Are you a second time momma wondering how the heck to bathe your baby and toddler together at the same time? Here are 9 proven tips to help make this task a whole lot easier!
Hi friends!
One of the biggest challenges I remember facing when I first brought home my second baby was bath time! As a partner to a night shift worker, this task was all on me and damn – what a struggle!
Looking back, I remember being so nervous and way overthinking it all. You might be in the same boat. I’m here to tell you, don’t worry! You’ve totally got this!
Now, I’m on baby number three now so this is a well conquered challenge for me at this point! Today, I’m going to share with you my best tips I’ve picked up along the way. Here are 9 proven tips to easily bathe your baby and toddler together!
This post is all about the best proven tips to easily bathe a baby and toddler together!
Tips to Easily Bathe Baby and Toddler Together
1. Be Prepared!
The first step to making sure everything goes smoothly is to be prepared! Gather all of your supplies before you even start the water. Anything you may possibly need, grab it now.
A few things you want to make sure you have on ready and on hand are:
- Shampoo/body wash
- A washcloth
- Two towels
- Diapers
- Your phone
Shampoo/body wash
A washcloth
Towels
It’s super important you have everything you could possibly need right by you. The most important rule around bathing a baby in any situation is to never, ever walk away from baby. If you find that you forgot something, always take baby with you!
2. Remember Bath Safety!
After bathing a toddler for so long I found myself becoming a little bit more relaxed about super basic safety measures. The water might be a little deeper, warmer & I might scroll through Instagram for a little.
When it’s just your toddler this is probably totally okay but with a baby involved, you want to be on your A game! No worries, chances are your momma bear instincts are already doing this for you with a new baby.
Here’s a few reminders of bath safety for baby:
- Water depth should be about 2 inches
- The water temperature should be about 100º F
- Always put the toddler in first and take them out last
- Use a non-slip bath mat
- Be distraction free!
Non-Slip Bath Mat
Baby Bath Thermometer
Bath Spout Cover
3. Have Your Toddler Go Potty Before Bath Time!
This tip is super simple and basic but trust me, I forgot to do this too many times!
Have your toddler sit on the potty and try to go while you run the bath. The sound of the water will likely help them get the urge. Encourage them to sit and try even if they’re not fully potty trained.
Doing this will help two things. One, it will lessen the chances of needing to drain the tub from an accident. Two, if your little one is potty trained, it will lessen the chances of them needing to get out mid bath to use the toilet.
Remember, toddlers need to be first in and last out. So if they need to go potty mid bath, take baby out first! You don’t want your toddler to accidentally knock over baby in a rush to get to the potty!
4. Separate the Baby and Toddler!
If you take one piece of advice away from this post, let it be this!
Toddlers are insane, wild, curious creatures. Babies aren’t (yet, at least). I find that toddlers are often super eager to help wash baby and get excited in general to have their new BFF doing something with them. As moms, we love seeing this but it can quickly become dangerous!
So, how do you keep a toddler away from a baby when they’re sharing a bath? This simple tool that you might already have!
KidCo Bath Toy Organizer Storage Basket
Yup, this is a super easy way to keep baby and toddler separated! You already need something to hold bath toys anyway so it might as well be a multi-functional one! Baby on one side, toddler on the other!
5. Bring a Baby Doll For Your Toddler
As just mentioned, toddlers love to feel involved! Especially when it comes to their new, mini best friend and helping mommy!
Every once in a while if your toddler is being extra calm and well behaved, having them help with baby isn’t a horrible idea. It can actually be a great way for them to feel important and needed while bonding with baby! Typically though, if you’re anything like me, we want to go the safe and easy route. Instead of your toddler constantly trying to reach over to wash baby, have them bring a baby of their own!
With my daughter, we did this a lot! We’d wash the babies together. We would talk about what body part we’re washing and how to be gentle. I’d let her use real soap and everything. My son enjoys this too but he’s a bit more rough haha! Still, he gets so excited to be involved!
6. Use a Water Sprayer!
Okay, this one might just be my personal preference. Use a water sprayer – its so much easier!
I think I’ve changed how I wash hair with each kid I’ve had. With my first, I would have her lay down. With my second, I tried to use some cup thing with a lip. This sprayer is by far the easiest way I’ve found!
I absolutely love this little shower head! The water pressure is perfect, its easy to use & has a good battery life. Plus, its adorable! Washing baby’s hair is way easier with this & its a great toy for a toddler.
7. Have Fun Bath Toys!
Speaking of toys, of course you need a few fun ones! Bath time is a great opportunity for sensory play for both your baby and toddler.
Too many bath toys can become overwhelming and counter productive. Having a few, really great toys will be the most beneficial.
Here are a few of our favorites:
(My kiddos overall favorite toy to play with!)
(These have fun holes at the bottom for water play!)
(This is the kids favorite fishing pole toy because the reel actually works and pulls the toys up)
8. Skip the Bubbles!
Ugh, I can’t be the only parent who doesn’t enjoy bubble baths for kids. They’re lots of fun, don’t get me wrong! I love a good bubble beard as much as the next person and I love to see my kids having fun but… ugh.
Bubbles make it so hard for me to see if their hair has been truly washed out. I also hear “mom! Help me find xyz” when they’ve lost a toy covered up by bubbles and need me to do a search and rescue.
With babies in the bath, I mainly try to avoid bubbles for two reasons: One, I worry about baby eating them. I know there’s bigger fish to fry but yuck. Two, the whole hair thing I mentioned earlier. (team: I have hairy babys who always have a full head of hair from day one!) haha
FridaBaby Natural Sleep Bath Bombs
Instead of bubbles, if I want extra sleepy time powers in the kids bath I’ll add half a bath bomb. Don’t go too crazy with baby bombs and definitely don’t use crazy, intense ones. We enjoy these FridaBaby Bath Bombs because they smell super good and make babys skin sooo soft!
9. Keep it Short and Sweet!
Last tip, keep bath time short and sweet! Toddlers have short attention and patience spans and babies get over stimulated and cold pretty fast. Let them play but I find that keeping bath time to a max of 12-15 minutes is way long enough.
Get them out before they lose their shit, trust me.
How to Bathe Your Baby and Toddler Together
Alright, there you have my top 9 tips for bathing your baby and toddler together! Bath time will of course look a little different for everyone depending on your family and household.
So what does bath time with a baby & toddler look like at my house?
- Start the bath & test water temp
- Undress Toddler
- Sit toddler on potty while tub fills up
- Undress baby
- Turn off water at about 2 inches
- Get toddler in the tub
- Put baby in the tub
- Wash baby’s hair, then toddlers hair
- Wash baby’s body, then toddlers body
- Rise hair out one at a time
- Play time for a few minutes
- Pick up bath toys and start draining the tub
- Grab baby, wrap up in a towel and put on diaper
- Set down on soft bath mat
- Help toddler out and wrap up in towel
- Brush teeth and hair while in bathroom
- Hang up towels and head to bedroom for pajamas
That’s it! Some nights are harder than others, of course!
What does your bath time routine with 2 or more look like? Do you have any other tips you’ve picked up along the way? I’d love to hear!
This post was all about 9 best tips to easily bathe a baby and toddler together!
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