Living with a house full of boys is not a clean job. Tru is pretty self sufficient when it comes to bathing. It is a job when it comes to bathing two messy toddlers. Bath time when the twins were infants took a lot of preparation and time. We bathed them separately. If J was home, he would take the clean baby and do the drying job while I took the next baby and bathed them. If it was just me at home, I would pull the bouncy seats in with me. So while one baby was sitting in his seat I would bathe the other, then drying and dressing that baby in the bathroom, and putting him back in his bouncy. Then start the process all over again while the first baby would watch safely from his bouncy seat. It wasn't a fast ordeal, but it worked. I never felt comfortable with two infants in the bath tub at the same time, even with the the bath seats.
Now that they are a little older, 19 months last week, they take their baths together. I still have to be prepared. Probably now more than before. I collect the supplies. Towel, wash cloth, diapers, lotions, and pajamas. I gather up the twins, herding is a more accurate word for it. Closing the door behind me because one always manages to make a run for it while I'm helping his brother. Once both boys are in the tub I let them play for a couple of minutes before we start washing. They each get a cup to play with, who needs expensive bath toys, right. They have started rinsing themselves off, each other, and sometimes even me. Very rarely do I make it out of a bath time with dry clothes and recently I had a cup of water dumped on my head while washing their hair. I guess he thought he'd help me multitask. The floor is almost always a little wet too. I don't let bath time run too long, I then scrub them down, and once it's over I pull the plug and pull one boy out at a time. Drying and dressing him quickly next to the tub while the other little boy splashes and plays. It's not always an easy task bathing two wiggling toddlers at the same time, but it has been the most efficient.
We do a little double duty during bath time too. I brush their teeth before we bathe them. They both love this because when I finish brushing their teeth they get to practice on their own. They will actually ask to brush their teeth...I'm going to ride that wave as long as possible! It's the perfect time because they are sitting still and we get in their night time teeth brushing out of the way. Bath time can feel like a drudgery. So I try to mix it up with bubbles and bring out the toys when they just wont be still. Then there are those days where I have just sat them both in the tub and rinsed them off just to be finished with it. But my favorite thing about bath time is the time I get with them separately while drying and dressing. Ever since they were infants, I took this time to talk to them and cuddle them one on one. They still have the clean baby smell after bath time,too. It's usually the craziest and loudest right before and during baths. But bath time is also a signal for them and the rest of us that the day is winding down. I had read when Tru was little how important a bedtime routine is, so we always used a bath as the beginning of that routine. By the end of bathing the boys and getting them ready for bed I welcome the bedtime routine. It means a bedtime story, prayers, and hugs. One of the best parts of our day!
