Bathing the Girls

In response to one of my friend's comments (Thanks Marie!), here is the story of bathing twins:

1) Bathtub on the Kitchen Counter - 0-1 month
This happened about once a week until they were about a month or two old. Charles would need to be there to help me. I would wash one, and he would get the towel warmed up in the dryer. Then, I would hand the wet one to him and start on the second one, while he got the first one dry. Then I would dry the second one. At this age, they don't get "dirty" in the sense of dirt outside. They just get burp up and milk, and poop all over themselves. Generally, you wipe those up every time with a wet wipey, but you want to make sure to get in all the crevices (the neck is usually a difficult place to get to) with the soap and water, and wash their hair and head.
    The plastic portable tubs were actually quite a pain and I don't recommend people to buy one. First, they tend to leak, especially if they are adjustable as mine was. Second, it was just one more thing to clean. And third, there is not much resale value to them at kid consignment shops (any used cosmetic/bath stuff isn't taken anymore) so it is just one more thing to go into the landfill.

2) Wet Washcloth Bath on the Changing Table - 1-3 months
One of the hardest things for me was always bath time, after Charles went to work. The girls just didn't want to be left alone while I washed one of them. When they were still small, up to about 3 months, I would just get a bucket of water and bring it into the bedroom. I would lay both girls on the changing table cross ways facing me (they were THAT small!). Then I would take a washcloth and dip it into the bucket and give them a washcloth bath. I would sing to them and massage them. They just loved it! And they loved being together.

This picture is of them laying cross-ways on the changing table at 3 months.  Guess who is crying....

3) Bathroom Pedestal Sink - 3-5 months
Eventually, they needed a proper bath so I switched to the bathroom sink. It is a pedestal sink, so the basin was just the right size for their little bodies. Obviously, only one could fit at at time so I had to have a routine. For some reason, I was religious about bathing them every night. I think the routine helped me get into a rhythm, and helped prepare them for bedtime so I kept doing it, even though it was very difficult. This was the routine:
    a) Put one girl into their crib with a toy and black and white book. Turn on the Wizard of Oz Soundtrack    on the Ipod near their crib. For some reason this music soothed them. It was like giving them company while I left the room.
    b) Take the other girl and put her on the changing table. Take off her clothes and diaper.
    c) Bring her to the bathroom where the sink would be set up with a sponge on the bottom of the sink and warm, sudsy water.
    d) Bathe her in the water. This took usually about 10 minutes, if I worked quickly.
    e) It was near the end of the bath and usually after the Munchkin-land Sequence song* was over, that the one left in their crib would begin wailing. And wailing. And wailing. It was very worrisome for me! And yet, no matter what I tried, as long as they were NOT the one being bathed, they would cry. I tried putting one girl in a bouncy seat at my feet in the bathroom, but they would cry because they weren't held, or cry because they couldn't see, and then they would cry when I had to leave the room to take the wet one to the changing table. I tried different toys, songs, distractions. I was just resolved to the fact that the crib was the safest place for a crying baby and they should just be there while I bathed the other one.
    e) So I would bring the wet one to the changing table and lay her crossways. Pick up the wailing one in the crib, and lay her crossways on the changing table. I would dry, lotion and clothe the wet one, undress the dry one, and then switch roles and start it all over again!
   f) This whole process took about 30-45 minutes depending upon my tiredness, their crankiness and any other drama that ensued in the process (poop in a clean pajama anyone?)

This was one of Annabelle (right) and Abby's (left) last baths in the pedestal sink.
 As you can see, they were starting to get too big! They are about 5 months old in these pics.

4) Kitchen Sink - 5 months to 1 year
After they got too big for the pedestal sink, I moved to the kitchen sink. This was easier and harder at the same time. It was easier because they were getting to the point where they could really sit up on their own without falling over, easier because the sink was bigger and I had more space, and it was easier because I had a portable crib set up in the kitchen already for when I was cooking. This allowed them to play in the same room as me, but not crawl over to the stove or eat something they found on the floor without me watching. When it came time for bath, I would put one in the portable crib, and then bathe the other in the kitchen sink. It worked like the crib scenario from the bedroom, but better because the one in the crib could see me! Eventually, I moved from the portable crib to the exer-saucer as the "container" for the other girl. They LOOOOOOVED! the exer-saucer. And I wouldn't really let them play in it during the day, so it was a real treat saved just for bath time, which worked out wonderfully.
    The hard part about bathing them in the kitchen was, it meant that I needed to have all the dishes cleaned and cleared, all the food put away, counters emptied, etc, before bath time. Nowadays, it is just part of the routine and it is done that way easily, but when they were younger, the time between feedings gave me very little time to cook, feed, clean before it was time to feed again. So this was a real press for time. And sometimes I didn't make it; dirty dishes would just be delegated to the counters until a later time.
    Using the porta-crib and exer-saucers worked until the girls started walking at 12 months, and then they  got to the point where they wouldn't hang in the portable crib anymore. Instead, they wanted to wander free. And if Mommy and Sis were by the sink, the other one would cling to my legs and cry to get up to be with the other one. We have a double kitchen sink, so I would wash one in one side while Charles played with the other one. If I was alone, I just squished them into the same side at the same time.

Annabelle, about 1 year of age, is having fun splashing the water into her sister's face. As you can see from these pics, they are getting too big for the kitchen sink and will soon be moved to the big girl tub. 

5) Big Girls Bathtub - 12 months to the present
Once the girls were completely comfortable sitting up on their own without falling over, we moved them into the regular bathtub. Charles bought bath mats that suctioned onto the bottom  (which we still use to this day), to prevent them from slipping. I started out with only about 1-2 inches of water. Just enough to get them wet, but not enough to cover their ears if they fell backwards and were laying down. This helped their confidence when slips did occur (i.e., "I can survive this."), and prevented unnecessary swallowing and choking on water. Getting to the fallen girl was a concern for me, especially, if I was holding another kid in a precarious rinsing position as it would take a moment for me to "right" them before I could get to the other one.
    But the best part about the big girl bathtub was that they could comfortably bathe together!!!! They wouldn't squish each other, and I had space to wash them, and they had space for their toys and to move around and explore around the tub. No more worrying about what one kid was doing (or why they were crying), while I was busy bathing the other!
   The bad part about the big girl bathtub is it is hard on my husband's knees and back. I am now the primary giver of baths, whereas before, we would share the responsibility. I have a little stool that I use so I don't kill my knees.

Big girl bathtub. Annabelle is probably drinking bathwater (her favorite thing to do despite my objections) and Abigail is holding up different animals and asking me to sing songs or make the sounds of the animals.

This one just makes me laugh!

Annabelle trying to lay an egg.

In conclusion, bathing is a cinch now compared to what I was doing before!!! That's my bath story!

In writing this, I realize how much they have always wanted to be together. Even to this day, when one girl wakes up earlier from their nap, they will go straight to the other girls' crib, point and say "Sis?" As if to say, "Isn't she awake yet?" I guess I internally knew this, but I never really realized it until I wrote how much it hurt them to be apart during bath time. And it probably is not just that they were apart from each other, as the one with me was always fine, but the issue was that one girl was always needing to be left alone. Being a twin means that you are NEVER alone! What an epiphany!

* See separate post on the Wizard of Oz, coming soon.