I need a new bathroom solution

lelekay

About 3-4 days a week I am getting myself ready in the morning while also taking care of Henry alone (MH either went into work very early, or worked very late the night before and is still sleeping).  Up until now we had a bouncy chair in the bathroom, and H was very happy to play with a dangly toy or two or just sit and watch me get ready.  But now that he's becoming so big and is always trying to stand (though he still can't on his own).  He is actually starting to try to stand up/bend over to touch the floor/pick himself up on the toy bar, even though he is strapped in.  He's sooooo going to flip that thing over if I let him continue in it.

So my question is - what you all do with LO while in the bathroom for showering, etc?  Or are you all lucky enough to have another adult when you get ready?  Even if I start showering at night (which I hate) after he goes to bed, I'll still need to brush my teeth, wash my face, and get dressed.  Do you have something for your LO to sit in like I bouncy seat or exersaucer in the bathroom?  Do they just play on the floor?  Or......what?  I'm at loss for what to do with him while I shower now that this bouncy seat is starting to scare the crap out of me!

MauiWedding08

I often do the morning routine solo so that DH can go to the gym.  And some mornings DH does it solo so I can get to work early.

We put a pack in play right outside the door and slide it over so it's 1/2 way in the doorway.  That way he can see me at all times, and if he starts to cry I can poke my head out of the shower and see him.  Luckily we have a pretty big master so it's easy for us to just leave it up full time.  There are lots of toys and books in there.

Good luck!  Jack would be in EVERYTHING if we let him play on his own. 

redshoegirl

I don't think I've ever had the boys in the bathroom with me while I get ready for the day - that's me time lol! Anyway, I'm lucky enough to usually have Ben around, but there have been a few times when he's gone on a business trip and I have to wrangle the fearsome duo by myself and need to keep them safe and entertained. On these occasions I'm allllll about the cribs, aka the baby cages.

I'll shower at night and quickly do the rest in the morning while they're in their cribs - sometimes they're awake, but usually I set the alarm 15 min earlier than they usually get up so I can do all my stuff before attending to them. I've tried setting the alarm even earlier, then showering etc before I go in to get them out of bed, but for me showering at night has worked better since I'm not a morning person lol.

I'm having a brainless moment and can't remember if you co-sleep...if so, you can still use the crib - just chuck in a few toys to keep him amused and then do what you need to do. Would that work in your situation?

Married2MrWright

I get up at the crack of dawn when everyone else is asleep...usually. If Libby wakes, I'll go in and nurse her and then my mom or J deals with her.

Anyway, for your situation...do you have a jumperoo or one that hangs in the doorway? That might be doable. We started using one with Libby when she was about 5 months old and it allowed J to get dressed for work while I drove home from work (I get home around 4 p.m. and he's out the door at 4:15 p.m.)! She'd enjoy it for about 15-20 minutes without fussing.

mrs.winter

My H is always gone in the morning so I'm alone in the mornings. I have used the jumparoo....outside the bathroom door so I can still see him. Once he outgrew the jumparoo, I would just let him cruise in the bathroom. It was the the only option, really.

inamra

When we're upstairs and I'm getting ready for work, we use the pnp, which is in our room. When we're downstairs, I use this Fisher-Price SpaceSaver (in our kitchen/dining area) when I need to use the restroom, go to the basement to do laundry, cook (and he wants to be closer to me than his play area), or when he's fussing while I'm on a conference call (working from home). We actually got it as a shower gift that I never registered for, but we grew to really love this thing, esp since our home is very small.

redshoegirl

I'm really surprised that I'm the only person who doesn't have their LO in the same room (or just outside the door) when showering or getting ready for the day. I feel a little weird about it now...

MrsNicole&Brian808

LO's crib is in our master bedroom so if I need to put him down while I get ready or use the master bathroom, I put him in there and he amuses himself.  I normally shower at night, but the couple of times I needed to shower while alone with him, I put him in his Fisher-Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker/Chair (with the kickstand out) in the bathroom with me and it worked out great for us.  Of course, my LO isn't too mobile yet, but the frame of this thing is metal so I don't think I'd be worried about it tipping over.  If we had a smaller jumperoo or exersaucer, I'd probably use that, as well.

vanilla15

Mostly Adair just has some floor time.  I have a  big blanket that I lay down with some toys (but I shower at night so even if she got into something I didn't want her to, I could easily grab her).  A lot of times she falls back asleep.  If she is acting a little crazy, I will put her in this https://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2002&e=product&pid=52494&ncat=thumbnail&pcat=bgb    (similar to what Nicole uses).  We have used this since she was a newborn & she really loves it. 

Married2MrWright

redshoegirl:

I'm really surprised that I'm the only person who doesn't have their LO in the same room (or just outside the door) when showering or getting ready for the day. I feel a little weird about it now...

I don't either. I am up at 5 a.m. for work and usually can count on the fact that NO ONE else is awake (except the cat)! It's my "me time."

lelekay

I, too, wake up at 5am.  Unfortunately, sometimes Henry does, too.    And on weekends I sleep until he wakes up, so I'm always getting ready with him.

I don't really want to leave him in his crib, but maybe I should think about it.  I guess I always wanted the crib to be just for sleeping, not playing.

We do have a jumperoo....maybe I'll move that into the bathroom temporarily to see how that goes.  Otherwise I just might have to put a blanket down and have him roam (which mean some serious childproofing in there!).

MrsNicole&Brian808

vanilla15:

If she is acting a little crazy, I will put her in this https://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2002&e=product&pid=52494&ncat=thumbnail&pcat=bgb    (similar to what Nicole uses).  We have used this since she was a newborn & she really loves it. 

Ooh, this is the one I registered for, but someone gave us the non-portable version and I didn't want to exchange it because I knew they'd come over for visits and wonder where their gift was.   But part of me wishes I had returned it.  We could really benefit from something that takes up less space.

parrotgirl

Since M's crib is in our room, I also put him in there when I need to use the restroom or take a quick shower. He's at the age now where he will happily sit or stand and play with his toys or look out the window But most of the time, my husband or mom takes him if they are there.

redshoegirl

Married2MrWright:

redshoegirl:

I'm really surprised that I'm the only person who doesn't have their LO in the same room (or just outside the door) when showering or getting ready for the day. I feel a little weird about it now...

I don't either. I am up at 5 a.m. for work and usually can count on the fact that NO ONE else is awake (except the cat)! It's my "me time."

Yup, this is exactly it! It's my 5 minutes that I get just for me and I treasure it lol!

mrspresley

redshoegirl:

I'll shower at night and quickly do the rest in the morning while they're in their cribs - sometimes they're awake, but usually I set the alarm 15 min earlier than they usually get up so I can do all my stuff before attending to them. I've tried setting the alarm even earlier, then showering etc before I go in to get them out of bed, but for me showering at night has worked better since I'm not a morning person lol.

this, exactly! although lately I've been so tired I don't set my alarm and just wait for her to wake me up and then I'll just let her hang out in the crib while I rush to get ready in 5-10 min...sometimes she just lays there when she wakes up, sometimes she talks to herself and sometimes she fusses or even cries but I just let her be... it's sooooooo much faster/easier for me to get ready by myself than w/her around.  if i do have her around I'll just let her walk around the bedroom/bathroom but she gets into all kinds of stuff LOL she esp loves to pull stuff down from my night stand or grab the cordless phone