Takin a Shower

Updated on March 18, 2011
M.R. asks from Fort Lauderdale, FL
24 answers

I was wondering what everyone does with their kids while they shower.

My husband travels a lot and works long hours when he is home so most days I can't count on him being around for me to shower (unless I get up way early). I usually try to shower while my 2 year old is napping, but I still have my 7 month to deal with. She is now crawling so I don't know what to do with her. If I put her in her crib she cries and wakes up her sister. I've thought about the exersaucer/playyard in the bathroom, but would have to carry it upstairs, plus the baby. I used to just put my older daughter in the shower with me but we moved and our new shower is TINY and there is nowhere to put the baby where she won't drown! Stumped on this one.

What do you mommies do with your crawlers while you shower?

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H.V.

answers from Cleveland on

Ah i miss the days of shower whenever i felt like it lol
I have a 2 1/2 yo and a 6 month old.
I either take my showers at night, while the babies are sleeping.
or while my older son naps, I put my lil girl in her chair in the bathroom with me while I shower.
Sometimes I shower with my babies too
Or I bring them both in the bathroom. My DS sits in her chair while my son organizes the bottles of lotion in the cabinets lol

1 mom found this helpful

T.L.

answers from St. Louis on

Haha. I had this problem on Satuday with my 7 month old. He LOVES to get in the bathtub. We usually put his bouncy seat in the bathroom and stap him in for showers, but this time it didn't work and he screamed his head off. So since we have shower doors I left the back one open and he pulled himself up and held on to the side of the tub while I showered. He kept poking his head in and I could see him the entire time. He is so in love with the bath tub that he never moved the entire 15 min I was in the shower. I froze, but it was a win win solution for the both of us.

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T.O.

answers from Jacksonville on

Playpen. I would put my littliest one at that age in the playpen in my room with toys. My oldest was 4yrs and would watch one of her shows or play on her own.

Now school has started for my oldest and i take my shower before both of them wake up. I also sometimes shower after they go to bed, as it is my relaxing time.

NOw my girls are 19months and 5yrs. I put the younger one in the crib with toys if i need to shower while they are awake.

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M.K.

answers from Stationed Overseas on

In a pack-n-play with a bunch of toys. Or you could shower at night after the kids are asleep.

2 moms found this helpful

M.P.

answers from Provo on

30 min showers are the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!! My son would cry so much if I wasn't holding him all the time, finally what I did was take our little bath tub, fill it with water and let him take a bath at the same time as me! HE LOVED it!! I had to clean up 90% of the water that was in the tub, but hey! I got my long shower, but I could keep an eye on him too.
But now a days I just shower at night so that I can spend the night pampering myself! It's so nice. Although I do jump in for a few minutes to wet my hair down and wash my face. It's easier to do that than wash my face and wet my hair down in the sink.

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T.B.

answers from Miami on

I take a shower at night before going to bed. The thought of crawling into a clean bed with a dirty body is absolutely disgusting to me. Do your children stay up at all hours of the day and night that you cannot take a relaxing shower at night when everyone is asleep???

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B.A.

answers from Tampa on

I usually shower after the kids are in bed for the night or at nap time. But my kids have all always napped at the same time.

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S.S.

answers from Miami on

I put all my kids right on the floor and gave them "special" toys/containers that they were thrilled with. I closed the bathroom door and the toilet. They crawled around, chewed on stuff, opened and closed the cabinets and sometimes just cried till I got out. It's only 2-3 minutes so just make it a fun time for them. I would also peek out the shower door to check on them and they were always fine while listening to my voice as well.

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M.M.

answers from Dallas on

It was never an issue for me. I either put them in a bouncy seat on the bathroom floor or put them in the shower with me. Since you can't put her in the shower, just put her in something in the bathroom while you are showering, even if it is the carseat. Yes you will have to cary something up to the BR, but that is just part of it if you want to take a shower.

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J.K.

answers from Gainesville on

I just let the baby crawl around on the bathroom floor and close the door so she can't get out. Or if you have an upstairs baby gate and you trust it, let her crawl around. What can she get into in 5-10 minutes? She'll probably want to stay near you anyway. You can shower while they're both awake and let them run around; it's 5-10 minutes and if your place is babyproofed enough it should be fine. I read the other responses and wow, I'm a lot less stringent than a lot of people. I take quick showers and when they were that age they liked to be in the bathroom with me. My son (now almost 2) thinks it's funny to throw the toys in the bathtub around the curtain, and my daughter when she was 3 thought it was funny to press the clammy shower curtain against me. Now she's 4 and he's almost 2 and I put the dogs out and take a quick shower and they're fine. I make sure they're occupied cooperatively but that's about it. You know your kids; you know if this will work.

