Setup for bathing twins

[mikeys_mom]

We tried all sorts of different setups for bathing DS and in the end found that what worked best for us was to use the Daphne bath seat in the regular bathtub. I think we used it in a small plastic tub on the counter for the first month, but after that it was easier to use it in the regular tub.

For the twins, would it make sense to get a second Daphne so that we can bathe both at the same time in the regular tub? DH does most of the baths for the first month while I am recovering from the c/s and he thinks it will be easier to be able to bathe the twins together.

I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this setup, or if there is something that we are not thinking of that will make this a bad idea?

[caheinz]

We have one of the Euro tubs from DS1, and just use it in a big tub for the twins.

For now, we're still doing the twins one at a time. Unless you have two people doing the bathing, it's going to be months before you can safely wash two at once, I would think.

[twowhat?]

Ditto here - I don't think it's totally safe to bathe two infants at once. I also use the Primo Eurotub inside a regular bathtub and bathe one at a time. The baby who is not being bathed gets to lie in the crib watching the crib mobile, or on the floor watching Baby Einstein (hate having to use the TV but when you have twins and one pair of hands, you gotta do what you gotta do). Or, if I have help obviously the baby not being bathed gets entertained by a human.

I've gotten to where I can do lightning-fast baths - 15 minutes per baby, including bath preparation, slathering on lotion (eczema), and getting dressed. It helps to buy a soap foamer, so the baby shampoo is quickly lathered and very easily rinsed off.

[Melaine]

I highly recommend the Eurobath, but like pp, I do not think it's safe to bathe two at once until they are much older. I was able to put TwinA in a bouncey seat, bathe and dress TwinB, then switch off, without ever leaving the bathroom though. That worked pretty well and you can get it down to a very quick science.

[Kindra178]

I just have the blue safety first tub with green foam from ds1. We love it. Here is my setup. While DS1 eats breakfast, I gather the twins' clothes and towels and place on the kitchen counter. We store all the bath necessities in the tub (soap, aquaphor, lotion) and I set up the tub in the sink. I keep two bouncy chairs by my feet - I bathe and dress one while the other sits in the chair. The kitchen counter with an extra towel on it serves as a perfect changing station. The trick is getting prepared beforehand. The whole thing takes about 22 minutes, down from an initial 32 minutes when we started this. I don't look forward to the big tub because that's a lot of unnecessary bending, etc. When we do move into the big tub, I will buy an inflatable tub to put inside the big tub. We loved that with the first. Bath seats scare me a little bit, and it's another thing to clean.

[mikeys_mom]

Hmm, interesting that most people find it unsafe to bathe two at once. I mentioned this to DH and he can't understand why. To clarify, DH will be doing the bathing, but I am in the bathroom with him to pass him stuff and wrap up the baby in a towel post bath. I just can't really bend over the tub post c/s for the first little while.

I think part of the reason he wants to do two at once is because our other 2 kids really loved the bath, even as newborns. He would bathe them and then let them relax in the warm water a bit once they were clean. He figures that if he puts both babies in at once, one can get their bath relaxing time while he is cleaning the other and then switch.

Anyways, he is still pretty insistant that he wants to at least try doing the two at once and then see how it goes. I do not have the strength to argue with him over this right now, so I guess I will just pick up a second Daphne...

Thanks for everyone's input. I will now make sure to "supervise" the whole bathing process carefully to make sure both babies are ok.

[nfowife]

I used a Daphne to bathe my DS in the tub along with DD from about 6 weeks. So I was bathing both kiddos at the same time. I think you could bath both at the same time with the Daphne because they are quite secure in it, especially if you only put a small amount of water in the tub and you are right there. In any case, even if you only bathe one at a time right now, a 2nd daphne will certainly come in handy when the babies are a bit older (around 6w-2m old).