Showers and bubbles

We have a pretty large standing shower with an adult-height bench. This still is somewhat a novelty to us all, as it’s only been about 3 months since we’ve moved into our new place. Anyway, pretty large means it can fit a family of 3 provided the baby isn’t in the mood to walk around the shower, and it fits either adult and the baby comfortably for a leisurely shower.

That being said, Tristan is one of those children who really delights in things at times, and since he’s so passionate and easy to please, we run with that. Lately he’s been interested in bubbles – soap suds running down the drain, especially. I suppose with a bathtub, there are some tricks to entertaining a baby – bubble bath lasts a while, you can color the water, the fact that you’re chest high in water is also novel. But honestly, I prefer the standing shower (we do also have a regular bathtub in our second bathroom). The tile floor has some traction even with soap, and there’s no body of water for baby’s head to fall down into. He knows how to block the drain and let the water rise a couple of inches, but that takes about three minutes. It feels less dangerous and he’s disciplined enough (read: I have been lucky enough) that he doesn’t mess with the door while we’re mid-shower. All of his bath toys are in there – a turtle scoop to hold the little stuff, a bunch of fist-sized vinyl sea critters, and one of those turtle float-and-roll things. While he is interested in those things, he can be kept happy in the shower for about 40 minutes if additional measures are taken to ensure his entertainment beforehand. Lately, this means providing bubbles frequently. I’ve been going through shampoo and bubble bath like mad, because standing showers sort of explode the soap and then wash it down the drain, leaving baby asking for more. If I’m not fast enough and I leave the soap within reach, he knows how to open it and where to squeeze it, but even if it’s Johnson & Johnson baby stuff, I don’t feel right with him having an open container of soap in hand. We purchased a bathtub battery-operated bubble blower, and he seems somewhat entertained by it so far, but the kid seems to crave more excitement every day.

I’m not exactly complaining here – I’m still amazed and grateful that our showering-together arrangement has continued to work out so far. We’ve made it to almost 15 months without him refusing to bathe and honestly, he’s been excited about every bath we’ve taken to date since we’ve started showering together. (OH! We’ve -also- made it thusfar without him POOPING in the shower or bath – let’s hope that continues to be the case!) I get a full shower every time we bathe – there’s no compromising like there is with a lot of things, such as EATING or resting. For some reason, even when he’s in a crappy mood, tired, hungry, etc., he still loves the “bath” (I call it a bath for him because of the relevant vocabulary factor – they teach the word “bath” to babies, but babies aren’t exactly expected to shower, so that one doesn’t come up as often.)

I am eager for the moment when the realization that certain activities come directly before a bath, so anticipate a bath, kicks in for Tristan. Since he’s still a punkass about his diaper changes (lately, I get a diaper change upon waking up and reluctantly before napping, and any other diaper change, such as a poop after a fresh diaper, is met with Pissed Off Baby Screams.. shouldn’t a Virgo want poop off of him? I’m eager for when he realizes that poopy butts are gross and he should cooperate for a change.. sigh..) anyway, I digress – he still screams because he thinks being put on the changing table for diaper and poop removal are an Evil Diaper Change Out of Turn and screams his little head off. Even after I’ve talked about the bath and given him cues that we’re about to go shower, such as getting out his towel and washcloth and going to turn on the water to warm up. I’m not sure if he doesn’t anticipate more than a couple of seconds or if he’s just so freaked out by diaper changes that are “off-schedule” to him. This doesn’t change whether we bathe daily or manage to fit in one bath that week – yep, gross, but it happens, and the norm is somewhere between those two.

Also, I’m very proud of him for getting good enough to step over the shower door entry that he does it carefully and it’s almost second-nature.

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