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H.N.

answers from Tampa on

LOL! If nothing is going on I shower at night after they go to bed-Otherwise a playpen or excersaucer is a good idea with some fun toys!

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J.L.

answers from Chicago on

I always got up early with DH to shower....If I didn't we have a pack n' play in our room and I put my 14 month old in there just for 20 minutes until I can finish my business and throw some clothes on.

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E.G.

answers from Jackson on

HA HA so funny you asked. Saturday while I was taking a quick shower. I leave her on the floor with toys. She gets up and pulls the curtin back. I try and shut it. She pulls back. By the time I was done she was soaking wet and so was the floor. She loves the water and thought it was a fun game to open the curtin!

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T.R.

answers from Orlando on

when my daughter was that age, I used a bouncy seat. The one I had came off of a swing, one of those 2 in 1 deals, so it had a tray that snapped down and was pretty secure, sometimes I gave her a little toy too. She liked being in the bathroom with me where I could shower and still talk to her and see her, and I got my shower everyday! Yay! So, try a bouncy, it's easy to carry upstairs! :)

D.R.

answers from San Luis Obispo on

Wow 20 minutes? That seems pretty long. If there is no way to plan your shower when your child is sleeping which I pretty much think would be the answer....to change the time you take your shower!! I used to jump in the shower for a quick 2 MINUTE shower...(With the door open so you can always have that one ear listening) While my babies were in their swing or if older and they could stand up etc...I would keep them in their cribs where they were safe... washing your hair or shaving your legs or anything that takes extra time needs to be planned around bed or naptime!
I agree with Grandma T if they are safe, and they cry oh well as long as you have the door open or are quick about it but I still say even 5 minutes is too long. WE need to rearrange our schedules to keep our babies safe until they are old enough to sit in front of a video and you can sneak off for a couple minutes to shower but I changed my schedule to shower when my babies were fast asleep. Better safe than clean and sorry!

By the way Shaun.... I take 30 minute showers or baths too but I'd much rather take them when I know I can relax and my kidlets or safe. ;D

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M.R.

answers from Boca Raton on

Is your bathroom "baby proof"? I have a single mom friend who would just shut her son in the bathroom with her and let him play on the floor while she showered. You could bring in some toys, etc. And you are right there to keep an eye on little one and he/she will no you are close. Of course, it might require a little extra effort to keep the bathroom clean enough for you to be comfortable with the idea. And you might have to get one of those toilet seat "locks" to keep the baby from pulling up and playing in the water once that becomes an issue. ;)

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K.H.

answers from Tampa on

Ha ha ha! You can put her in the exersaucer is great or play pen. She does not need to be in front of you all the time and your showers need not to be 30min. long. Baby will be ok for a few minutes. I used to put my son in the bathtub with toys but no water while I showered. I could see him and it was so cute. Otherwise, I would leave him in the crib where he is safe and comfortable.

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A.D.

answers from Dallas on

Shower at night. Safest time to do it. Anything can happen once you lay eyes off your children, so don't risk it.

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R.S.

answers from Lakeland on

We got baby gates and had a child safe area and Baby Einstein was great. Because it is ever changing it kept both my son and daugters attention. I showered while he took a nap and she would watch it was a great 20 minutes atleast. Stick her in the exersaucer, give her a kiss and go. And if my son woke up I would find him standing at the baby gate watching too. Mine are now 4 & 7. It also seemed to teach them both not to cry the second they lost sight of me. Good Luck!!!

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K.P.

answers from New York on

I shower at night. I used to think that I needed to shower in the morning, but it's actually a much more relaxing activity at night b/c I'm not rushing and can take the time to shower, relax, lotion, whatever w/o worrying about "who is where and doing what"!

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B.

answers from Augusta on

I shower at night after kids are in bed asleep.

G.T.

answers from Modesto on

I'd do the early get up and shower route, or take a quickie while the baby was strapped into something, even if they do cry, oh well, they will learn you are just showering and are not going to be in there forever and the crying will eventually end. The crying makes you ultra fast to soap up and get out... face it, moms have to be quick at everything.

R.D.

answers from Richmond on

Great responses so far! When my girls were young, while my 2 year old was napping, I would put the crawler in the high chair just outside the bathroom door and give her a bunch of toys. Now, I either shower while the baby is sleeping or stick him in the high chair... I sing songs LOUDLY (I swear my neighbors here me) and that keeps him entertained for the 7.5 minutes it takes me to shower now, LOL!!

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R..

answers from Chattanooga on

Pack N play may be the answer here. You could even get a small one just for the bathroom (or the hallway if the bathroom itself is too small...)

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