When many adults start thinking about having children they often say there are a few things they want to do first. They want to earn more money or buy a house or travel the world. This is my advice to them: go use the bathroom. Stay there as long as you want. Maybe even do some reading or daydreaming while there. Enjoy the moment. Savor it. Because once that little bundle arrives at your doorstep, you will never use the bathroom alone again.
When Monkey first arrived, I would sometimes bring him with me because he was crying or would start crying if I put him down. I'd put him the bouncy seat while I showered or even his baby bath tub (without water in it) because he liked sitting and clanging his toys. Surely, I thought, this will be temporary. But as he got older, he'd commando-crawl his way in or come looking for me as if I'd been gone for 10 days instead of 10 seconds. Then came potty-training where I'd help him get settled and he would want me to stay. Eventually he'd look at me and say, "Bye-bye" dismissing me from his royal throne. He would sit in peace and "read" his books or our magazines for long, quite stretches.
Alas, when I run away for my two minutes of peace, Monkey still follows me for a chat or an endless game of, "Why?" His little sister Munchkin also joins in for double the fun. I'm not sure when they will tire of accompanying me to the loo, but it is a day I will celebrate with a toast and a sigh of relief. (When they are grumpy teenagers who want nothing to do with me, maybe I will miss them needing me so much that they follow me to a damp, windowless room, but not right now.)
So to all you parents attempting to create or adopt your beloved first child, please take a moment or two and enjoy the silence you hear in the bathroom. If you're lucky, it will be short-lived.
When Monkey first arrived, I would sometimes bring him with me because he was crying or would start crying if I put him down. I'd put him the bouncy seat while I showered or even his baby bath tub (without water in it) because he liked sitting and clanging his toys. Surely, I thought, this will be temporary. But as he got older, he'd commando-crawl his way in or come looking for me as if I'd been gone for 10 days instead of 10 seconds. Then came potty-training where I'd help him get settled and he would want me to stay. Eventually he'd look at me and say, "Bye-bye" dismissing me from his royal throne. He would sit in peace and "read" his books or our magazines for long, quite stretches.
Alas, when I run away for my two minutes of peace, Monkey still follows me for a chat or an endless game of, "Why?" His little sister Munchkin also joins in for double the fun. I'm not sure when they will tire of accompanying me to the loo, but it is a day I will celebrate with a toast and a sigh of relief. (When they are grumpy teenagers who want nothing to do with me, maybe I will miss them needing me so much that they follow me to a damp, windowless room, but not right now.)
So to all you parents attempting to create or adopt your beloved first child, please take a moment or two and enjoy the silence you hear in the bathroom. If you're lucky, it will be short-lived.
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