Messy, messy, messy

A neighbor once commented to me, "Your babies are so clean. You do a great job of keeping them clean." I thanked her for the compliment, but thought it was a strange one - how would they get dirty? I did very little, aside from regular baths and bibs when they ate, to keep them clean. I wondered what babies she was around that were so dirty and what on earth the parents were doing (or neglecting to do) that kept them so dirty. I know now that she was around older babies.

At the time the twins weren't mobile, weren't grabbing onto things, rarely had their hands in their mouths, and weren't eating solids. Now that they are doing all of those things I understand the comment. Now that they grab onto things and bring them to their mouth/face I'm constantly finding things attached to their cheeks (mostly hair, as mentioned before). Also, now that their hands are always in their mouths, they spread the contents of their mouth all over their faces. It is not unusual for them to spit up and spread it everywhere before I can wipe it off.

It is solid food that is the largest culprit though. I mentioned before that it gets everywhere - hands, cheeks, neck, ears, forehead, etc. (as you can see in these pictures. Allie is on the left, Ryan the right). I accidentally dropped some on Allie's foot today and that got spread in a whole new host of places before I could clean it. I also have been trying to figure out why the hair at the base of Allie's neck keeps getting crusty. I assumed it was because she was lying on her back and spit up, but it had never happened until recently. I was completely stumped until today when I realized that her adorable giggles with a full mouth aren't just sending the cereal into her neck folds...since she's in her bouncy seat, the cereal drips back and when she moves her head it cements it into her hair! At least now I understand the need for multiple washes...

I'm doing my best, but I don't know that I would win any awards for keeping them so clean anymore...and I know it will only get worse when they enter the world of colored solids. Sweet potatoes, avacados, and carrots, oh, my, what a mess!