When I found out I was pregnant, both my mum and mother-in-law advised me to invest in a towelling apron they had found useful when bathing their babies. With the arrival of our little bundle, I hadn’t the time to shop around for one so persisted with the towels we had been given. After a few weeks struggling to transfer a slippery baby from bath to changing mat, I was beginning to see their point and decided to invest in the Cuddledry Baby Apron Towel.
This natty product is fairly new on the market and is the brainchild of mums Helen Wooldridge and Polly Marsh who came up with the idea after watching their husbands struggling with their own babies at bathtime.
The apron itself is basically a large towel with a triangle at one corner for the baby’s head and a strap at the top to slip your head through. It is made with unbleached, organic cotton and natural bamboo fibres making it perfectly soft for your baby’s skin. Unlike an apron, it does lack ties to secure around the waist. This means it hangs free and can be a little unwieldy although it does mean the towel is ready to scoop up the baby once on your lap.
At bathtime, I found the apron indispensable. By the end of his dip, my nine-week-old son has usually had enough and is beginning to make his feelings known. This only increases when I lift him out of the bath but with the apron, I was able to put him straight onto my lap and then quickly wrap the towel around him before bringing him up against my chest to comfort him. Once calmed, I could then transfer him to the changing mat for a quick dry down and dress. The neck strap is attached by poppers so it is simple to detach with one hand, freeing yourself from the towel in one swift movement.
As the apron is so luxuriously soft, I did worry it would be difficult to get dry afterwards but happily I found it became almost dry to the touch within minutes. Although the price tag of £24.99 is a little steep for what is essentially just a towel, the difference it makes to bathtimes I believe makes it worth every penny. The Cuddledry apron is available to buy from Mothercare, John Lewis, Harrods, Debenhams and the Cuddledry website www.cuddledry.com. It comes in a range of four colours – oatmeal, natural white, soft pink and soft blue – as well as cute cow print and wild giraffe for £29.99.