I used the bouncy seat for the first month but then my baby wasn't having it anymore. By month 2 I discovered the wonder that is the mobile... she would happily lay in her crib gazing at her mobile for as long as 30 or 40 minutes. It was a total life saver!

I agree. Until she was at least 4 months old, I just put her in her crib and put the baby monitor in the bathroom with me. The only downside were those random screams she sometimes let out would send me running out of the shower, buck naked and soaking wet, only to see her smile and coo at me. Now that she's 9 months I let her crawl around the bathroom while I shower. She mostly wants to play with the shower curtain anyways.

I would leave my kids in the pack n' play with toys when they were babies to take a shower. Later on when they are toddlers, I turn the sink facuet on for them (we have a hot water stopper) and gave them their bath toys. Our toilet is right next to the sink so they would just stand on that and play while I showered. Sometimes I fill up the sink and put a bit of food coloring in the water. They do make a mess but at least they are happy and entertained.

I take my baths with my baby at night. It kills two birds with one stone and keeps her supervised!

New dads have the same problem ;). I shower while she naps for now, but like you said, I have pared my showers down to 3 minute models of efficiency.

This question is too funny as I was just sitting here trying to come up with a solution for a shower this morning :) I used to put a jumper in the doorway of the bathroom and peek out at her while I showered, but now that she has outgrown that I am struggling and just waiting for nap time most days. I'm thinking about dragging her highchair into the bathroom and letting her eat breakfast while I shower (she gets bored playing on the floor and tries to climb into the shower).

Hahahaha. I'm sooooo shocked/horrified/impressed that your four year old made you a latte! Talk about a return on investment, haha.

I try to shower before my son (2.5) wakes up, but that doesn't always happen. Sometimes I'll set him up with a movie on the bed (he rarely moves with Cars), and other times he runs around in the bathroom/bedroom while I shower. And then most times I just wait til nap.

I did the bouncy seat, crib and let him watch tv in my room with toys. But now at 19 months he is just into everything. So I take a shower before he gets up or before my husband leaves for work. If for some reason I don't get that in I have to wait till nap time. I am expecting a new baby as well. I think I am going to switch to night time showers!

Ohmygosh I LOVE the sink playing suggestion! Might go use that right now!

I used the bouncy seat in the bathroom until she outgrew it then I switched it out for the exersaucer and some cheerios. Once she outgrew that I put her in her crib with some board books for rest time" and took the video monitor in the bathroom with me to keep an eye on her. I have no idea what I'll do once she's out of her crib. I'll probably have to get up really early and shower before my husband leaves for work at the crack of dawn.

When my daughter was little she was perfectly content playing in the bouncy seat while I showered.

After she outgrew the bouncy I started taking baths with her at night, it was a great bonding time and I loved it....until she stood up and peed in the bath.

Around 12mo we started taking showers together, and she loves it! And I love that I am actually clean afterwards!

bouncy seat. what's wrong with that?? And babies cry... once my 4 month old is bigger and I leave him in his crib... he'd really have to be screaming for me to cut short my already short shower!

once mine can sit up, i just bring them in the shower with me.

I have been taking my (now 2 year old) daughter into the shower with me since she could sit up without falling over. She sits on a non-slip mat and plays with her bath toys and loves it. Don't get me wrong, I would rather shower in privacy but when the schedule requires it it is a nice opportunity.

It is also a great alternative to a full bath for her when I just need her to be clean quickly.

I was JUST thinking about this yesterday! But thinking maybe it was just me, not being particularly resourceful. Glad to see others find this as challenging.

I am one of those people who needs a shower to mentally start their day, but usually I don't get one until my kiddo's afternoon nap. Then I always feel like I "wasted" the nap. And I feel like a total slob until 1pm, which is not a great way to spend half the day.

I'm thinking I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and start getting up at 6am or whatever and shower before he wakes up.

I asked my mum about how she did it and she said she wound up doing just that, because even thought she hated getting up any earlier than she had to, it gave her the sense of freshness and readiness to face the day.

