Logistical Question

kelleymel

What do you do with your toddler when you need to shower and they can crawl out of a pack n play or crib? E is too young to safely occupy herself while one of us showers.

I go to boot-camp in the morning and now my wife can't get ready while I am gone - this is making our mornings extra long.

Also, did anyone have kids who were escape artists? E can escape the car seat-belt - and no matter how tight it is, she can sneak out - which is scary and dangerous. She can also escape from the high chair.

SPJ&E

Hm. Maybe a crib tent or something similar?

I used to babysit a boy like that. He escaped everything. I remember one time, looking in the backseat to see him with his arm out of his strap. He would escape shopping cart belts and highchairs. He climbed like a monkey, lol. Never a dull moment with him!

ruedeodeon

I would babyproof the bathroom and get a dorknob lock. We had to do this as our 11 month old is a master escape artist

hopeful2014

I agree about baby proofing and locking her in with you. I'd probably try to set her up with a fun activity and take a lightning fast shower with the shower curtain open a bit so you could watch her

I'm in the midst of a big de-clutter and reorganization of my bedroom, which has become a catch-all for the rest of the house and not at all child-safe. My daughter will listen to direction to some extent so I've been plopping her on my bed (it's against the wall and quite low to the ground, so no major fall risk) with some fun things she typically doesn't get to have otherwise and I've been able to talk her out of going too close to the edge of the bed, reaching for things I don't want her to have, etc. while I'm working on the other side of the room.

One suggestion I've seen for car seat straps and buckles is to button up a shirt over the straps so she can't get to them. That's a tough one and scary!

blkbrd3

We bathe together or I sneak one in after he's asleep. I couldn't and still can't stand the crying that ensues if I hop in the shower alone while he's awake.

By the way, I miss the days of long hot solo showers. I'm sure they'll come again soon.

tinydancer

Id put the baby in shower with you too. and bummer on the crawling out part of the crib/pack n play!!

syoung0204

DW stays home with ours while I work. It's not often she takes a shower during the day, they usually take baths together. But when she does, she puts puzzles and toys in the bathroom to keep her busy and locks the door. She takes lightning fast showers and talks to her the whole time or makes faces through the glass to keep her calm.

merilung

We put Freddie in his high chair and bring it in the bathroom so he can still see us and interact with us.

gprime11

I just put him in the floor of the shower with toys or out in the bathroom
We have door nob locks on all our doors because he gets into and out of everything. He is an escape artist and it's tough, but so cool once I realized he can play on the playground equipment sooner and ride a bike sooner. It has advantages once your past the holy crap how did my 18 mo old get on the roof stage! I did find that allowing safe freedom with ways to challenge his body worked better than containment. He was in a big bed at 18 mo, as well as a big chair at the table. He has a balance board, things to climb on, and we ride bikes daily. He can pedal a bike but they don't make one small enough for him to put his feet down so it's for flat sidewalk only. We built a dirt track with hills and jumps that he uses a strider on, take him snowboarding and to open gym at gymnastics. He's only 27mo. It's a very busy, but fun life, but trying to challenge his body daily has cut down on escaping from the house and climbing everything in sight.

caliejones

I used to have to take the stroller into the shower with me for a while.....gave DD a coloring book and some snacks and that worked for a few times. Eventually I just had to get up before the kids did and shower....it was a bummer cause it was like 5 am but I just had to restructure some of my routines.
Good Luck

Patienceisavirtue

When my spouse is gone for work, I will shower with my little or wait until he goes to bed for the night. I switched to night showering over the last few years though.

If it were the morning, I think I would try to get up and shower before the baby woke up (risky for us!) or try to baby proof the bathroom like others have said!

MNmommas

We utilize the spouse - there's not really any other safe way with two little kids. Since their babyhood, we've always just done our showering/bathing while the other mom was with them, or after they go to sleep at night. But mostly the former.

kelleymel

Hmmmmm. So, clearly we aren't alone lol. Well poop. We can try locking the bathroom. Or we can just be a little later for work I suppose. This in between stage is hard!! Too young for freedom and too old for the things that worked 6 months ago