Bathtime with Mommy

Last weekend, my mom was out of town, and so I took the opportunity to use her bathtub while she was away. I only have a shower upstairs, which I use, and Freyja takes a bath in a baby tub that sits on the counter next to the sink. It's really a clever little thing...it has a nifty little plug that I can pull when she's all done, and then the water drains straight into the sink.

It's not really convenient to use the bathtub on the first floor, since it's the only bathroom down there, and I get concerned that inevitably, someone will just HAVE to go when I'm down there, which doesn't make for a nice, leisurely bath...so Freyja and I have never taken a bath together. I've always thought that was a serious bummer...

So, when the house was all mine, I got all of Freyja's bath stuff together, and we had some mommy and baby tub time. It was awesome. She seemed totally excited that she got to take a bath in a giant tub where she could do some major splashing and where she had more room for toys and such, and even more stoked that I was in there with her. It was so fabulous, in fact, that we snapped some shots of the whole event.

Don't worry...there's no offensive nudity. Ha!

As I was watched her play, I was reminded of our first night in the hospital together. She was restless and tired and probably hungry, but couldn't seem to sleep. Without any experience of motherhood of my own to draw on, I just did what I thought would work, relying completely on instinct. I laid her down on the bed and took off her little clothes, I gathered her in my arms and put her directly against the bare skin on my chest, and wrapped my robe around her and myself to keep us both warm. We walked around the birthing floor like that for about half and hour, until she fell asleep, and I sang to her very quietly, as I did when she was in the womb. Something told me that the familiar sound of my heartbeat, the warmth of my skin, and the sound of my voice would set things right in her world...that it might remind her of what things used to be like before everything was suddenly different and new...and probably just a little bit scary. I always remember this situation, because it proves that so much of motherhood is about following your instincts, and that you need to learn to trust them if you're ever going to be any good at it...