I shower when they're asleep, either before they wake up in the morning or after they're in bed at night. Whether or not I shower in the morning, I always get up earlier than the kids so I'm dressed and ready to go before any of them wake up (the youngest is 2). I have foster kids with anger management issues, so I don't ever leave kids alone. A half hour of alone time in the morning to pull myself together and get myself caffeinated is definitely worth the half hour less of sleep!

If you put the baby in the bouncer in the bathroom with you, and keep an eye on her, I don't think that counts as unattended.

Or just use the pack 'n play. Remember, these warnings aren't parenting advice, they're attempts to limit liability. Use your common sense, no one stays within arms reach of their baby every second of the day. I mean, how are you using the toilet?

I have eczema so showering every day is a big no-no which helps. For example, if I know I'm going somewhere Tuesday morning I'll make sure to shower during naptime on Monday. I hate going to bed with wet hair so if for some reason I missed the naptime shower I'll set an alarm for 30 min before my husband is getting up and shower then.

When my son was really little I used the bouncy seat and I expect to do the same with the new baby once she gets here since I figure my chance of being lucky enough for them to both nap at the same time are roughly nil.

I would put my little in her bouncy seat and peak on her periodically throughout my shower :) I would also use her naptime while she was in her crib as a good time to take a shower (taking the baby monitor with me, of course, but be prepared to jump out of the shower at any moment... that got old quick) and she's nearly 2 now, but can get herself into some trouble ;) so now when I *need* to take a shower when I'm with her during the day, I put her in her crib with some toys and music and tell her mommy's going to be quick. She likes the special play time in her crib. I think I lucked out with this one though. My question is, how do you shower with a 2.5 year old and a newborn??? That's going to be my next dilemma!

laughing at the iced latte...kids are awesome...

I'm actually a single mom, and I'll be honest, until I figured it out, I missed a shower here and there. I started out leaving him in a bouncy seat when he was teeny tiny, but as he got older, he stopped falling asleep in it, and started screaming to be let out instead, so I started taking baths instead, while he was sleeping at night. I had about an hour window between when he fell asleep and when he'd wake up to nurse. I'd fill the tub and then hop in when it was full, and since we were in a little one-bedroom apartment, I figured I could hear him better if he woke up if I was in a tub versus a shower. We've been taking baths together since he was about 1 and now that he's 2 we take showers together. Much easier, and I feel like I'm saving water, bonus....

I'll admit it: I just don't shower everyday. And actually, my skin is much happier! At first I showered with a bouncy seat in the bathroom, then showered during morning naps once my son was on a schedule. When he dropped that nap, I switched to night showers, and now that he's 3, I've been testing letting him watch tv for 10 minutes. Luckily our house is tiny and I can see the couch from the shower!

I remember when my brother was a baby - I was 6 and my sister was 4, and Mom would put on Sesame Street or Mister Rogers, put my brother in the swing, and we'd sit and watch while she took a shower.
Of course, that was 20 years ago, so that's probably frowned upon now, but it sounds like your 4-year-old could totally handle it!
My roommates and their kiddo have quite the system down - Dad takes a shower in the morning while Mom and Kiddo are waking up, and Mom takes a shower after Kiddo goes to bed at night, on the nights where she doesn't immediately go to bed after Kiddo does. Then again, my Mommy-roommate is kind of a hippie, and an anthropologist, so she's used to not bathing for long and unpredictable periods of time.
You can probably buy yourself a day or two by mastering the art of washing your hair in the sink - it takes a fraction of the time, and it's entertaining for the kids to watch!

I rarely take a shower every day (better for your hair, better for your skin, better for my sanity, etc etc) so that makes it a bit easier. I tried showering at night, but my husband and I only get a few hours between work and bed so I'd just rather spend time with him! I started showering or bathing with my son a while ago, and since I now have a newborn daughter, that's definitely the easier solution- for us to shower while she naps or just lays happily in her crib. Sometimes I'll put my son in front of a movie instead and that works too, but I wouldn't have even attempted that 6 months ago- he would've been into EVERYTHING! This works best for us right now, but by no means is it perfect and it's a struggle constantly. I agree with another commenter, that it feels like a waste of a nap! I'd much rather waste time on Pinterest!!

I divided and conquered the problem: first, I only take a shower every two days. Both hair and skin are much happier, which is added bonus. And I don't linger as I used to. Let's just say that my husband once timed my shower time and I was out and dressed in 9 minutes (anyone from the Guiness book ?).

