bathing solo (with twins)...advice PLEASE!

Jenn - posted on 01/02/2011

I've always done them at the same time.

Emily - posted on 01/01/2011

I also often do baths alone and have since my now 18 month olds were newborns. I was so scared to start doing the two baths at the same time, but once I figured out a system, it makes life SO much easier. I've been doing the same thing since they were about 10 months - basically undress them both and then bring them into the bathroom so there is no time where they are close to the water when I'm really focused on the other. This did sometimes end up with pee on the floor, but I figured it was easy to clean up and a small price to pay. Before they crawled/walked, I would just sit one on a towel but once they started moving, all bets were off! Once they are in the tub, I just have them sitting on two bathmats which cover the whole bottom of the tub as well as a bit of the back wall, and then have a faucet cover on just in case a head gets near it (Elmo, it's actually a great distraction that they love). I also have lots of bath toys, we sing lots of songs, and for the most part as long as I keep them busy, all is well. Once baths are done, I have two towels ready to go, take one out and wrap them,put them down right away and grab the other. I set up a changing station just outside the bathroom and dress them there. And we are done! There are days, however, that are much more challenging, like when the kids decide they only want to stand in the tub. If that's the case, I figure one day without a full bath won't hurt and let them know if they are standing up, we are done with baths.
I also know people who get into the tub with their kids as they feel they are better able to keep the kids safe that way, but I've never done that, so can't really comment other than you may want to try that as well. Good luck!

Tracy - posted on 12/31/2010

I have been bathing my girls at the same time alone since they were 10 months and could sit reliably in the tub. They are now 14 months and often stand in the tub which used to make me REALLY nervous but no one ever got hurt from falling or slipping in the tub. We have lots of toys (many doubles) so they don't fight. I also have a soft bath mat in the tub. We just started to use bubble bath which they seem to like a lot. Another thing thing that has helped is that they understand and (usually) listen to me when I tell them to "sit on your bum". They learned this expression when they got rocking chairs which they would try to stand in when we first got them.

Liz - posted on 12/23/2010

We do both at the same time. Our b/g twins are two and a half so probably wont be doing so much longer. But we put some water in the tub ( not alot) but enough so they can play a bit and some water toys. We also have a five and a half month old son.

Vicki - posted on 12/22/2010

thanks again guys. have a method down pat now. do t all in bathroom. it gets refined as they are getting older but doing ok. really appreciate all the advice!

Heather - posted on 12/22/2010

I bathe my 1yo b/g twins together and by myself as my hubby works 2nd shift. I do not use any seats and have had success.My bath room is tiny so here's how I go about it. 1st I set their babyproofed bedroom up with a blanket on the floor. I lay out their jammies and onsies, diapers, powder, lotion and qtips(all out of reach of course)
Fill the tub so it is up to their ribs complete with toys and washcloths and towels hanging. After the bath I drain the tub completely, grab one of the babes wrapped in a towel and place them on the blanket in their bedroom and run and grab the other. Lotion them up I go back and forth between the two. I will lotion the torso on one then the other then do arms on one then the other and so on. Going back and forth between the two quickly keeps my lo's occupied and helps make them stay put. Hope this helps. If I had to do one at a time it would take way to long.

Amanda - posted on 12/22/2010

my twins are almost 2 and I have been bathing them together in the tub since about 9 months or so. They are also very active, but LOVE being in the tub and playing with the tub toys. You do have to make sure you are paying close attention to them - mine like to stand up and try to play with the faucets and such, but I just tell them they have to sit down. After they play for a lil while, I wash both of their hair, then bodys. Then I get one out and dried off and dressed while the other one still plays. It seems to work the best and yes, you do get wet from head to toe when you are done with the bath. But I feel its easier to bath them both at the same time. Good Luck!!

Tracy - posted on 11/14/2010

I started out with the seats and such like many others. As soon as they both were good at sitting, they both were in the bath free. I'd use very little water...maybe an inch or so...enough for them to splash and play. Then for rinsing I'd have a cup that I'd turn the water on and off to fill and rinse them that way. As with everyone else, I'd end up wet, so I'd often bath them in either my underwear or a swimming suit that I could throw in the dryer easily! Good Luck...this is one of the bigger challenges!

Amber - posted on 11/14/2010

I'm gunna giving them the luffa's and see if they'll do this.

Marie - posted on 11/13/2010

My girls love playing together in the bathtub. I've bathed them this way since they were able to sit up on their own. Just try it one time putting them in together and encourage them to bath eachother.

Amber - posted on 11/12/2010

have to buckets perfect size and light weight fill just enough wash em up. But mine like showers too 18mos girls now that is wet

Amber - posted on 11/10/2010

Before I purchased the bath seats for my boys I would put one in his crib with some toys while I was bathing the other. Then switch, worked out well for us!

