How does anyone take a shower?

[mrs.t]

I'm just curious, when do you take showers and what do you do with your DC if there is no one else home? My DH is working more lately and I have a hard time waiting for him to be home. I do not feel comfortable leaving my 6 mo DS to take a shower, am I being paranoid?

[sunnygir1]

I showered when my lo was sleeping safely in the crib, or I would put the baby in the bouncy seat or saucer in the bathroom with me...sometimes they cried, but usually I could keep them happy playing peek-a-boo with the shower curtain.

[ErinYay]

I was really lucky when V was still immobile- she was very happy to hang out by herself in the swing, in her cosleeper, in a bouncy- wherever, really. We also showed together a lot before she could sit well- I'd wash myself and do my hair and shave with her in the bouncy seat, then she'd come in with me, in-arms.

We bought a house when she was 6 months, and set up a little alcove off the living room as a 100% baby-proofed playroom, which has been a GODSEND, as she's still happy to play in there by herself while I do baby-unfriendly things. The bathroom is also reasonably baby-proofed, so before she was standing alone and walking, I could shower while she played in there. Once we get a toilet-lock thing, she can play in there again, but for now I usually have her in the tub with me while I shower.

As long as the baby has somewhere safe to be, there is no harm in leaving them for 10 minutes. Yes, sometimes they'll cry, but most often it's just fine.

[mpprincess]

I put my little guy in his car seat on the bathroom floor. Usually he was sleeping and the sound of the water soothed him.

When he got bigger I stuck him in his Bumbo in the shower with me. He thought it was great fun. Once he was sitting well I put a hand towel in the bottom of the bath and sat him on that (to help with slippage), gave him some bath toys...tah dah, happy baby, clean momma.

You could always set up the good ol' play pen with some safe toys and plug a monitor in you bathroom so you can hear the baby.

I just liked taking a shower with him since it killed two birds with one stone and he thought it was fun....as long as I aimed the shower head toward the wall LOL.

Try a baby and a toddler....that gets more fun.

[blumooned]

When DS was really little, he sat in the bouncy chair on the floor of the bathroom. I gave him toys to play with that made noise or music to distract him & showered pretty quickly.
When he outgrew the bouncy chair, I put his tub in the big tub (on the side opposite the shower), gave him toys & a little water, and showered with him in there. I aimed the shower away from him so he didn't get sprayed too much. He got a bath while I showered.
Now, he's outgrown his tub, so we do the same thing but he is seated on a little bath mat on the floor of the regular tub. He loves it. He's always liked playing in water, so that helps!

[Lauren31]

I sometimes set her infant/toddler bathtub up next to the shower (we have glass doors so I can see through to her) and have her play in there with toys (no water of course! She is in her clothes). Or I put her in the pack n play with some toys.

[sunsetdancer]

I took a shower while the baby is sleeping. It is more difficult as the baby gets older and when you have more than one child, but it's still doable. The other option would be to get up early and get a shower but thats not something I do very often b/c I like my sleep.

[Blessed1]

Funny...my daughter is almost 4months and I took a shower today for the first time with no one else home to watch her! lol
After she woke up from her nap, I fed her and changed her diaper and immediatly put her in her swing (I put the swing in the bathroom with me). She was happy so I had a feeling it would go good. I occasionally peeked out and I talked to her the whole time. I kept telling her what I was doing (putting shampoo in my hair, rinsing off...). It was a big accomplishment for us both! lol

You can do it! Just give it a try.

My fear was that she would start screaming and I would have to rush out with soap everywhere just to stop her from crying.

[MJB]

I would do the baby bath in the tub while I showered, or a bouncy seat/carseat outside the tub, or baby in my water sling. This time around, my husband works from home so I am just spoiled.

[Nicole730]

I've done all sorts of things. At 6 months you could use an exersaucer, high chair, or even just put baby on the floor in the bathroom and keep checking to make sure he is okay. I don't tend to take showers while the kids are sleeping, even if it's just 10 minutes, I like to know they are okay. I agree with PP though, wait until you have a baby and a toddler and the toddler does not want to go in the shower with you anymore. Gets a bit tougher.

[Friday13th]

With DS1 I just used a bouncy seat in the bathroom until he was sitting up and then a jumper in the bathroom doorway, then a fully childproofed bedroom.

Now DS2 is in the bouncy seat and DS1 doesn't want to be left out so he comes in the bathroom too....it's a little cramped and I occasionally have to reach out of the shower to wipe DS1's butt on the potty

I shower first thing in the morning when everyone's in a good mood and, maybe I'm just lucky, but have never had to deal with much crying. However, I'd still rather they cry in the bathroom with me then try to shower while they're sleeping, for some reason that really stresses me out.

