How long can you use PUJ Tub?

Despite having spent nine months immersed in water, many newborns hate being bathed. The Puj Tub is an innovative bathing support that fits in the sink and snugly cradles the baby, but while it’s a useful product for tiny ones, it’s likely to be quickly outgrown and has room for improvement.

Suitable from birth to around 6 months, the Puj Tub is a flat, spade-shaped contraption made of a soft, flexible, non-slip foam that folds into a seat and snaps into place with magnets. It’s designed to be used in almost any bathroom or kitchen sink and moulds itself to the shape of the basin and to your baby’s body, making her feel calm and secure.   

Bathing your baby in the Puj Tub rather than the bath saves water and also avoids you having to bend over and strain your back. It’s free from PVC and BPA – plastics that have been associated with health problems – and at just an inch thick when unfolded, it’s easy to store and light enough to hang on a hook on the bathroom door. In 2010, it was voted the Number One baby product in America, and now it’s on the market over here.

What we love

When Katie, now 4 months, was newborn, we decided to give her her first bath in the sink. Big mistake. She writhed and screamed and I nearly dropped her on the floor. At that stage, the Puj Tub would have been invaluable, holding her safe and secure in the basin while leaving my hands free to wash her.

The Puj Tub is a truly innovative design. It takes literally a few seconds to assemble, and is just as quick to unfold after use. And while conventional baby baths are a cumbersome nuisance to store, the Puj Tub simply flattens out and can be hung unobtrusively behind the bathroom door or under a bed.

The foam feels lovely – warm and squishy – and is obviously comfortable for babies, as Katie beamed for the entire duration of her bath. It’s a great product for c-section mums, too, allowing you to bathe your baby at hip level rather than having to bend uncomfortably over the bath.

What to watch out for

After battling to give a wriggling, overexcited Katie a wash in the Puj Tub, I admitted defeat and ran her a normal bath instead. While the Puj Tub is a fantastic concept, in reality, there’s a lot of room for improvement. It’s marketed as suitable for up to 6 months or 17lb/7.7kg, but my 13lb 4-month-old baby is already far too big for it. It holds only a small amount of water, and Katie’s body displaces it so much that it overflows – and the overflow holes are above the rim of my standard size bathroom basin. The result? A very wet floor, and not enough water in the Puj Tub to give Katie even the most cursory wash.

Katie’s size also means that when she’s in the Puj Tub, she’s far too close to the taps. She keeps grabbing at them and even trying to chew on them, which makes me anxious in case she accidentally knocks the hot tap on. And while it’s lovely to see her kicking with delight, her feet squeak horribly against the foam of the seat – think fingernails down blackboard.

Rinsing your baby off is a challenge, too. The manufacturers recommend using a separate jug of clean water to pour over your baby, but that means either trying to squeeze a jug between her tummy and the tap to fill it, or getting the water from the bath taps, potentially having to take your eyes off your little one. Using the water in the Puj Tub to rinse her is out of the question – at least at Katie’s age – as there’s simply not enough in there.

Who is the Puj Tub best for?

Newborn babies in homes where space is at a premium.

MadeForMums verdict

The Puj Tub is an innovative product that would be great for bathing a newborn, particularly if you’ve had a caesarean. Light and easy to store, it’s ideal for space-starved families, but don’t expect to get more than a few weeks use out of it, it’s just not big enough to last beyond the newborn stage.