Running my little mini-me her bath, I watch her become more excited by the second. Blending hot and cold together, I make sure that the bath is the right temperature by testing it with my elbow, and allow her to sit in it happily whilst I finish running it (she loves to watch the tap run). At this point she has started grabbing for her bath toys, tastefully dotted around in the tub by myself. As she plays, she clearly delights in bum shuffling along the bath to get a better hold on her toys. I wash her hair and, as always, feel that small pang of anxiety - what if she slips?! This is an unfounded worry - she has never slipped whilst I was washing her hair and I always make sure to keep one hand behind her back for support, or hold onto her shoulder. Anyways, it was this which made me think 'I really should get a bath mat down.' (Readers fear not: It was not slipping in the bath which brought on the tantrum today.)
My little one prefers to have a lengthy bath and hates being pulled straight out of it, so instead I let water drain out whilst she is still sitting in the bath. Whilst she's still playing with her toys in the now drained bath, I dry off her hair and give her a little towel down, prepping her for the task ahead. This is when it gets ugly... As always I am lulled into a false sense of security as she quite happily allows me to pick her up out of the bath, swaddle her in her little towel and sit her down on the bath towel (on the bathroom floor).
The tricky part comes when I lie her down to get her nappy on. Firstly, she likes to pull herself up to stand at the side of the bath, clinging on for dear life (as if the bath water will come back as long as she wills it to). I let her sit back in the bath for a second - tyhis was a mistake. Now crying, I again try to sit her down on the bath mat/towel and then lay her down to change her nappy. The eyes become angry little squints and her mouth contorts into wailing chasm, her smooth forehead furrowed with frown lines.
She does her best to kick away my attempts at changing her. To quell the crying, I carry her into her room to get some clothes. This is a temporary solution. I practically wrestle her into her clothes (whilst thinking always 'think of a flower, think of a flower') and eventually voila! She is clean, dry and dressed. The next challenge is putting her down to make up a bottle as this time I did not prepare myself. Cbeebies is usually my saviour at this point, but by this time it was too late. Gritting my teeth against the oncoming tantrum, I let Mini-me sit in her horsey doughnut and pour the still-warm water from the kettle into a bottle, up to the 7 ounces line and add seven scoops of powder. All the while screaming escapes form the next room. Only a bottle will calm hr down as she hasn't taken a dummy for months now and I think she finds it soothing to drink milk (the sucking action similar to when dummies are used).
Finally, I sweep up my daughter and jam the bottle (gently) into her mouth. The cyring ceases, her brown once again non-furrowed and smooth and her mouth making a perfect 'o' around the bottle's teat.
Bath Time if now officially Over!
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