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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to wonder when is a good time to go for a shower

44 replies

whoneedssleepanyway · 01/07/2010 08:57

what i had been doing till this morning was having cereal with the girls then doing them some toast and leaving them to eat their toast while i went for a quick shower (strapped the younger one in high chair so she couldn't get out).

anyway my friend told me yesterday that her little boy had choked on a croissant the other day so i decided this morning not to leave them eating without me and put the TV on for them and the little one fell off the sofa and has an massive egg on the front of her head and bloody nose ...

aghhhhhhh i am a rubbish mother, maybe i will just smell and not have showers in the future (please don't tell me to have a shower before they get up as the little one wakes at 520 every day!!)

OP posts:
Psammead · 01/07/2010 08:59

How old are they? Right now I shower at nighttime when DD is asleep. If I want to have a quick shower in the daytime too (like when it's really hot and I feel yukky) then I do it when DD naps.

Shower before bed!

diamondsandtiaras · 01/07/2010 09:00

Can you take the little one into the bathroom with you? I used to take DD1 upstairs with me to shower......in the bathroom with me until she was crawling, and then to have the run of the landing (with stair gate shut obviously) with all the bedroom doors shut. I used to just leave her a few toys and let her crawl about.

Definitely agree that you shouldn't leave them alone with food though.

sunny2010 · 01/07/2010 09:01

I either put mine in the pushchair or take her in the shower with me.

Tigurr · 01/07/2010 09:01

Playpen

tortoiseonthehalfshell · 01/07/2010 09:02

Sit them on the floor to watch TV

PlanetEarth · 01/07/2010 09:05

If they're that small, and you're not a single parent, shower when there's someone else there. If you are a single parent, shower when they're in bed or having a nap in a safe place (cot etc.).

CaptainKirksNipples · 01/07/2010 09:07

I wouldn't leave youngest in a high chair unattended or eating, but you can take her into the bathroom or leave in cot or playpen with some toys.

Do they need to be up at a specific time (or so early) like for nursery or school? I sometimes do the school/nursery run and then come back for a shower but I always get up a bit earlier if I am going to work or college, don't like going without a shower if I am seeing other people!

Original poster
whoneedssleepanyway · 01/07/2010 09:26

DH is away two nights a week (the last two nights) hence the need to occupy them. Think i will go back to having the little one (1) in the room with me when i shower was being naive to think they couldn't get themselves into too much trouble...

OP posts:
indie37 · 01/07/2010 09:30

One of my friends did this and came downstairs to find her dd2 hanging from the highchair by her legs from the straps, fortunately it's was only for a second and it didn't do any lasting damage, but personally wouldn't risk it.
I get up half an hour before they do and have a shower, but if yours are up at 5.20, that's not really an option. I'd go with putting them in the bathroom with you or having one when they nap. It's only for a short while and then they can watch cbeebies whilst you shower away in peace. (I dream of this day!).

QualityTime · 01/07/2010 10:03

No, I never leave them with food ro strapped in.

Dh leaves for work at 6 some days so I have to do it alone. I shower while they play in their room or in the bathroom on the floor or I feed them and sit them in front of a recorded fireman sam that they never move from and quickly shower then.
I do have some toys in our spare bedroom next to the bathroom so they can play upstairs though so that helps.

noblegiraffe · 01/07/2010 10:06

I stick my 10 month old in his cot with a load of toys while I have a quick shower.

If his separation anxiety allows

OTTMummA · 01/07/2010 10:26

cot is much safer than a highchair op.
you can stick some toys in there aswell.
how old is the other one?

fyimate · 01/07/2010 10:34

I always took my DD into the bathroom with me. I used to even bath with her.
I would never leave her on her own, you may as well be outside.
I can leave her now whilst I have a bath, she is 4, very clever for her age and my DP is always there when I do it. Or if he isnt I let her engross herself in a game on the PC.
It's never failed, she's always far too busy playing her game to do something that may injure her.
If you dont have anything to strap them into why not use the pram? I feel the high chair isnt safe to leave a baby in alone..I mean what if it somehow toppled over??

Snobear4000 · 01/07/2010 10:41

The first day at school for your youngest child.

FreakoidOrganisoid · 01/07/2010 10:47

I have my proper shower (hair wash, leg shave type one) at night before bed then just have a quick wash in the morning, usually with ds in the bathroom with me.

Butterpie · 01/07/2010 10:50

Baby in cot, toddler playing with toys in bathroom, shower very quick. This is a big downside for my of DPs new shifts, he leaves before we are all up. I'm usually a long bath at night woman, but in this weather I need a shower in the morning instead.

LutyensCBA · 01/07/2010 10:59

When dd was little, I showered when she was napping. Would have never left her with food or strapped into anything (neurotic mum emoticon!). On days I had to go to work, I'd shower the night before, then wet my hair in the morning in the sink so I could blow-dry it into shape.

Now dd's in 4 and it's easier...I just shower when she's in nursery

NorkilyChallenged · 01/07/2010 11:07

I have had this problem since dd1 was born.

Our shower works with a very noisy pump and is right next to the dds' bedroom, so it wakes them. I can't shower at night when they're asleep or int he morning without waking them up.

Occasionally I managed when dd2 was napping and dd1 was playing but now dd2 is dropping the nap so how to manage? I can stairgate them onto the landing/their bedroom but they jump on the bed, wrestle with each other, pull hair and come crying for me anyway...

I feel your pain

ShinyAndNew · 01/07/2010 11:11

How old is the youngest? My sister used to shower with her youngest babies in end of the bath in this. That's presuming you have a shower over a bath and not a separate cubicle though.

JuicyLips · 01/07/2010 11:28

playpen for the baby and ds usually comes to chat or play in his room. he's 4.

mrsflux · 01/07/2010 11:34

when dh is here i have a shower while he does breakfast with ds

when he's away i set up the travel cot in our room and put the tv on and leave a bunch of toys in it with ds.
15mins tv is no bad thing compared to what my ds could do unsupervised in that time! most of the time when i get out the shower he's not even watching.

pippop1 · 01/07/2010 11:44

Here's a crazy idea.

Go round to a friend or invite her to your house. Each have a shower and take turns looking after the other's children.

Bonsoir · 01/07/2010 11:47

Have a bath, not a shower, and put your littlest DC in a bouncy chair next to the bath.

SagacityNell · 01/07/2010 11:53

I often get in with ds3. SIt him at the plug end NOT in a bumbo - the idea of that fills me with horror! He happily splashes about and i shower.

Pancakeflipper · 01/07/2010 11:56

I have a shower at 6am when no-one is up.
Or I have one when the YS is having an afternoon nap.
Or in the evening when they are in bed.

I often have a bath with the entire family sat in the bathroom. Even OH sits there telling me about his day, the cat is struggling to drink the bath water but not fall in, the kids throwing the plastic ducks at me. Doesn't matter how many times I scream " get out, I want privacy and to relax" they just seem to think I am joking and would miss them too much for them to leave me for 15 mins.

But it's not forever and I will miss it when it stops.