Then, I guess I've become very flexible as to when I take a shower. Son's still sleeping at 9, and I am awake ? Shower. Naptime longer than usual ? Hello shower. And if all else fail, I wait for my husband to come home.

When my son was a baby, I would shower with him wrapped in a stretchy wrap. Either that or I would put him in the Circle of Neglect in the bathroom.

Now that he's a toddler, I shower with him playing in the shower with me ... if I need to shower. I don't shower every day (I use no 'poo on my hair so my hair doesn't look or feel gross on day 2 or 3) and that makes my life SO much easier.

And yes, new dads have this problem also.

My 18 month old is a handful and tries to get into everything. It doesn't matter what I bring in the bathroom to try to entertain her with she'll just stand right next to the shower and try to open the curtains (getting herself soaked) and scream. I try to always get in my shower before she wakes up. The rare mornings that she does get up first sometimes I just have to bite the bullet and put her in her crib to cry for me for the fastest shower I can manage (5 min or so). Lately I've been able to preoccupy her with Backyardigans and books on my bed before going into the shower. For the most part she'll stay on the bed, even though she knows how to get off of it. When she was younger I used a bouncy seat and then a bumbo... The bumbo didn't last long though, she figured out how to get out of it pretty fast. Didn't help that she never really had chubby legs so she was never really "secure" in it.

I found this a problem to begin with too, especially when they are newborn.. at first I waited until N's nap time, then when she could hold her head up adequately I put her in the shower with me sitting in the bumbo so she just got a little spray from the shower, then as she got bigger I filled her baby bath up and put her in it while I showered. But to be fair now my shower habits have changed it seems, I will take one at night or when her dad is home. So much easier!

I take a very large plastic bowl (big enough for her to sit in), fill it up with water and small toys with cups in reach for filling and emptying and place it on the far end of the bathtub. She plays while I shower. Every now and then I give her a cup of warm water which she uses to warm the bowl water up.

I agree with some of the other comments -- I only shower every two days now, and my hair is much healthier because of it. I typically shower during the day during one of his naps, and keep the monitor in the bathroom where I can see it with the shower curtain open a crack. My showers have always been pretty speedy, however occasionally I'll take a longer shower or bath in the evening or on the weekend when my husband is home.

just last night i was wondering how my sound asleep in his crib 4 month old knows just when i have stepped into the shower. I know he knows that I am in the shower because that's when he wakes up. This may be too much information, but I have just given up shaving my legs.

Bed time is 7:30, so I shower after he's asleep and that gives me plenty of time for my hair to dry before I go to bed. I wake up with clean hair and it only takes about ten or fifteen minutes to straighten it and throw on some war paint before I wake him up. So much easier than the 1 hr shower, blow dry, straighten, make up, and clothes routine from my pre baby past life. If I can stretch it to every other day, even better! Baby powder is amazing for my greasy hair days. ;)

I don't know what the problem is here. You put them in the bouncy/exersaucer and then go take a shower. The child can't move. Other than an earthquake knocking heavy furniture on them what is there to worry about? I admit older children are harder, but that's what TV is for.

hahahahahahah a 4 year old barista! That is the cutest thing

while they nap...or zoned into the tv! (thats a quick shower)

Or perhaps I should have said "that's what the espresso machine is for." :P

I'm honestly surprised that this is an issue for as many people as chimed in here. The crib, the pack and play, the bouncy seat, the floor of the bathroom with a toy, the tv, in their room with a babygate up.... It's not that hard. What do you do when you need to pee, or make dinner, or get a phone call? If you have a fussy kid and you put them in the bouncy seat or whatever, sure, they may cry, but they will also learn the routine and get used to it. It's not child abuse to put your child down or to have them fuss a bit while you towel off. Sheesh, let's not make this harder than it is!

First few months - she wouldn't sleep unless I was holding her, so I showered with her in the bouncy seat and basically with the curtain open so she could see me. Or we bathed together and I just didn't wash my hair. Or, we bathed together, then I wrapped her in a towel and put her in the bouncy seat and THEN I washed my hair. After the bouncy seat we graduated to the Bumbo. After the Bumbo we graduated to the Pack N' Play with Baby Einstein on the TV and me taking really quick showers with the door open....!

