Lil’ Duck has always loved to take showers - as a tiny little thing he loved to curl up against us and cuddle under the soothing stream of water, and now he loves to sit at our feet and play in the shower. He also delights in drawing on the shower doors - mostly circles and triangles (his favorite). However, the actual soapy part of the shower has recently become a terrifying event, welcomed with ear-piercing screams, frantic clawing and scrambling for the shower door, you get the idea.

This became such an issue that he stopped begging to take showers, instead running and hiding, yelling “no wa-wa, no shower”! Hmmmm. Do we - scrub him in spite of the screaming, leaving him sobbing for hours afterwards and shaken for the rest of the day (great way to start the morning) - or let him be stinky (NOOOOOOO!!!!) - or come up with another idea?

Well, I had to be sneaky, but it worked. I took him into the shower, no soap, nothing scary, just fun and cuddles and triangles and toys. Picked him up and cuddled with him, while having ready a handful of baby wash. Cuddled him and rubbed his back, his legs, etc. etc. as if I was just being sweet, spreading that wash around to all the necessary areas. Then carefully turned around and carefully rinsed off all the remaining suds. Ha! The little one, usually very perceptive, was blind to my wiles and was happy as a little clam.

Daddy had NO success with this plan, as he was caught soap-handed while filling his hand from the container. Mommy wins again!