Shower Baths

I didn’t realize how exciting it was to take “shower baths.”  I let Alyssa take a shower one time and now she requests “shower baths” instead of regular bubble baths.  She absolutely loves turning on the shower and standing under the water.  She loves it so much that she doesn’t want to get out!  I have to keep telling her, “just a few more minutes.”

When we’re in a time crunch, I don’t mind because that means we’re in, washed, and out.  However, for three years I’ve thoroughly enjoyed our bath-side conversations.  It was our alone time together, a special time for mother/daughter bonding.  We’d play games, sing, paint with soap paints, spell stuff with foam letters, blow bubbles, and practice floating.  Could it be that she’s outgrown all of this?  Is she just excited to try something new?  Or, is this a sign of independence because she feels she’s doing it by herself?

I’m not ready to give up this time just yet.  Bath time has been such an important part of our nighttime routine.  I strongly recommend the Four B’s of bedtime:  bath, bottle, book, bed (in that order).  Our routine usually takes an hour, but my daughter has slept through the night since she was three weeks old.  Once she was too old for the bottle, we continued with bath, book, and bed.  We have been very consistent with the routine starting at 7:00 p.m. and she’s asleep by 8:00-8:30 p.m.  She knows what to expect and has grown to enjoy it… and we have grown to enjoy the piece and quiet!