Too cold? Too hot? How do you get "just right"?

I'm learning that parenthood, at its very essence, is a series of trials and errors.

Take William's bath last night. My role in bathtime is to run the bathwater in the tub and pick out a clean towel and washcloth for William, while David takes off the baby's clothes and gives him the actual bath (with musical accompaniment, of course). For two nights in a row, David worried aloud that I had run the bathwater too cold. So last night, I turned up the heat a little. I put the little temperature-gauge rubber ducky in the tub and turned on the water.

Well, when the water is too hot, you're supposed to see the word "HOT" appear on the bottom of the rubbery ducky. But I guess I either didn't leave the ducky in the water long enough or just didn't see the warning before giving the bathwater the Larson Seal of Approval.

David plopped the chubby little guy into his tub, only to see William's little face start quivering.

"His eyes, like, popped open, and his poor little lower lip started shaking," said a protective Papa Bear Wyckoff.

I guess it was a bit too hot. David urgently called me into the bathtub and expressed his outrage over the too-warm water. Clutching a wet naked William, he inquired whether I had even glanced at the rubber ducky's bottom and wondered, with great drama, what would happen to his medical license if someone called Child Protective Services on him for giving his child a bath in scalding water.

I swear the water was not scalding! It was just, er, maybe a few degrees too warm. But I'll admit that I have a history of not getting the bathwater the precise right temperature (read back if you don't remember William's first bath in the sink), so I guess maybe David had a teeny-weeny point.

In the meantime, William had made his own point about his discomfort. He peed all over his daddy's shirt while he was waiting for his new bathwater. (Hee hee.)

I sighed and ran some cool water into the tub and swirled it around. I invited Mr. Rubber Ducky to pronounce the water acceptable, then waved the boys back into the water. Order was restored, William got his bath, and all was right with the world.

At least for one night.