Trauma: Bathtime for Ellie

There is one thing that has literally traumatized Ellie since the first day of her life. She is typically a peaceful and content baby... until bath time rolls around! It is very cold, and I wish I didn't have to shower or change clothes at all, so I can hardly blame her. She also startles constantly the fewer clothes she is wearing; for that reason alone, I am glad she is a fragile little newborn during these winter months. Anyway, bath time goes something like this: I remove layers because I get very warm trying to console her and keep her calm. David prepares the bathwater, and we turn on our little heater so it will be warmer than 50 degrees in the kitchen. I begin the process of removing Ellie's layers. She kind of gets what is coming, I think, and she starts to suck vigorously on her pacifier in a desperate attempt to soothe herself. At some point, however, we have to remove the pacifier and move from the table top to the bath. She now gets calm if I just stand there and hold her head as she lays in the water, but as soon as any movement occurs, she is terrified! After we finish, we get her to the towel as quickly as possible... this is the absolute worst part! Then, I hold her for a little while as she goes into major self-soothing mode. I usually have to wait awhile to get her arms back into her clothes completely because she holds them so closely against her chest. That is why her pink sleeves are floppy and empty in the picture above!