How to: give two babies a bath

When I became pregnant with baby #2 (the one we now call Milo), Whitney scoured the Internets looking for baby advice for me. The best one about bathing a baby (when you have two under two or even two under three) is “Just bathe the dirtiest one.”

We used that tip for a long time. Here are several methods for giving your two little ones a bath that have worked for our friends and readers:

1. Just bathe the dirtier one. One at at time, no big whoop. The big kid can help by handing you supplies or playing nearby (or watching TV). If the little one is not in the tub, a baby seat is a great device. We also had an exersaucer in the bathroom for just such occasions.
2. Little tub. Big tub. My friend Laurie’s two are almost exactly two years apart. When she bathed Big Theo in the large tub, she could also fit Little Zoe’s baby tub inside the tub. This kept Zoe relatively protected from T. (pictured)
   
   

   Z and T in the tubs. Photo credit: Laurie Zee

3. Bath tub ring thing. This handy device is not a substitute for your total vigilance in the bathroom during the Great Wash, but it can be a sub for an extra pair of hands. Baby must be able to sit unassisted and have relatively thin thighs. It worked for Scarlett but not for (thicker-thighed) Milo.

   Whitney says, “I do use the ring for Scarlett. She goes last in, first out (LIFO for the geeks) and we allow Julian to be unsupervised in the tub (bad parents) for long enough to put her diaper on in her room and grab jammies for her. Then she can stand at the side of the tub and watch the rest of his bath.”

4. Big little tub. Now, I’m just talking about your overall bathing philosophy here, but we used a large small tub, AKA Eurobath (same idea as the little blue one but much much larger), from when Holden was just days old until after he turned three. We used this for every bath. This ginormous thing was great until we finally gave way to the “brothers’ bath” (both kids together in the big tub). Nevermind, it’s the same as bathe the dirty kid.
5. Go for it in the big tub. The first time you try to bathe your two little ones in a big tub, you will want help. It will be scary and slippery just like the first time you tried to bathe your infant in a bucket or the kitchen sink. After a few times of practice, you can hand this job off to daddy or even a babysitter without having a panic attack. I promise.

… after all, bathing kids is just something moms do!

Remember to grab your towels in advance and lay out jammies to save yourself some headaches and wetness once the tub(s) drain.