After she got to an age where I didn't like leaving her alone in the PnP (that she might try to get out or that she was really unhappy and crying) I just showered at nap time. Even if that means I have to go somewhere in the morning before her nap. I just wash my face and brush my teeth and make do - a wet hair brush and a quick blow-dry actually does wonders for bed head :-)

Now that she is 2.5-plus I could, theoretically, put on a video and take a quick shower. And I have, albeit super-fast. But I still prefer nap-time or nighttime, or when Daddy is home. I've gotten pretty used to being unshowered for most of the day at this point! lol

I'll just go and take my shower and so far nothing happened - my almost 2 year old and her 3,5 old sister are staying somewhere nearby anyway because actually THEY feel most comfortable when they know where I am. And whenever something happens (say they drop a bottle of water or something) they'll come and tell me anyway. Kids don't need to be and don't want to be supervised all the time in my opinion... I admit I am also just taking really short showers and I try to shower in the mornings when my husbands still there if possible. But setting the alarmclock? Definetly not ^^

Baby swing when she was little. Now that she's 18 months old, I put her in her highchair with a couple books/toys and make some cheerios and just wheel her into the doorway of the bathroom (our bathroom is off the kitchen). She gets a little fussy if I take a long time but it's working for now.

For the first few months either the bouncy seat or shower during naptime. When they get to that crawling/exploring/won't sit still age where they truly can be a danger to themselves, I just bring them into the shower with me and they have both played happily towards the back of the tub - kills two birds with one stone too because then they get clean too. When they outgrow that, they are old enough to watch TV or play for a few minutes unsupervised. The worst that has ever happened was that the older one found a stool and helped himself to a bunch of crackers or something like that.

Buckled him into the bouncy seat for the first 4 months (yeh, stretching it!), then an exersaucer until 7 months and now it's a playyard. I couldn't possibly put a 9 month old very active boy in the bathroom, too much ceramic and other hard surfaces to fall onto. Yikes! What do people have carpeted toilets?

I put the baby in the crib, then bring my twenty-month-old into the shower with me. I have tried leaving him in his room with toys, but without fail he shows up in the bathroom, whips open the curtain and scrambles into the shower fully clothed and clutching his beloved blanky. It is much easier just to plop him in at the beginning than to have to deal with the mess of soggy blankets and clothes.

I have done all of these at some point! My favorite was when he would take a bath (morning, noon or night... we kind of just wing it) and afterward he would play with his bath toys in the bathroom and I would take a shower. This way he had no desire to try to climb into the tub and could continue his little games/ playtime with his special toys.

Mom and boy were clean and happy!

We take a bath together in the morning. Cuts down on the evening bath. Thankfully I don't have a bathtub pooper!

I agree that this may be harder than it has to. Or maybe I'm just negligent!! When my kids were little I'd put them in the bouncy chair in the bathroom...around 18 months, a tv show, and now (youngest is 2.5) I just let her wander around the house while I take a shower. Our house is pretty kid-proof, and she's never got into any trouble more serious than than drawing on her legs. We live in an 800 square foot apartment though...maybe that helps??

I used the bouncy seat when he was tiny, but now that he's one and mobile, curious, and easily bored, I make sure I shower before my husband leaves for work. But there are always days that won't work, and those days I either don't shower or shower during the first nap.

I think I'm negligent too! Bouncy seat or swing at the beginning, and exersaucer later on. Once my daughter could crawl, I put her in her room and put the gate up at her door. Her room was baby-proofed and she was happy so I could shower without any issues. Now the two kids just play (they're 4.5 and 17 months) and they wander into the bathroom every now and then so I know all is well.
I haven't missed too many showers since having kids which is good because my husband's schedule isn't ideal, and I am the type who needs a shower pretty much everyday to feel normal.
But let me know when you bring up the topic of fitting in a shower before taking your kids to school. I could use that advice!

Just brought back memories of the sixth months I spent showering with one hand because the other hand was holding the shower door closed to keep my 1 year old OUT. Never worried about his whereabouts or safety.

