Amelia switched rather ungracefully from two naps to one around 16 months. Her first nap was becoming really short and I knew, based on too much research, that the average child will switch to one nap around 15-18 months. I figured getting the transition out of the way before Baby Number 2 arrives was a good idea, and it has been…mostly.
The only major problem I have had with this transition is shower time, as in, mommy like needs to shower before noon and baby can’t be trusted alone in the house while I am out of commission. This is the plight of the stay at home mom, and probably the working mom as well, a plight I imagine gets more complicated the more kids you have. How does one actually shower with a toddler around?
After asking around when preparing for this inevitability, I discovered moms all have different ways of coping. Some just stick their kids in a baby-proofed room, others still put a toddler in a pack n play, others shower at night, and the truly brave shower with their babes. When Amelia was a wee thing, I’d plop her in a bouncy seat and put it in the bathroom. She’d scream, but at least she couldn’t move. Now all she does is move and I can’t leave her alone because a baby-proofed room still makes me nervous, especially because yesterday she bit her tongue after running into the wall for no particular reason. I don’t think an Amelia-proofed room actually exists. As for a pack n play, she can climb out of those.
My solution has been extensive baby-proofing of the master bath, a yoga mat, and a kiddie laptop. I now remove the toilet paper and garbage can after an impressive TPing incident (doesn’t bode well for high school). We have a see through glass door on the shower, so she spends most of the time banging on it and yelling at me for daring to do something without her. When that doesn’t work, she ignores the play computer I so diligently researched and instead tries on my bra, as a hat or necklace. Then she screams some more and climbs on the toilet. Afterwards, as I try to get dressed, she fights with me for the towel and finds great amusement in poking me where the sun doesn’t shine.
I would shower at night, but have you ever heard the kid’s song by Andy Mason called “My Hair Had a Party Last Night”? If you haven’t, listen to it and you’ll understand why it is the rare curly headed girl who can shower in the evening. So I am left with a not too peaceful but at least functional shower time. This must be the situation for many, if not most, moms. And don’t even get me started on the other bathroom activities moms cannot experience in peace.
Sure, daily showers are a fairly modern convenience and I should be grateful for my water supply, but I can’t help but complain about this little talked about mommy issue. 17 months ago I completely took for granted personal time, so at least this time around I understand what motherhood truly means. It means giving birth to the greatest loves of your life who also happen to be tumors on any private time, but what lovely tumors they are.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes!!!! I have a 23 month old and a 5 month old.. We have a shower curtain in our bathroom which makes it impossible to keep her out! Especially because she loves to bathe. I have to constantly tell her not to come in and she stands there reaching in and ends up soaked. She also crys the whole time. So I’d rather wait to shower when my husband can watch them for 20 mins. I have come to realize how rare a good shower is when you have a toddler.
When my kids were toddlers is when I learned to not just love Barney, but to worship him in all his purple splendor. I could put a Barney DVD on a portable player, sit my child in the bathroom where I could see him or her while I showered and on a good day get at least one leg shaved.
That’s a great idea about a portable DVD player. So far Amelia won’t actually sit still for tv programs, so I have a feeling this wouldn’t work just yet, but she’s still young and I’m holding out hope that someday I can get one leg shaved as well.
The way I deal with the showering problem is twofold: (a) I get up stupidly early just to shower and put on my makeup before my daughter wakes up. This also allows me to eat my breakfast in peace, read the newspaper and maybe even have some time to either do some chores or knit; and (b) if all else fails, I take her in the shower with me. I give her a plastic cup or measuring cup from the kitchen and she plays with the water while I do the necessaries. It makes shaving difficult so sometimes, you just have to live with stubble.
OMG I loved this… earlier I was researching how to shower with a 1 year old. Apparently nobody has actually figured this out. I have resorted to bathing every day with my son. I put him in a bath chair and I do my business. I can actually shave my legs. But a shower is oh so nice. It’s my special treat when Dad is home to watch the boy for 10 mins. Love your blog though so funny