Vicki - posted on 11/09/2010

exactly how I'm doing it. day three now and all ok. still a bit nutty and busy and nervewrackng (what isn't with twins) but glad I posted and got all the advice. don't think I would have done it at this point if I hadn't!

Melissa - posted on 11/09/2010

When I've bathed them at the same time, I would drain the tub after they were finished and get one dressed. I was always worried about one getting cold, so I'd move as quickly as possible. But, the other was always having fun in the tub, still playing even with the water drained.

Christiana - posted on 11/08/2010

I use to bath my twin boys at the same time. Just make sure that you have everything you need including diapers for after. I would bath 1 then let him play then the other. I would take the one I bathed first out first and right on the bathroom floor get him diaper on. Then let him out of the bathroom and get the next. That way your always there for them and as long as things out of the bathroom is where they can't get into while your getting the second one out they'll be fine. You don't really have to diaper the second in the bathroom since you have the one out already. I think we have all gotten very wet doing both at the same time. But it's a little fun too.

Natalie - posted on 11/07/2010

Hi, I used bath seats too when I started bathing them together, but initially I just used to put one of them in their cot with a few toys or books to keep them occupied while I washed and dressed the other, then swap. This gave me peace of mind cause I knew the other was safe in their cot playing.

Cathy - posted on 11/07/2010

My 6yr old twin girls were bathed separately until they could sit up pretty stable. If I had my husband here during bath time. Once they were walking, I have almost always bathed them together. Now that they are 6, I prefer individually mainly b/c they take up more space in the tub now and it cuts down on the fighting, etc. With twins, i've learned...you do what works! LOL....when doing individual bathing when they were younger, I used the exersaucer like you mentioned...put it in front of the door, and then switched them out....like I said...do what works! :-)

Christine - posted on 11/07/2010

My twins are now 7yrs but I still remember (you dont forget when it comes to twins). I would keep the water level very low and bath them together, towels on the floor. Get them out one at a time to be dried off then take them out of the wet room closing the door behind us to deal with later once all dry and dressed

Jill - posted on 11/07/2010

We have 15 month old b/g twins. I bathe them together. There were a few months we separated them when they were learning how water works, tipping, turning over, etc. They were between 8 and 11 months. Now that they have more command of themselves they are back in the tub together. We turn on Sprout with Nina and Star. Awesome education night show mixed with cartoons!!!! I do continue to cue them to sit on their bottoms. I wash from head to toe one and then move to the other. Once finished, I pull one out while the other one plays in the tub, lotion, diaper, then dress. Then I take out the other, grab the clothes and other items I put in a pile and repeat the process with the other in the room where Sprout is already on. The kids love Nina and Star and Chicka, then lose interest when the cartoons come on.

Serree - posted on 11/06/2010

I do both in the bathtub at the same time, but they really enjoy playing and don't try climbing out or anything. I bathe one while the other is playing. When finished I drain the water, pull out one lotion and dry them put on a diaper then put in pack in play near bathroom and then do the other who just sits and plays in the bathtub wrapped up in a towel.

Diane - posted on 11/06/2010

i really glad it worked for you, another tip if it works for you is...when were at home for the day i give them their tea then put them straight in the bath, they get to go in early so can play for longer, i take them both out at the same time, give them a quick dry over in their room, we then have a play and enjoy it cause theres no rush for bed. teddys get talced along with babies lol. mine are both girls so we spend time with the hair dryer (on low) but we have a good hour or so to get ready then they are in theor PJs and we have an hour downstairs with daddy

Vicki - posted on 11/06/2010

success! worked amazingly tonight and yes, so much faster and easier than having them stress me out getting them diapered and dressed and in sleep sacks and then reading, etc for final nite-nite. actually got them to bed a few minutes earlier and since they wake at the same time no matter what (well,my son at least) I am hoping the extra few minutes of sleep will help them be not as cranky as they can get tmrw.

thanks again everyone!

Diane - posted on 11/06/2010

well done vicki, and like you say, there really is no need to bath them each day. enjoy !!

Kerry - posted on 11/05/2010

hi, my twin girls are 2 and half now and ever since they can sit up i put the baby bath tub on the bathroom shower floor or in big bath tub... and fill the little tub up and they both sat in that together facing each other, with a couple of tiny toys and they would love it, and i would sit on the floor and wash them both while in the tub, play little games with them, and before they new it all bathed and if they were not ready to get out i would sit and watch them play so they look forward to bath time, then when they grew out of that, a tiny bit of water at bottom of tub is fine, as i was sitting there the hole time, oohh and i put none slip mats on the bottom so i knew they would not slip, as i didn't want them to feel unsafe,,, and with one of the twins it made the biggest difference, she would not get in if i didn't have the mats down, hope i helped you a little. good luck,

Keryn - posted on 11/05/2010

I used 2 bath seats too. Ones that suctioned to the bottom of the bath. I never had any problems doing it that way.