Oh for goodness sake. Just put the baby in the crib and have your shower. If it cries, it cries. It will be FINE for five minutes.

I'm a night shower person but sometimes I miss them, so instead of taking a full shower I will just wash my hair and face in the kitchen sink, makes me feel better

I stuck him in the crib with some toys, then later in his room with the baby gate up. Now that he's older he gets to watch TV. I had no idea that so many people were so afraid to leave their babies "unattended."

i did the bouncy seat, then the bumbo in the bathroom. then, we had a pack-n-play out in the hall/kitchen with the bathroom door open so i could occasionally peek out and/or hear her.

now she's 22 months old & long past the pack-n-play (or crib), so she generally showers with me.

reading all of these posts, though, i'm starting to think that she'd actually probably be okay with roaming a bit on her own while i showered. hmmm...

For me it's not about leaving them unattended (my son plays in the playroom by himself a lot) it's that if I'm in the shower I can't necessarily hear him and it would take longer to get to him if something did happen.

for those of you that just put your baby in a big bowl at the back of the tub, just how big are your bathtubs?! Am I missing something here? And let them play with toys on the bathroom floor?! I don't know about you, but I haven't had time/energy/the mind to clean the bathroom floor in weeks... Never mind the hard, porcelain/ceramic toliet, sink, tub, etc.

I put in a clear shower curtain so I could see and the bouncy chair was the only way I could get a shower in the beginning. Then my baby got mobile and could sit up and I went unwashed for a little longer than usual, because the bouncy chair would be mobile with her. I then just set a blanket and a bumper of pillows on the bathroom floor and some toys, and took quick showers, playing peek-a-boo and singing songs while she sat and played with toys. Then she stood up and wanted in. I went unwashed again for a time. Then I just sat her naked in the shower with toys. Now she is walking and talking and she just sits in the shower naked playing with soap and toys and seems to have a great time. Not sure when this will get old, but for now it works great.

Bring with. Mine plays on the floor of the shower while I shower. The upside is that he gets clean, too. It takes a little longer because he wants to get picked up periodically to "touch the shower", but everyone is clean at the end of it.

hahaha oh my goodness i love the latte story! can't stop laughing

No babies for me yet, but when I was small I took baths and showers with my mom a lot.

Supersojen: I have a normal 5.5' bathtub(not shower stall). And yes, my daughter comes in the shower with me because the bathroom is not as clean as I would like. Now that she is a very tall two year old her legs are finally getting long enough that they are affecting my shower space.

I am a mother of four (boys). The question for me is "is shower or poop time worth the risk?" Once you've committed to that bathroom time-you're in it to win it. And it's true the older they get, the harder. Is coming out of the bathroom to a shattered glass all over the kitchen floor with your baby and toddler sitting in it and your 4 year old walking on it like a magician worth it? Or your 6 year old interrupting you to tell you that the toddler and 4 year old are running down the street in nothing but their rain boots worth it? And so far locking the door has never been worth the risk. I've thought about tying them up for 20 minutes, but worried my husband or mother would come over and think that inhumane. I still don't have the answer. Night time showers have become popular for me. And I have a blog just to record the risk in case no one believes me! http://www.katiespepperpatch.blogspot.com

When my son was an infant I did the bouncy seat/swing thing at first then when he outgrew them I'd let him play on the bathroom floor with the door closed. He'd usually just crawl over the the shower door and play peek a boo.

Now my 4 year old niece is with us and my boy is a curious toddler and it's gotten harder. He used to be a timid mommas boy now he wants to do everything she does. I put a baby gate at the end of the hallway. I let them watch spongebob or something while i shower. They can't get to the kitchen or the front door with the baby gate. They can get to my room, their room or the bathroom only. They sometimes run in and out of the bathroom to tell me whats going on in the show. So far it's working ok. I miss the days when my boy would just sit there and wait for me finish though. I've had to shorten my shower time lol.

bouncy seats when they are babies. nighttime (when I'm not too tired), or the end of naptime (when I'm not worried about the sound of my shower waking them up!). Now that my kids are older (2+4) I can take a 5 minute shower while they watch curious george. not an everyday thing but it works in a crunch.

