This is not about baby showers.<\/p>\n
Taking showers with Griffin was one of the earliest ways that he and I bonded, and remains one of my favorite ways to hang out with him while getting something useful done at the same time. \u00c2\u00a0I’ve been meaning to write this post for more than a year, since I figure other new parents might want to try this too.<\/p>\n
I remember being afraid of showers when I was a little kid. \u00c2\u00a0Baths were the norm, and showers were scary grown-up things. \u00c2\u00a0I don’t remember when that shifted, but I was definitely still mostly taking baths in elementary school. \u00c2\u00a0When Griffin was born I assumed that this fear was hard-wired, and that was why everyone only talked about giving babies baths. \u00c2\u00a0But Griffin hated baths. \u00c2\u00a0We had the mini tub for him, but it was hard to keep the temperature constant with so little water (and our house was often cold in Oakland). \u00c2\u00a0 When I was in charge of a solo bath it usually end with Griffin crying, my knees hurting, and both of us wet and cold. \u00c2\u00a0Bleh.<\/p>\n
One day in the blurry early weeks of no-sleep, \u00c2\u00a0I was up early with Griffin and he was having a hard time — teething, indigestion, grumpiness, who knows. He was loudly voicing his discontent with the world. \u00c2\u00a0I was tired of walking around the apartment trying to calm him down, and I felt gross, so I brought him into the shower. \u00c2\u00a0 I felt a bit edgy, like, “I wonder if I should check one of the baby books before I do this?” \u00c2\u00a0As usual, I didn’t check the book and decided to experiment. \u00c2\u00a0As soon as Griffin was enveloped in the steam, he stopped crying. \u00c2\u00a0He snuggled up against my shoulder and just lay there quietly. \u00c2\u00a0I let the water splash on him and run down his back. \u00c2\u00a0He seemed happy! \u00c2\u00a0After a while he reached out and tried to grab the spray. \u00c2\u00a0He giggled. \u00c2\u00a0I giggled. \u00c2\u00a0Our morning was transformed.<\/p>\n
That first time neither of us got much of a wash. \u00c2\u00a0I didn’t want to drop him or get soap in his eyes or otherwise ruin the moment. \u00c2\u00a0Pretty soon, however, he and I were taking showers all the time. \u00c2\u00a0In the morning, I would scoop him up and take him in with me. \u00c2\u00a0Often he was happy playing at the back of the tub while I washed. \u00c2\u00a0If I was done with the soap, I would let the tub fill up a bit so he could splash around. \u00c2\u00a0I could get out and get dressed while he continued playing.<\/p>\n
Nowadays, Griffin enjoys real baths too, and we have a bigger tub here so sometimes I join him. \u00c2\u00a0But he and I still take showers together regularly. \u00c2\u00a0I even have a steam-free shower-mirror so that I can shave while he’s playing (he likes watching the shaving cream slide down the drain). \u00c2\u00a0After I’m done, I always pick him up for some snuggle time and we both laugh together as he tries to catch the water and causes it to spray all over. \u00c2\u00a0These happy moments go a long way toward preserving my sanity in the face of toddler moods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This is not about baby showers. Taking showers with Griffin was one of the earliest ways that he and I bonded, and remains one of my favorite ways to hang out with him while getting something useful done at the same time. \u00c2\u00a0I’ve been meaning to write this post for more than a year, since … Continue reading Showers<\/span>