When you first have a baby you think you can't leave him or her alone for too long. Or you feel like you don't have time for basic things like showering and eating. It can be an overwhelming feeling for sure being a new parent. Looking back, I just laugh at myself for thinking these things... and not showering of course.
Since having a baby I've tried to make taking care of myself a priority (though I'm not always successful). Showering on my days at home has become more or a priority, especially if I'm trying to take Gardner somewhere that day. The problem is that he gets up so early that I don't always have the energy to wake up before him and grab a shower. So what's a parent to do?
Since he can't be left completely unsupervised I do what I have to, and that means showering while he's locked in the bathroom with me.
“You will never shower quicker than when you have a toddler in the bathroom with you.”
It's true! Grabbing a shower becomes a priority and you just do what you have to do. Showers have certainly gotten shorter. Still, the bathroom is as safe as it can be. The cabinets are baby proofed, the drawers are locked, and although the toilet brush is out in the open, he no longer puts things in his mouth, so I feel pretty safe that he can't get into too much mischief... not that he doesn't try.
Yet as I shower, I constantly poke my head out of the curtain to make sure his little hands haven't figured out a way through the baby proofing and into something he shouldn't have. Eventually I will be able to trust that he can play unsupervised for 15 minutes while I shower, but until then. I will keep him my "prisoner" in the locked bathroom until I can get my 3-5 minute shower in.