If I had one word to describe Kathleen lately it would be drama. It’s especially fresh in my mind now as I needed to extricate her from my leg so I could come to work. I left her crying in her teacher’s arms in daycare. If that isn’t a wonderful way to start the day . . . make your daughter cry. She’s going through a phase which many kiddos go through several times in their first couple of years, that joyful separation anxiety. I don’t like it one bit.
That’s not the only drama, of course, only the most recent. We had drama at bedtime last night too. She wouldn’t go to bed. I put her in her crib groggy, eyes closed, binky in the mouth, and fleecy blanket clutched to her chest. I gave her a pat and a kiss and stationed myself just outside her door in a position where she could see me (I'm weaning her off needing someone in the room or within sight to fall asleep). She chatted to herself. She stood up. She complained. The cat finally left her window so I walked back in to close it during a quiet moment. Huge mistake because Kathleen stood up. I got her to lie back down again easily, but the moment I tried to leave the room, she was up and fussing again. It became a battle of wills: she wanted out of the crib and I wasn’t having it. We are not starting that again. It took over an hour from the start of the bedtime routine until she was finally asleep.
Bath time has become a potential source of drama lately. She loves bath time normally, but she has this growing dislike of having water in her face which makes washing her hair rather difficult. I suppose I got a little too much water in her face a couple of times while rinsing her. That was that. For a week she refused to get into the bath willingly. I had to gradually coax her in first by putting my feet in, then sitting her on my lap, then playing with the toys until she finally decided that they looked more fun than my lap.
That didn’t always work, unfortunately. Twice I’ve had to put her in before she was ready. She stood there crying and hanging on to my legs the entire time. Do you know how hard it is to rinse a toddler’s hair when she’s trying to climb into your lap? By the time I lifted her out of the tub wet and dripping, we were both soaked.
I’m crossing my fingers that it isn’t a fluke, but yesterday’s bath wasn’t so bad. I still had to ease her in gradually, but she did go in. I managed to wash her hair and even use conditioner without the histrionics. Using an empty shampoo bottle to squirt water into her hair with a washcloth to keep it out of her eyes seems to be helping. It takes longer than the cup, but she’s much calmer. Calm is good. And bonus: I’m drier, too.
You know what I don’t understand, though? Today is a water day at daycare. Her class is going to spend 45 minutes splashing in the water tables and running under the hose and sprinkler. She loved it last week. Her teacher gave me a picture of her grinning under the hose, sopping wet. She doesn’t mind getting her face wet during water day: why is it such a tragedy in the tub?
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