Bathroom Napping, or How I Maintained My Sanity Today

For one reason or another, Davyd was particularly fussy today. Normally the child loves to sleep, & falls asleep quickly & easily at naptime & bedtime, but today naps have not come easily. I held him for the duration of his morning nap. After several failed attempts to lull him to sleep & then gently place him in his swing, which ended in screaming, I finally gave up & held him for 2 hours. Don't get me wrong, I love snuggling with this little guy, but I had things to do this morning (that still aren't done)! After his early afternoon meal, I decided it was about time I took a shower. Davyd appeared to be in good spirits, so I tucked him into his car seat & high-tailed it to the shower. He laid there contentedly playing with his hands and looking at his car seat toy for several minutes. This pleasant interlude ended at the exact moment that I began lathering the shampoo into my frizzled, overly hair-sprayed hair (hair spray is a life-saver when frequent shampoos are simply not an option). I quickly rinsed my hands, hopped out of the shower, and attempted to return Davyd's pacifier to his mouth without getting water all over him. I failed. The only option at that point was to endure the crying while rapidly rinsing the shampoo from my hair and drying off. I was then able to calm the very unhappy little man, and coax him to sleep between applications of various hair products. After completing my grooming routine, I looked at the beautiful, sleeping child & realized that the last thing I wanted to do on this earth was wake him up. I had a choice: move him & risk a repeat of the morning or leave him in the bathroom for the rest of his nap. The latter option won, so there he stayed for the remainder of his nap. For a moment, I felt slightly guilty for leaving my baby boy in the bathroom to sleep, but then I listened to the luxurious sound of silence throughout the house, and decided that my decision to leave him there was really the best thing for all of us. Motherhood requires a kind of creativity that I had not expected. Live and learn, & then leave your child wherever he will sleep (as long as he's safe).