I’d like you all to meet my new best friend.
Actually, we used to be uber close about two years ago. We’d spend a few hours each day together, not necessarily all at once, but sporadically throughout. And during this time, we REALLY got to know one another.
But then as time went on, we became distant. Almost a little stand-offish. I stopped coming around as much too. And then, our friendship diminished. We just…. broke it off.
But now….. she’s back. And we are like super BFFs once again.
Sadly.
She’s just like I remember her….
Yeeeeeeep. My new BFF is the bathtub. Not JUST the bathrub… but the running water that fiercely comes rushing out, only to go straight down the drain. And it’s not even the water that is enjoyed so much. It is the noise that the thunderous water makes in the echoing bathroom. That, combined with a dark, cool room is my new hangout.
Why, you ask?
It’s the only thing that seems to “reset” my children.
After weeks 2-3 of hellish motherhood about two years ago, we discovered that Gwyneth liked the sound of running bathwater. Thank you, sweet Jesus. So in the bathroom we sat. In the dark. With money going down the drain. For a loooooong time.
You know those commercials of people trying to stuff dollar bills down the drain? Yeah well…. that’s what we pretty much did.
For those of you who take quick showers, brush your teeth with the water off, or do anything else to conserve water… Thank you. Because you are just evening it out for us water wasters.
It was almost like a button. As soon as the water was turned on…. the screaming would stop. And yes, Gwyn even slept in the bathroom on occasion too in fear of waking her up trying to remove her.
So when Cal started showing signs of fussiness that couldn’t be consoled by anything else, to the bathroom we went. And once again we got the same results. A calm baby.
Since staying at my parents’ house I have found myself in the bathroom more than normal. I have no idea why. But, I sit on the ledge of the tub with Cal’s head toward the faucet and we listen to the running water. And in this tub it splashes back up at us a little bit, but he doesn’t seem to mind. And a lot of the time he may even just stare back up at me…. calm. And when he closes his little eyes, I tiptoe down the hall to the room where the sound machine is playing similar sounds and lay him down. And then he is good.
Why doesn’t he initially respond to the sound machine the way he does to the running water? It’s all the same racket! Can SOMEONE PLEASE invent something that sounds EXACTLY like running water? Something that maybe even spits on the the baby every now and then too?
I will bow down to you. Pay you whatever you want.
The real tricky part is when I already have to go to the bathroom a little bit and one of his fits emerge. Because then I am sitting on that ledge of the tub listening to that gushing water and am almost in tears trying to hold my pee in long enough to put Cal down. Sometimes, I just can’t make it.
And that’s interesting.
I don’t quite remember at what age we stopped doing this with Gwyn, but I sure do look forward to not having to spend such quality time with the tub!
Here’s to a happy Wednesday with (hopefully) minimal tub time!
