isn't generally available elsewhere. Now, it says it's the full length of the bath and that's not quite true but it's longer than your average and call me a size queen but I'm liking that. The length means Tom has the space to have a wee crawl with less worries about slipping. 

I also really like the texture of the mat, it's a thick rubber but like bubble rubber. So it doesn't feel like a hot water bottle it's softer and squidgier, which is obviously nicer against Tom's skin. 

The mat attaches to the bath by the little round suckers you see in the photo, I'm sure y'all have seen those before so I won't dwell.

You also get the little kneeling pad included. I wouldn't pay extra for it but it's a nice enough addition. The pad is covered in the same squishy rubber and is nice to kneel on but it's hardly shit your pants exciting. 

Overall, I accept that to many this isn't that exciting but if you are dealing with a very active tot at bath time then this really is for you! 

Routine : Work Days

Now I am at work we have quite a strict routine in the mornings just keep it all flowing like a well oiled machine! I used to be able to go with the flow but these days it just isn't practical. The routine is evolving with Toms needs, he used to wake up at 5 for milk and go back to sleep until it was time to get up but now he is sleeping through that so we have had to find time to add a feed in (which is a pain in the arse).

Night before : Put out a tray with Tom and my bowls, spoons, mugs for me and Mr B, sippy cup for Tom and a bottle to make Toms formula for his porridge. I sometimes will go full cray cray and put in tea bags etc. also ensure the kettle is full prior to going to bed so it just has to be flicked on. 

Check bag is ready to go to NanNans : 2 bottles with caps of milk, sun cream, moisturiser, any of his spare clothes belonging to NanNan having been washed and returned.

Have high chair set up and lounge to be baby ready!

Morning : Try to get up at 6:45 and sneak downstairs to flick the kettle on and put down food for Hillary the cat who will be miaowing incessantly. Tom will usually wake up at this point. Go see Tom! Cuddles and then a bum change! Choose clothes for the day, photo for OOTD on Instagram, get dressed into said stylish and fabulously put together outfit (!).  Go downstairs. Tom has a crawl about whilst breakfast is made. We usually each have porridge, Tom loved the Cow & Gate Sunny Start Banana Porridge, followed by a banana (he really loves bananas!). Quick face wash, mousturiser applied for his eczema and teeth clean. This will be followed by breastfeeding a cuddles then he is out the door at 7:30. With the addition of the breastfeeding the times are tighter but we are doing ok at the moment. 

Evening : Mr B picks Tom up around 6, so by the time he is home he is usually crabby and it's time to start bedtime. I'm trying to introduce reading a book whilst Mr B runs his bath, ok so far but I don't think it's established just yet. Mr B baths Tom whilst I get his room ready for bed,jammies out, nappy ready, room dark and grow bag unzipped! We have a special bath song when Tom is getting out the tub, followed by teeth clean. Then Tom is quickly dried and dressed as he usually starts fussing at this point as he wants boob and bed! And that's what he gets! Then we are done!

We have done sleep training with Tom, which was successful but has been messed up a few times with teething or general illness. I think now we have a good balance that if he wakes in the night before 3AM then Mr B will go and settle him without boob (obvs!) but after 3 I conced that he may genuinely want milk and will not settle without it, only getting more awake! We are at a weird point at the moment in which some nights he is sleeping straight through but others he is wide awake at 4AM and wanting to be up for the day (this does not happen, mama can't be doing with that!), let's hope that this phase passes quickly!

Well there it is, our work routine. Was this interesting/helpful? Leave a comment below and let me know!