InBath Digital Bath and Room Thermometer

The NHS recommends checking bath water is comfortably warm rather than hot before bathing a baby, and a wrist or elbow test is the traditional method — but a digital thermometer removes the guesswork, especially in the early sleep-deprived weeks when your own sense of "warm enough" isn't reliable. This one floats in the bath and gives a clear digital readout, then can be lifted out and used as a nursery room thermometer between baths.

Compared with cheaper strip-style thermometers that stick to the inside of the bath, the digital version gives a more precise reading and doubles as a room thermometer, which strip thermometers can't do. The trade-off is a AAA battery to replace occasionally and a slightly higher price for what is, functionally, a simple sensor.

It's a small, inexpensive item, but one of the more genuinely reassuring purchases in the newborn bath category — precise enough to trust rather than estimate.