Every other day - planned out according to my days with big meetings etc. And I hate to admit it - but the highchair (once he was old enough after the bouncy seat in the bathroom was no longer an option) in front of a custom made 16 min sesame street youtube playlist not only got me showered but my kid knows his ABCs (six different songs) counts from 1-20 and can talk about octagons and friendships. So as far as TV goes I feel a little less guilty and its really important to be clean on big client meeting days!

After two kids and another on the way, I don't have the magic solution either! I've tried the toys on the floor and it resulted in toothepaste ingestion, toilet drinking and a whole tub of vaseline being slathered on a younger sister's hair. That was one shower.

I either shower while my 12 mo son is napping in the morning which is usually about 10am or if that doesn't work I stick him in his room, right next to the bathroom with a baby gate up. he has a bunch of toys and it only takes me about 20 minutes to get ready and if i have to wait to finish my hair or make up, it takes 10 minutes

I usually shower during their nap or early in the morning before they wake up (20 month old twins). When they were really little, I did the bouncer or showered at night before going to bed.

Looks like I'm in the minority with this comment, but my husband and I have showered/bathed with our son (now 2) since he was little. We would do the bouncer sometimes while he was very young, because he would go back to sleep, but once mobile, it was much easier to take him in with us. I don't wash my hair everyday either-its healthier not to!

Our son is 19 months old. I shower early in the morning before my husband leaves for work. He plays with the baby and feeds him breakfast while I am in the shower. Then I step out of the bathroom and get dressed while my husband takes his turn to shower up. Then he leaves for work, and I do my SAHM gig, showered, dressed, and ready to go. It's just easier this way, I guess.

I have a two year old and a new born. I will at times take the toddler in the shower with me. The toddler just plays with toys, has a great time, and get a bit cleaner to boot. I get clean hair. Win win.

Just this past week, my 3 1/2 year old daughter locked herself into our RV by herself. It took almost 2 hours before the locksmith arrived. A sheriff came before, said that as there WAS NO DANGER there was nothing he could do, and then left. Guess what? She was fine. PBS kids was on the TV, she had her OJ and other than crying when she saw me looking through the window, she was OK. It was I who was flipping out.

So, when I see this question... well... really? Get over it people. I put the PBS on the TV on a show that she really likes, usually Sesame Street or Curious George, and take my shower. She's never gotten into trouble and I get to get clean at a reasonable time of day.

Really, kids can handle being along for a few minutes... clearly, it depends on the kid, but at least for me, I know that she's not going anywhere and anything that is dangerous is already out of her reach anyways!

Oh, I hate to be so mean, but , my baby is 40 yrs old, and I've been having quite a great time laughing at you new moms! I know it's pitiful,but I haven't had this much fun in ages!!!!!
And since my baby is 40, I really don't remember what I did back then!

I had to take a shower every morning as a new Mum... it was vital for me to feel 'normal' after a sleepless night, and with all the adjustments that motherhood brings. I've never been one to lounge in my pajamas, c-section, illness or not. A shower was just as important as getting out every day was. And so, the bouncy seat was priceless, and when it was out grown, a rug on the floor with toys sufficed. Now my son is 2 and he hands me my towel as I get out. Showering was just never really an issue.

Early on: bouncy seat or jumper in the bathroom. Later, books and toys in the crib. Now at almost 3, a big bowl of fruit in our bed while watching PBS kids.

I take my 19-month old in the shower with me and she sits on the floor of the tub and plays with toys. Wait a second, that sounds too good to be true. Make that, I take her in the shower with me and she tries to stand up the whole time and I either get soap in my eyes or can't finish rinsing my hair. I bathe after she goes to bed at night. Phew!

As long as baby is safe in the cot, I wouldn't have a problem leaving him alone the time it takes to shower (no more than 10 minutes, surely?) Also, babies cry - it doesn't do them any harm.

I showered with my baby until he was too heavy and squirmy to safely continue. Now he's 14 months old and I usually shower at night after he goes to sleep. But all too often, I go a few days without!

