Friday Flashback

Here is my little man in the bath tub shortly after we got home. It may not seem so, but this was a "BIG DEAL" at the time.

For whatever reason, Henry hated the bathroom and hated taking baths. It was horrible the first time I tried to give him a bath in the hotel in Russia. He screamed and cried as if he were being tortured. And remember the "turning blue and passing out" incident I documented. I was trying to do everything I could not to let him get upset so as to try and prevent that from occurring again.

So, after trying only the one time, I resorted to sponge baths for the rest of our stay there. Now, a sponge bath, he didn't mind at all. I'd lay him on a towel and have a tub of nice, soapy warm water. He'd lay there quite content and let me wipe him down. And he loved it even more when I got the lotion out and slathered him up with that.

During the day, when we were playing, I would put one of his favorite toys in the middle of the bathroom floor. He would be very curious, and get to the doorway of the bathroom, but couldn't quite get himself to go in there to retrieve his toy. At other times, I would take him in there and we would turn on the faucets or flush the toilet while he was safe in my arms so he could start becoming familiar with bathroom and learn that there really was nothing to fear.

After we returned home, I was feeling a little more confident, rested and overall, just thrilled to be home. So I decided it was time to tackle the bathroom issues.

I had a little bathtub that I would fill in my shower and place him in there. The first few baths were a bit iffy, but it didn't take long for him "get over it" and gain a comfort level. Eventrually, he graduated to Leslie's bathtub (normal sized), and then finally, into my bathtub (garden tub). And then, he learned about the shower, and now that is his preferred form of bathing.

Bath/shower time is now his favorite time of the day. Many times, when I let him know that it is time to get out, he begs for 5 more minutes. He has a basket of toys in the shower and every day, his imagination takes him somewhere else. Many times he refers to the shower as the "rocket" and the bathtub as the "boat", when trying to decide which one to use for the day.

I hardly recognize that scared little boy in the baby bathtub.