Babies, Bathrooms and Toilets: A Recipe For Disaster

The great thing about when a baby becomes mobile is they have a lot of freedom to explore without you carrying them around everywhere. The bad thing about a baby becoming mobile is that they have a lot of freedom to explore without you carrying them around everywhere.

The following is true story about how a crawling baby can turn something simple like going to the bathroom into a terrible (but still funny) ordeal.

I had to go to the bathroom really bad (number 1). I set DS down in the hallway to let him crawl around a little. I even left the bathroom door slightly open so I could keep an eye on him while I did my business.

At first everything was fine. I was relieving myself and DS was sitting in the hallway. Then he started crawling towards the bathroom. And when Mason crawls, he crawls fast.

Before I knew it he was inside the bathroom coming toward me at a breakneck speed. I was still going. He made it to the toilet and stood himself up, using the rim of the toilet bowl. By this time I had to stop myself from going.

Before I could pick him up he dunked his hand right into the toilet bowl, filled with urine. I shrieked out loud saying, "No! No! Get away from there!" He thought it was a game and laughed harder and harder every time I said "No."

Having stopped myself from peeing, I picked him up and hightailed it into his room where I proceeded to wash his hands with everything I could find. I also wiped off his face and neck, lest any droplets of urine made their way to those little nooks and crannies. When I was positive he was clean, I breathed a sigh of relief. Disaster somewhat averted.

I still wasn't finished though. I set him down (again) in the hallway. This time I shut the bathroom door tight and locked it, so I could finish my...uh...business. I avoided the bathroom for the rest of the day until Susan came home.

Lesson learned: Sometimes you have to take some creative steps to get the things done you have to get done. After that incident I try to "hold it" until either he's down for his nap, or snack or meal time when he is safely strapped into his highchair and eating his strawberry puffs. At least then I know he's not going anywhere and he'll be safe for the few minutes I'm gone.