I'm a single mom and this post makes me laugh - after the first few impossible months, I started showering with my son in the bouncy seat right outside the bathroom door. I switched to pack-n-play in the living room (near the bathroom door) filled with toys, once he managed to squirm over in the bouncy seat! By the time he was about 2, I felt that he was capable of safely entertaining himself, and other than a few incidents (like: "I'm playing with your computer, mom, ok?" NO, PLEASE put down the laptop!!) it's been fine. It helps that we have a small apartment, with no internal stairs, and it's relatively well child-proofed. Now he's almost 4, and he usually does art projects at the kitchen table or puzzles while I'm showering. Sometimes he finishes his breakfast if we're running late. If I had more than one kid, more space, or if he weren't pretty mellow, I'm not sure what I'd be doing! (I can't shower before he wakes up, because that wakes him up and he gets upset if I'm not there to come get him out of bed.)

Holiday05, how nice for you that you had babies who merely cried. My fourth baby (so not my first rodeo) does not just cry, he screams until he vomits and poops. Oh, and he gets diaper rash from any poop that touches his skin too long (yes, we already cloth diaper). This is all within ten minutes. So if he wakes up from a nap while I'm in the shower, I get an inconsolable child covered in vomit with a diaper rash. No, he is not spoiled. He has a few sensory/medical issues at play here. Please have some kindness for people experiencing something different than you have.

So, this thread is helpful to me and it's not making it harder than it is...I'm grateful for new ideas.

In the very beginning we just took less showers in general! That solves a lot of problems! But, when we started emerging from the new parent shell (and I started working again), we did the bouncy seat, or just put her in her crib for a few minutes. As long as she had a full tummy/clean diaper she was pretty content to chill for 5 mins for whoever was with her that day to shower.

It's showers in the morning before she wakes up now that she's 15 mos and walking around. Or after she's gone to bed, depending on if I wake up in time to take one in the morning. I used to be one of those I could sleep all day kinds of people. And NOT a morning person, but now I can't sleep past 8am even if she does. Boo!

Like everything else just as soon as you get used to one thing working, it's time to re-evaluate and make adjustments.

and people wonder why moms cut their hair short when baby arrives?!

I shower after my daughters fall asleep. This allows me to have a long relaxing shower, which is sometimes all the "me time" I get. In the morning, after breakfast, I let the preschooler watch TV and take the baby in the bathroom with me while I put on makeup and whatnot. Works out great!

I generally wait until my husband gets home from work. That way, I get some nice quiet time all to myself (I have a 4 year old and an 18 month old. It's LOUD in my house these days). Other times, I try to take a shower while the younger one naps. The older one is pretty good about staying in her room and playing while I shower. But if I *must* bathe, and it's not naptime, I just stick the younger one in her crib for 20 minutes. The older one will go in her room to play and keep her from freaking out. If not...20 minutes isnt going to kill her.

I shower at night after bedtime, it actually has improved my routine in other ways too, more chance that my hair will actually get blown dry, etc. But I have a friend that joined a gym with childcare. She gets her workout and shower in that way!

ha! i am battling this now as i'm adjusting to having a 10 week old and a 2 year old.

i used to bring my first into the shower with me and sit him in his bumbo chair. he may have peed directly into his mouth a few times, but at least i was clean. :)

I stink. Period. I don't get to shower on a regular basis. It is hell. I hate it a lot. It only increases the sense of isolation I feel as a stay at home mom because I don't feel like I can actually be seen in public a lot of the time. Please be sensitive. I also can't remember the last time I had a bowel movement without an audience. Seriously, who are these dream babies who are happy to sit in a crib awake?!
Oh! MelissaJ! Thank you! I was beginning to feel like a total freak. My husband works insane hours, so he's gone by the time we're up. (And who are these babies that you "wake up?" Holy cow! What would that be like?!) My first 2 children would scream bloody murder for the entirety of my shower, no matter what contraption I tried to put them in. They also went through periods of not sleeping without me. My son has sensory issues and invariably would scream until barfing. So I would come out of the shower, spewing milk, to an inconsolable baby, and a barfy mess to clean up. And pretty much evrey time I would think, "Oh, this is NOT worth it!"

I now have 3 kids. The last, thankfully, seems to be "normal," probably more along the lines of what the many insensitive posters are referring to when they say cruel things like, "Oh come on people, get over it." Also, please don't give condescending advice when you only have one child! Adding a second and a third is a completely different situation.