Kel-Cie - posted on 11/05/2010

Hmm I have always bathed my boys together too, they are 17m now. I fill the tub until it a little under their belly button when they sit down and plop them in one at a time, close the bathroom door, grab the towel, place it over my lap while i sit on the floor beside the tub and watch my boys play. The after about 3 minutes I take a wash cloth, put some baby shampoo on it and scrub one, and rinse out the cloth and rinse the boy off with the cloth. He continues playing while I do the other. Usually James wants out first, as soon as water gets on him face, so I pull him out an into the towel on my lap, dry him off the best I can and he runs around our tiny bathroom trying to get into the toilet until I take Jack out. The naked and all we head to their room where they play with some toys while I put clean laundry away into their drawers and find them something to wear. By this time they are fully dried (and rarely pee) and I diaper and dress them and we head downstairs to play. Hope that helps! I have done it this way for as long as I can remember.

Karen - posted on 11/05/2010

They understand a lot and if mine stand up they get a warning a sweet we don't stand up in the bath. Danger. at that point I wash them quickly and if they stand again they are going out of the tub. Mine are two and they will not stand up in the bath :) always just play while brother is being washed.

Vicki - posted on 11/05/2010

well...THANK YOU everyone! we did it! I figured that if so many of you are/have had success with bathing at same time I might as well give it a shot. granted it was their bday today and my mom and friend were in the room with me but I wouldn't let them do anything. I am surprised at how calm they were. I'm stopping the full bath each night (they are getting a bit dry skin with winter) so just focused on the important parts. I think it will actually be easier when I am completely alone as I'm still going to use the excersaucer to block the area of the bathroom I don't want them getting to. in a way, a small bathroom will make it safer! so tmrw I'll try again alone. If I'm not completely confident then I'll just pull one out and let him/her play with the toys out of the tu but I think it will be fine. I think they might have actually been calmer in the bath together than separately because they weren't always looking over the ledge to see what the other one was doing. thank you so much everyone! now...does anyone have any tips on getting my daughter to stop thinking she is the centre of the universe and chlll a bit :)

Naomi - posted on 11/05/2010

I bathed my boys in the utility sink.. it was perfect.. don't have to stoop.. big enough for them to play a bit. My washer and dryer are next to the sink, so, I had towels, clothes, etc.. ready and waiting right next to me.

Candice - posted on 11/05/2010

It's really funny my twins are 18 months and I still bathe them in the kitchen sink!! My bathroom is sooo small. I've tried both in the tub and it was a major hassle!! The other stats in the exersauser watching sesame street or something like that!! It works out well for me!!!

Catherine - posted on 11/05/2010

That looks nice but it can't be delivered to North America.

Evelyn - posted on 11/05/2010

both at the same time! You will find it actually takes less time than doing them separately. I have b/g twins and they took baths together until they were almost 3. lots of tub toys help :)

Lara - posted on 11/05/2010

Since my twin boys could sit up I have done them both at the same time in the tub and are now 2.5 yrs. Just watch the water level and give them toys to play with. It does get very wet from splashing sometimes, but it is easier to clean up one mess than two. When I decide they are done I dress one right next to the tub and then dress the other. They know the drill pretty well by now.

Jeanine - posted on 11/05/2010

As a single mom I bathed them one at a time up until they could sit up unsupported. I would lie one on the floor next to the tub, clean her up, dress her up, and then switch. Worked beautifully. When I had my son to help me (he was just under 3-1/2 when the girls were born) he would hold them in between his legs so I could wash them up one at a time and then it went even faster. My son was very happy when the babies were clean and in bed because then he could have his bath to himself. As babies the girls never had "splash" baths. I was lucky if I had the time to bathe all three of the kids period. My identical twin girls are now almost 9!

Tanya - posted on 11/05/2010

I've been through several stages of bathing together and bathing seperately based on whether I felt safe with them in at the same time (phase of not sitting well enough / trying to stand up / trying to drown each other in between short periods of bathing together). Whenever I felt the need to bath seperately, I had a travel cot in the next room where I would leave one while I bathed the other. They would still have the same bath-time and use the same water but just one after the other. Actually I quite liked it as it gave me focused one-to-one time with each of them while I knew the other was safe playing (or sometimes screaming!) in the travel cot. Now they are 2y4m and I am currently bathing together during the week and one at a time at the weekend when hubby is home :-)

Sandra - posted on 11/05/2010

mine are 2 and a half years old and they have been in the big bath tub together for well over a year.........we have a bath mat to avoid slipping and at the beginning i only put little water in there............now they have no problem at all and they pretend to swim and some such.........it is just a lot easier to bath them together...........

