Baby Products

Prince Lionheart WashPod – European Baby Bathtub Review

prince lionheart wash pod

For my first two children, I used the First Years sure comfort newborn to toddler tub. It was OK from about the time they were able to sit up until the time they were big enough for the regular tub, but it wasn’t great for newborns. Like all baby bath tubs, it leaves them splayed out (which most newborns hate) and cold. I heard about “European” tubs like the tummy tub and spa baby and I was intrigued, but couldn’t bring myself to pay $40-$50 for something that looked like a plastic bucket/flower pot. Or, as DH said, a trash can. He said it looked like I was planning to “throw the baby out with the bath water.” Bwahahahaha!

prince lionheart washpod 1

This style bath tub is supposed to be more comfortable & soothing for small babies since they can be covered to their chests in warm water, and are curled up snugly in the fetal position. I did some searching and found the Prince Lionheart WashPod for $24.99. Babies R us had it, but it was online only and not eligible for in-store pickup. Buy Buy Baby had it, but we’re an hour (no traffic) from one. Long story short, hubby ended up just down the road from Buy Buy Baby and got one with a $5 off coupon, so $19.95 plus tax!

prince lionheart washpod 3 back prince lionheart washpod 2 side

Though I haven’t seen the other brands in person to compare, I like this one a lot. It has a wide base, non slip handles, and seems very sturdy (obviously, you would never take your hand off your baby, but it’s nice to know it’s unlikely to tip over if they heave their weight around.)

prince lionheart washpod 4 inside

I love that it comes with a soft, contoured pillow to make it more comfy. I can’t help but wonder how it will hold up over time, but for now we just empty the tub and dry it and the pillow before putting it away (it fits under our bathroom sink.)

prince lionheart washpod 5pillow

It came with instructions in a zillion languages, but I think it is pretty self explanatory!

prince lionheart washpod 6 instructions prince lionheart washpod 7 instructions

It comes with stickers to put on marking the proper water line. The first time you use it, you have to add water, put baby in, then add or remove some until it’s at the right level for your baby. When bath time is over, mark the water level after taking baby out, and you’ll know how high to fill it next time.

prince lionheart washpod 8 water line stickers prince lionheart washpod 9 water line

My first two kids screamed endlessly through baths for months. My little guy screeched and threw his arms out when his feet touched the water (he was startled!) but as soon as he was in, he was perfectly content.

prince lionheart washpod 10

This kid gets crazy red eye with my point & shoot camera. I need to start using DH’s awesome camera, but it’s like 10 MP and the files are huge. Plus, I can just stick mine in the drawer or my pocket, but his fancy schmancy camera is far too big for that.

Anyhoo, I think this would be easiest if you put the wash pod in the kitchen sink and had two adults handy. At this age, babies aren’t really “dirty,” so a tiny squirt of body wash in the tub or on a washcloth, and a few swipes with the washcloth is plenty I think. Just like our old tub, it took a lot of my attention in addition to my constantly holding his head to keep it above water. I don’t think that’s unique to this tub style, it’s just part of bathing a newborn.

prince lionheart washpod 11 prince lionheart washpod 12

So to sum it up, I love this trash can flower pot bucket bath tub, and it was definitely $20 well spent!

FTC compliance: I purchased this item at normal retail prices. I was not asked to write, nor was I compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own.


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Maria
Maria is an aspiring "fit mom" of 3 children, writing about cloth diapers, going green, and her life as a single mom. Maria works with many companies within the cloth diaper industry and beyond, providing social media management, product development, and other services.
6 Comments
  • Schafer
    December 4, 2013 at 8:03 pm
    Reply

    We must be hicks because we just bathed our children in the kitchen sink. They enjoyed every bath, got clean, and we already had one in the house. I don’t understand why people have to reinvent the wheel just because others are willing to shell out the money. A 5 gallon bucket is not a bathtub.

    • jennifer
      September 5, 2015 at 12:58 am
      Reply

      I agree 100% my children when younger at that age was either bather in the kitchen sink with a rag under their bottoms an or in the tub with me till able to sit up on their own an hole their heads up,

  • Elizabeth
    February 9, 2012 at 5:02 pm
    Reply

    We got one of these as a shower gift. We liked it but didn’t use it very long. Our little girl had great head control so didn’t have as much of a problem as you are having. Once she could sit we just used the bathtub. It was funny that everyone called it a trash can as well.

    • February 15, 2012 at 9:58 pm
      Reply

      My daughter had incredible head control but my boys were bobble heads, LOL!

  • Katie S
    February 9, 2012 at 1:10 pm
    Reply

    This style of tub always makes me nervous, I don’t know why! But oh my goodness does your baby boy look adorable in those pictures!! He’s so cute!

    • February 9, 2012 at 2:50 pm
      Reply

      Thanks! 🙂 I’m kinda glad that camera croaked though…DH’s fancy camera takes much nicer photos, sans redeye! I did figure out that it seems to work best to put my hand under his chin. I tried to bathe him on the bathroom counter (easier then leaning over the tub) but I had to stand on a step stool, LOL.

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