I only have a 10 month old and 2.5 year old but I agree with the bouncy seat and clear shower curtain problem solver. I let my 2.5 year old play because I have a really bare bones home. However, after reading the iced latte post I'm worried. What could happen?

I thought this was such a clever question. I love reading the responses. I asked my husband what he thought would be a solution. He said: "Put the kid in a crib with a lid on it." He needs some practice.

My infant - bouncy seat in the bathroom.
When she outgrew that - Bumbo chair IN the shower. Just not in the stream of water. She loved it. I would warm up the bathroom with steam first. I also killed two birds with one stone by washing her up as well.
When she outgrew the Bumbo she would just sit on the bathtub floor while I showered. I would fill up the bath a few inches so she could play with bath toys. As soon as she was able to stand she has stood with me in the shower and played with toys and allowed me to clean her as well. So basically we have always bathed together!

At the moment I work 10-7 and hubby works 12-8, so I get to shower in the morning while he's watching our 5 mo old twin boys (he showers when the nanny arrives at 10). Weekend days when he's working I just shower before they wake up. Thankfully if they wake up early, they stare at their mobiles for a few minutes until I can get out. I will say that I leave the house with wet hair everyday and do my make-up on the bus to work.

So sad to see the comments about being "negligent" by leaving the kid in the bouncy seat/exersaucer/bumbo while showering. I know they're jokes, but those jokes reflect a very real underlying truth about an expectation of parental hypervigilance in this day and age. I think most of our own parents would be deemed "negligent" by today's standards. Of course there are unique situations (like the one described by Holiday05) where some hypervigilance is called for, but generally speaking, the idea that you're neglecting your child if you put her/him in a crib (and god forbid s/he cries) while you're doing something as basic as taking a dang shower is really sad to me.

I think people are being overly mean. It's obvious the poster has multiple children, close together, and if she's talking about a 4-year-old capable of using an espresso machine, confining her to a crib isn't cutting it.

Sticking one baby in a bumbo or bouncy seat is one thing. Keeping track of multiple small children has got to be really hard.

I know a lot of adults, including employed baristas, who don't know how to use an espresso machine. That kid will be an engineer, or something awesome, I swear.

I love the latte story!

When she was a baby, I'd either take her in the shower with me or put her in her bouncy seat. Once she reached about 2, I'd put on Barney or Sesame Street and tell her I was in the shower. I leave the bathroom door open and listen carefully. I also talk to her and ask about any noises I hear. She knows that she can come in (and she often does) but she's usually happy to be alone on the couch for the 10 minutes that I'm in the shower and I'm happy to have 10 minutes to shower! Food also helps at this time and most of the time when I take the shower, she's eating breakfast. Now my daughter is 3 1/2 and she's used to my morning shower. It's a start. Good luck.

There are also these things called shower slings, that work like the slings you carry your baby around with. But for taking a shower together.

The baby's not as hard as a toddler, they can go quite wild. I get my little one bathed and in his jammies and then I let him brush his teeth while I shower. For a three year old, brushing teeth is exciting and he's happily occupied until I'm finished.

The first few months were hard but now (at 9 months) I slide up the highchair to the bathroom, place toes on the tray and a snack and take a leisurely shower (shaving legs and all!).

I can't wait to see if I'll be "rewarded" for my smugness when I have this 2nd child, but I don't see what the big deal is. When my son was a newborn I would lay him on a folded blanket on the bathroom floor while I showered for 5 minutes, he usually was fine but if he got fussy I'd let him fuss until I finished, usually a few minutes. I can wash all the important stuff within minutes and my hair is kinky curly, so I only wash it once or twice a week at most.

I'm the friend who plays with the child while Mum showers. I've done it many times now and can see how valuable you Mum's see this small time issue. All of my friends have their husbands/partners in the house but once they are working, its all about time or the lack of it. As a non-parent, I can't imagine what this is actually like day to day, non-stop. I'm happy to help out!

As a non-parent, I am grateful to hear these suggestions. First, it gives me insight into the trials and tribulations of everyday parental life., Second, if I have my own lillte rugrats someday, I know there's a resource for the mundane questions that many books probably don't address.