I have several hooded towels for my baby boy, Oliver. Some were gifts from family and friends and some were bought along with the weekly shop from Asda. This has given me a wide assortment of colours and types.
** A What? **
Alongside your bath time essentials of baby soap and shampoo and a hand cloth or baby sponge, you are going to need something to wrap baby in when they get out the bath. A normal towel will do, but when you have a tiny newborn you might find that normal towels are too big.
Also, the transition from the warm water of a bath to the cooler air of the bathroom or nursery can result in baby getting a bit chilly. A large proportion of body heat is lost through baby's head, so a hooded towel is an ideal solution to this problem.
They are usually square shaped, about 75cm by 75cm, and have a hood in one corner. Designs and colours vary widely, from plain white to all the colours of the rainbow, to embroidered, to Winnie the Pooh (oh how I hate him so!). Some even have cute faces with little ears poking out on them. They are usually made of 100% cotton, which is soft, breathable, easy to wash - a must with a baby - and tumble drier friendly.
** Where Can I Get Them And How Much Do They Cost? **
There are so many baby towels on the market that finding one for your little bundle shouldn't be too difficult. Try checking the baby clothing section in any large supermarket or in any baby shop. You can even buy them online.
I know that you can definitely find them in Asda and Mothercare, as this is where I got mine. I also got one of mine in Kiddicare, a baby products discount store in Peterborough, who also have a great website with free delivery when you spend over fifty pounds - easy to do when you have kids! It's www.kiddicare.com for anyone who is interested.
Price can vary from a few pounds… my basic Asda ones cost about four or five pounds each… to over a tenner for the more elaborate ones… usually with Winnie the Pooh or friends on them - bleurgh!
** A Quick Tip On How To Use One **
I have a very small bathroom and had nowhere to lay my towel out so that I could lay Oliver on the towel after his bath. This resulted in me getting a bit wet and in Ollie getting a bit cold as I let him drip dry on his way through to the towel in the living room. As I got a bit more confident I realised one day (and it was a real slapping my forehead in amazement at how silly I had been realisation) that if I tucked the hooded bit under my chin and opened up the towel I could reverse Ollie into it and wrap him up whilst I was holding him.
Also, if you put the towel over the radiator while you have your little one in the bath they get a lovely warm snuggley towelled hug off of mummy or daddy ("or granny" as my mum has shouted from behind me). You can also do this with their pyjamas so that they get nice and warm just before bed, just make sure that they are not too hot before using on baby, especially if they have any metal poppers on them.
** So What Are The Negative Points? **
Unfortunately they are pretty small, so they don't tend to last your baby very long. Oliver grew out of them in a few weeks, but he was a very big baby, so I could see them lasting a smaller baby a bit longer than this. This could also be seen as a positive point as struggling with a huge towel when you have a tiny five or six pound baby doesn't sound like my idea of fun.
I have also seen someone mention that they are quite difficult to fold. The hooded bits do make them a little harder to pile up in the airing cupboard, but it's not a huge deal. I found that if you use the hangers with clips on them, that they hang quite nicely in your little ones cupboard.
** What Did I Think? **
After the initial awkward first time parent stage, where I found doing anything with a small baby extremely nerve wracking, I found these towels easy to use (see tip above to avoid forehead slapping moment).
They wash well and keep their shape - the tumble drier has not managed to shrink any of mine yet!
Whilst they do get too small to completely wrap your little one quite quickly, I still use mine… Ollie's legs just tend to hang out the bottom, which gives me the excuse to bang the heating up to the highest it goes.
If you have the money to spare then paying in excess of ten pounds for the fancier towels is fine, and it is nice to receive them as presents - saves getting clothes that you think are horrible or that are too small. Personally I got a few of the less expensive ones from Asda as they all do the same job and I found them better value for money.
There is nothing cuter than seeing your baby all wrapped up in one of these hooded towels!
** Make Your Own **
I am a crafty person - and by this I mean I like to make things, not that I practise magic or am a bit of a con artist - and enjoy making my own bits and pieces. Here is a quick blow-by-blow account of how to make your own hooded baby towel. The best thing about this is that you can make them as big as you like.
You will need:
Ø one towel (the squarer the better) - any colour, preferably cotton as it is soft, washes well and breathes well Ø one square hand cloth - any colour, preferably cotton Ø straight pins Ø sewing machine or needle and strong thread
Before you do any pinning or stitching wash the towel and hand cloth in baby skin friendly washing powder and softener.
The rest is pretty simple. Lay the towel out flat and place the hand cloth on top so that on corner of the towel is aligned with corner of the hand cloth. Pin together with the straight pins. Then stitch the two pieces together with the sewing machine or by hand (keep it neat). Use double stitch so that it holds well and reinforces the seams.
I made my own using a bright red hand cloth and canary yellow towel. I used red thread to stitch them together, which looked very nice. Using some thicker red wool I stitched on a patch that I embroidered myself to hold the spare flap of hand cloth up. It looks very nice, if I may say so myself!
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Ease of cleaning
Very easy to clean
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