Day 144:
Today was a day spent in a quiet house, each person, dogs included, silently milling about, suspiciously so, on the fact that some nimrod working on the Verizon FIOS box (FIOS is a service I've no doubt will no longer exist when you're old enough to read this, Son, but it's how us turn-of-the-century fogies watch television and utilize the world wide web) disconnected our terminal in looking for another and then never put it back in the right place. No television to turn on for back ground noise, no internet radio for my iPad player, bupkis, Boy'O. While the lot of us performed the family chores, twas a quiet house. That was until you decided to start howling for an hour or so.
It would have appeared you simply had gas as administering some drugs to combat gas in infants seemingly cure you of your ails. You kinda crashed out for a bit only to wake up fussing again... This time, I had an idea though...
Having just done a good deal of yard work while Mommy was tidying the inside of the house, I was filthy dirty and ready for a shower. your fussing was gaining momentum and so I thought, to myself "What's the one thing that Conor loves the most?? Water!" So I held my own personal experiment and off to the shower we went... To be sure it was a bit difficult to hold you in one arm whilst showering and bathing you with the other. But having never been in the shower, you LOVED it! The only gaff came after I'd finished washing you, shampoo ran down my head and chest and when I tried to get you from one arm to the other, what did I do?? I dragged your face straight through the shampoo... And where do you suppose it went? Yep. Right in your eyes, Son... The once happy shower was now a panicked dad trying to wash the shampoo out of a screaming child's eyes and suddenly I felt as guilty as I ever have for any crime I'd ever perpetrated in my life. Though true to the Lion Heart's form, after a minute or so, no harm no foul. The crying stopped and hot water took over and peace came back to the room...
Aside from the shampoo mishap and the realization that it's a lot harder to bath a baby while holding him upright in the shower, the experiment was a success! You stopped crying, relaxed, and found your way to a clean outfit and a long, much needed nap.
It's off to bed with you now, Son. And I don't suppose I'll stay up much longer myself. But tomorrow's a new day, Boy'O! And tomorrow night something else new and exciting may have happened! And I'll be sure to tell you all about it.
I love you, Son.
-Dad
Hint: A folded towel (placed at the back end of the tub) is an excellent place to lay the baby while you rinse shampoo/soap off of yourself. It also helps to avoid the inevitable "I almost dropped him on his head" slippery moments.
ReplyDeleteAlternatively, you can put the car seat in the bathroom next to the tub, line it with a huge towel and put the kid there, wrapped up, for the last few moments of your rinsing. It's especially helpful to not be holding the baby when you are trying to wring the last of conditioner of your excessively long, red hair. I mean, if you have that sort of issue...