Real Men Leave the Seat Up

Spike's four grown brothers were in town this weekend. They were incredibly courteous guests and came equipped with their own air bed, pillows, blankets and trashbags full of twinkies, cookies, beef jerky and other digestible necessities to lessen the logistical complications of their visit. However, they still needed to be bedded.

We lined three air mattresses up side by side across the front room of my apartment and sealed them in for the weekend. Since my five month old baby usually sleeps out in the front room, we had to find alternate accommodations for her. Floor space is at a premium at our place so I was left scratching my head. She couldn't sleep in the bedrooms because she'd keep us up all night. What to do, what to do. Spike finally had this ingenious solution:


Yes, she slept on the floor of Spike's shower. And she loved it. Cher slept through the night for the first time in her life two nights in a row. This, of course, means that I slept through the night for the first time in five months.

The brothers all left this morning. As the last bag vanished out the door, I turned to repair the apartment. There was a pair of forgotten underwear hanging limply over the back a kitchen chair. Both toilet seats were resolutely up and Hostess wrappers littered the front room. With the girls outnumbering the boys in my family three to one, it was humbling to have this unexpected surge of testosterone push us girls from our high horses.

An hour later everything was back in its place and our home aired out. But I couldn't deny the magical gift of their visit. The discovery of the shower crib. Yes, she is sleeping there peacefully as I type and I have no intention of breaking our sleeping streak. A word to any of you brothers, come back any time! Your visit was well worth it. Update: It's 4:30 a.m. Monday morning and she has been up 3 times tonight so far. The acoustics of her yells from the bathroom are deafening. Her wonderful uncles are gone and her wrath is mighty. The bliss of the shower crib is over. I'm devastated.

Now which of you brothers do I have to mail these dirty underwear to?


Yes, Mom, that is our tablecloth that Cher is swaddled in.
What can I say? The girl is enormous!

Comments

Left-Handed said…
I wonder if what she likes is how small the shower space is compared to the vast living room. It seems that babies really like small cozy spaces... and that would make sense given their visual development. But what do I know. I am just guessing. My niece will sleep and play much better in a crib that is covered with a blanket or in the closet. Small enclosed spaces are somehow soothing.
Anonymous said…
Sorry the shower thing didn't work out after all. But hey, two nights of full sleep, that must have been great!
Mary said…
We actually had our son sleep in a pack n' play in our basement bathroom for several months - we have only 2 bedrooms and he was keeping our older daughter (and sleep deprived mama) up at night with his screams. It worked GREAT! I think the key to our bathroom bedroom success was that it was so pitch black in there and quiet. It worked great. And then I decided to put him back in his real crib in his bedroom and nights haven't been the same since....
Amy said…
We managed to fit a pack n play into a tiny English hotel bathroom while we were in London. The only downside was if we had to use the toilet while the kid was sleeping--a crazy bit of acrobatics.
TheOneTrueSue said…
Tee hee Very imaginative. It's amazing what lengths desperation will drive us to, isn't it? Sorry that it didn't last.
Doug Taylor said…
Having her sleep in the shower makes late night diaper failures a lot easier to deal with. In fact, with young ones in the house (or several male in-laws to watch football) having a drain the the middle of the floor of EVERY room would come in handy.
Sarah said…
YUCK, Doug! Mostly because I'm well aware of how little persuasion would be necessary to convince these male in-laws to use a common drain in front of the t.v. Boys are weird.
Melissa said…
That is the best picture!! I love it! Thanks for the smile :D
Heffalump said…
When we used to visit my Grandparents in Colorado and my brother was a a baby he slept in a suitcase. (No it wasn't closed!)
Erin said…
When DS #1 was born, we lived in a one bedroom with a small walk-in closet, which became the nursery! We could fit his crib inside, put all his diapers underneath and still walk in. Luckily, there was a regular closet in the bedroom as well so we could put our clothes in it. Another reason I'm glad that babies come out small.
Anonymous said…
Did you ever find out the owner of the leftover undies??
Anonymous said…
It must've been the closeness of the space that made her feel safe and secure.

I was sitting at my desk when I read this earlier today and I laughed out loud when I saw her in the shower.
Angela said…
I love it that you swaddled her in your tablecloth! I love that one by the way.
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