Marlene - posted on 11/05/2010

I always bathe my 18 month old twins separately. One has Down Syndrome and cannot yet sit up without support, so he needs to be constantly watched that he doesn't slump down. I put the other twin in his crib or a gated off area to play. It's best when another person can keep the other twin entertained though.

Christy - posted on 11/05/2010

I have always put both of my girls in the tub at the same time. I used the plastic bath seats. I also had little bath robes for them. It was quicker and easier to slip the robes on than to haul lotion and clothes into the bathroom. I'd take care of that once they were both out of the tub.

Kristen - posted on 11/05/2010

vicki,
when my boys started drinking whole milk from cups, i would tell them to sit. they learned the word from loving milk and wanting to "sit" everytime i would come to them with a cup of milk. now when they are in the tub and they want to stand, i tell them "remember to sit" or "we SIT in the bathtub" and they sit back down.

they also sell faucet covers on the internet if you're afraid of them conking their heads. we have a frog and my boys always point and wave to it because say "don't touch the froggie!"

Kristen - posted on 11/05/2010

my twins are now 17 months,
but when they were younger i would have one in the swing right in front of the bathroom door, while i bathed one...and then switched.
now that they are older, i just put them both in the tub together. the WHOLE bathroom, including myself gets soaking wet because they love to splash...but it's just water right? i line the floor with old towels before i put them in the tub, and then i let the water start to drain out before i take them out and sing "bye bye water" while i take one out and quick put a diaper on him. then i let the diapered child walk around while i take the other child out and put a diaper on him. it has been working for a while, and although sometimes they are mad that they have to get out of the water, it works like a charm!

Diane - posted on 11/05/2010

aw bless them vicki, they will be fine, my main problem is that one twin has no fear of water and will tip cup fulls over her head and laugh but she thinks she can also do it to her sister but her sister doesnt like it and they start to fight lol

Tina - posted on 11/05/2010

I also bathe them together....just take way too much time to do it separately. My boys are very active too but I somehow manage. They (now 2 1/2) know that I wash them first then it's play time and they keep each other occupied.

Vicki - posted on 11/04/2010

diane I really wish I could. my son is constantly trying to stand in the tub, and my daughter loves to try and 'make out' with the faucet so I keep having to move her away or else she'll bang her head, or she scoots to grab the plug and 'make out' with that! not worried really about slipping, just juggling the two as I swear they must think they are auditioning for cirque de soleil!

Diane - posted on 11/04/2010

do not stress about it, put them both in the bath, as long as they can sit up, have the water level to just over their leg level and stay with them, if they slip you are there to catch them or pick them up, even if they slip ontp their backs they will not go under the water cause its not deep. and out of my twins, the one who slipped the most during early stages of bath time is now the most confident bather !!!

Vicki - posted on 11/04/2010

all you guys that do it together are amazing! seriously! my babies spent two months in italy visiting family and went to the sea often. they are very comfortable in water and have always been active (as in very difficult to deal with in beginning months :)

I give you guys all so much credit for doing them together. I'm pretty confident with most stuff about them (i.e. fall and conk a head and not 'baby' them and get on with it) but I just know there is no way I could get them to both be calm enough together in a tub! kudos to you all for doing it! bath times are stressful but still fun, I just know I don't feel 110% confident in doing it together alone. not yet at least. re: bath seats have been given two and did try one baby to test it out. sucked. must be the seat style.

thanks for all replies, once again! you guys rock!

Diane - posted on 11/04/2010

i always bathed my twins together, initally in 2 bath seats, then one was more sturdy sitting up so she went without a seat while the other still had one. once they were both able to sit with out a seat they were fine, keep the water quite shallow (obviously) and stay next to them. they will be fine.



the smallest of my twins did not come out of her bath seat till after she was1, she could sit up well and all out of water but was not as sturdy in the water, this made it much easier cause i could teach second twin to be steady in water without worrying the other was gonna slip down

CHERYL - posted on 11/04/2010

hi my twins are 16ms. when they were babies i got to baby bath slings(abit like bouncy chairs without the bounce)so they laid comfy on them.then when they started to move more just lyed on the bottom of the bath with a very small amount of water.then moved onto bath chairs until they could climb out. the only time the get washed alone is when im in a hurry and bath them in the kitchen sink.

Vicki - posted on 11/03/2010

cal have searched and searched and not sold in n.amer. too bad. looks great!

Vicki - posted on 11/03/2010

sorry...1st was for liz...2nd was for cheryl. and thanks to all for answering.

Vicki - posted on 11/03/2010

how old are they?