Bathing Grace was a process that evolved over time. She started with a little chair in the kitchen sink. As she quickly grew longer, we used a special medical bath seat in our bath tub with lots of bubbles. Next, Alysia and I took turns holding Grace in the tub, again with lots of bubbles, while the other washed her. Generally Grace enjoyed going to the “spa” as Alysia called it. When she was more irritable or seizure prone, I gave her a bed bath in her crib. While I was washing her I’d tell her each part I was washing and tell her how clean she was getting.

Initially washing Grace’s hair had been my job but Alysia fell in love with it and insisted on doing it. She would tell Grace, “We’re going to the spa. It’s your favorite place and you are our favorite client.” We would make sure the suction machine and oxygen were close by. I would sit in a chair and hold Grace’s head over the tub. Alysia would rinse, then wash, and then rinse again telling Grace each step of the way what she was doing. Grace really seemed to love having her hair washed. She would be very relaxed and seemed very content and comfortable afterward. When we were finished rinsing her I’d gently bring her into the bedroom where Alysia would turn on some fun music and put lotion on Grace.