ok to leave baby unattended to shower? - Infant Care (up to 18 months old) Message Board

j baby · 06-18-2006, 09:49 AM

ds is 4 days old and i am trying to find a way to shower when i have no one else home with us. dh left for work already and im really grimy. i thought about putting him in his carseat in the bathroom with me, but he doesn't sleep well at all in it and im afraid he would just be sitting in it crying. is it ok to put him to sleep in the crib long enough to take a shower? he sleeps really well and im thinking i could wait till after he had been awake awhile and then had a good feeding that he most likely won't wake up, but i hate the idea that he might possibly wake up and be crying the whole time by hisself.

debating · 06-18-2006, 09:58 AM

I'm lucky that DDs bassinet in our bedroom is only feet from the bathroom door. We don't use the crib yet, so I just left her in the bassinet to sleep with the door open so I could hear her. I would think it's fine. If you have a minitor, bring it in the bathroom with you so you can hear for the babe. If he starts crying, rinse like crazy and go get him (or do like me and get him with shampoo still in your hair and wonder why it looks like crap later in the day...duh..LOL).

I put DD in her bouncy seat now. Actually, the sound of the shower is really soothing, so you might be surprised to find that Baby will sleep soundly in his car seat. What about a trial run? Put him in his seat and turn the shower on for a few minutes. See what he does. The noise might just put him to sleep (the shower sounds like white noise, which resembles the noise our placenta made in the womb).

Lillybit · 06-18-2006, 10:04 AM

You sound like a very thoughtful mom. You might try
-the carseat and just be prepared to take a short shower
-a neighbor to hold him (people like to know how they can help)
-a bath with him next to you so you can hold him if he wakes
-laying him flat on a blanket (like in the crib) next to the shower
I wouldn't suggest leaving him in his crib if you can't respond to his cries. Showers are such a juggling act for new moms!

skeetersquirt · 06-18-2006, 10:21 AM

I had a hard time with this as well. I just wait for DS to go to sleep and then take a shower...even if it is in the middle of the afternoons. I don't want him crying and me not there for him.

I do have a bouncy seat the vibrates though ad if I NEED to get a shower to go soomewhere, I put him in that and he can last about 20 minutes..just enough time!

j baby · 06-18-2006, 10:38 AM

thanx to all for the quick responses! i have a baby papasan bouncy seat but one of the screws wont line up with the hole and neither i nor dh have been able to assemble it, so i think im gonna try North's suggestion of a "trial run" with him in the carseat while i run the shower.

also- does anyone know if toys-r-us might exchange the bouncy seat without the reciept?