The Evolution of Bath Time

I gave the girls their first bath when they were in the NICU.  I am really thankful for having that experience, as it made me ever-so-slightly less PETRIFIED when we bathed them the first time at home.

We continued to bathe the girls in their infant tub for many months, until they could sit up relatively well for a tub bath.

For a very long time, I got in the tub with the girls.  They bathed in our master bathroom, in our big jetted tub.  It was far too deep and wide for me to manage bathing even one baby from outside the tub, so we made it a family event.

I would bathe with one baby, while the other sat in the bouncy seat in the bathroom.  Then we'd switch for Round 2.

After the girls' first birthday, I decided we could all pile in the tub.  It was a bit crowded, but it was certainly more efficient.

At some point during the girls' second year of life, I decided that bath time would be a great opportunity for one-on-one time.  For a long time after that, I would get one kiddo squeaky clean, while Daddy played with the other...and then we'd switch.

After the girls' second birthday, I finally discovered that I could sit on the side of the tub, with just my feet in the water, and wash them well enough.  We continued in that manner until we moved into our new house.  (I distinctly remember becoming very expeditious with bath time when the girls took swimming lessons at 3 1/2.  Our lessons were at 3:30, making it 4:30 by the time we got home, which was pushing suppertime.  At least for those few weeks, we dispensed with bath toys and got straight down to business.)

When we moved in October, the girls were thrilled to finally have their own bathroom.  Although their tub was a much smaller, standard size, they loved their baths...and Mommy finally was able to manage hair washing from the {relative} comfort of the floor mat...no more wet toes for me!

Then...a couple of weeks ago...I asked the girls if they'd like to try my big walk-in shower.  I didn't know how they would react, as the last time we got out the sprinkler in the backyard, only one of them was was game for being squirted.

THEY LOVED IT!!!

The body sprays are right at the level of their heads, so those work well for washing their hair.  And they have a blast sloshing around in the "rain".

B cracks me up!!!  She looks like she's really relaxing from a long day of play.

Mommy is back in the mix, though, at least for the hair washing.  That's OK, though...it's an easy in and out for all of us.

I love thinking back through the progression of bath time...but it's just another reminder...my BABIES are growing up!  At least they're still all about hooded bath towels.  No matter how "grown up" they are, they're still my tiny babes in fluffy animal get-ups.

(At 13 months, they got butterfly and duck towels...we've progressed to owls and frogs, but the cuteness factor hasn't changed a bit.)