[Knitting Mama]

Early on when Cecilia only slept on me, I showered when my husband was home so he could cuddle her. Or, we would all three shower together. Then she started sleeping in her swing around 2 months old, so I would shower while she slept, or all together. Now I do a mix of showering while she sleeps, showering as a family, and putting her in the Bumbo on the floor of the shower. She thinks that's great fun!

[Abraisme]

Before my DD was sitting up I would set her in a bouncy seat on the floor in the bathroom. Once she was sitting I would again put her on the floor with some toys. Now at 14mo she usually showers with me and then takes a bath once I'm done (it allows me time to get ready).

[Anastasiya]

I have one of those big bucket things - an 18 gallon rope tub - I put baby in once he can sit. The bucket sits at one end of the tub with him in it, and I'm showering at the other end.

Early on, the bucket is empty with a few toys, and later I fill it with some water so he bathes while I shower. We love it.

When the babes are real tiny, they are in bouncy seats in the bathroom.

[candycat]

I took baths, not showers, and babies came in the tub with me. (Well, for everything but washing hair anyway.) Toddlers have private playtime in their rooms - I give them a cup of water and take down some special toys which they only get to play with during private time. I rotate them. Then I close the door (they're within earshot) and take a bath. Or whatever else has to be done; as long as I keep it under about 20 minutes they're good. If they need something they'll call me, otherwise they're usually good to go, as long as I've spent some time with them. (Like if we're just back from a walk, or if we had all done an activity together.)

[Ambystoma]

Baby tub in the shower or a water sling. Both work well and easy.

[savithny]

I would usually get up with DH, since I was going to be up with the baby anyway. I'd nurse baby while DH showered, and then hand the content baby to DH and go take a shower before he headed to work. I've got a really adorable picture of DH in his bathrobe, with a towel around his neck, sitting reading with DS curled up in the crook of his arm ....

(that's before I headed back to work myself. When I went back to work, DH and I were splitting shifts, so I'd get up before baby woke up, shower, nurse baby and then tuck him into our bed with DH. They'd sleep another hour after I left for the bus and then get up).

[mrs.t]

Ok, now that so many people have responded I guess I'll give more info:

1. DS is crawling, so I can't put him on the bathroom floor because there are too many things he can bang his head on (he will crawl straight into things) like the pedestal sink, toilet, etc. so that's not an option.

2. He sleeps on our bed, and I can't really leave him for long enough to take a shower because if he wakes up, he starts crawling on the bed.

3. I could try bringing him in there with me, but I guess I would have to put him in his baby tub, and he would have to be cool with laying there the whole time. The bumbo is no good anymore, he arches his back and tries to get out of it, which is just too scary on tile. Maybe the rope tub thing would work.

4. I don't have an exersaucer. I could try the playpen...I guess I could just move it closer to the bathroom and leave the door open. My bathroom is SMALL so I can't fit anything in there like a swing.

I guess my biggest fear is not him crying, but him moving/falling/bumping his head, particularly in the bathroom because it's just hard surfaces everywhere! He's really super independent and active, so the idea of him sitting nicely does not apply!

I wish I had a tub! Then he would come in there and take a bath with me, but we only have a large shower.

[treeoflife3]

I showered when kiddo was sleep or with her in her bouncy seat when she was real little. A little older and I'd set her on the floor with toys. Once she was big enough to hang out in the tub I took her in WITH me.. this was around 14 months maybe, but I wish I had done it a lot sooner. it would have been much easier for both of us.

ETA: I'd just set him up in the playpen. My bathroom is really small too so I understand. He'll be in a safe environment and you can hear him in case something happens.

[Tattooed Hand]

Originally Posted by mrs.t

Ok, now that so many people have responded I guess I'll give more info:

1. DS is crawling, so I can't put him on the bathroom floor because there are too many things he can bang his head on (he will crawl straight into things) like the pedestal sink, toilet, etc. so that's not an option.

2. He sleeps on our bed, and I can't really leave him for long enough to take a shower because if he wakes up, he starts crawling on the bed.

3. I could try bringing him in there with me, but I guess I would have to put him in his baby tub, and he would have to be cool with laying there the whole time. The bumbo is no good anymore, he arches his back and tries to get out of it, which is just too scary on tile. Maybe the rope tub thing would work.

4. I don't have an exersaucer. I could try the playpen...I guess I could just move it closer to the bathroom and leave the door open. My bathroom is SMALL so I can't fit anything in there like a swing.

I guess my biggest fear is not him crying, but him moving/falling/bumping his head, particularly in the bathroom because it's just hard surfaces everywhere! He's really super independent and active, so the idea of him sitting nicely does not apply!

I wish I had a tub! Then he would come in there and take a bath with me, but we only have a large shower.

Yeah, once DD was mobile and stopped putting up with even short stints in the bouncy seat, I just CAN'T take a shower until DH is home. So I do it late at night or early in the morning. I figure this too is just a phase and soon enough this will become easy once more, while something else becomes hard...