Bye-Bye Wa-Wa

Biscuit loves to take baths.

He likes to splash in the water, and he has a few toys he plays with, mainly a couple of slotted cups that lets the water sprinkle through.

Biscuit is very patient as I soap him up and wash him down, even his ears. He names body parts as we wash and willingly lies back in the tub to rinse the soap out of his hair.

Basically, the only bath-time problem I have is getting him out of the tub at the end. He doesn't like it when it's time to dry off and get dressed.

I've made several efforts to get him out of the tub, including having Jeff meet him at the edge of the tub with a hooded towel. "Look, Dada is here to get you." But no dice.

I've tried bribing him by saying, "Let's go put your shirt on. Your shirt has a ball (or dog or car or whatever) on it." No luck with that, either.

But a couple of days ago, I accidentally kicked the stopper out and the water started draining out of the tub. I had read early on that you shouldn't drain the water while the kid is in the tub because it often freaks them out. But I figured since it was already done, I'd just see what happened.

Biscuit looked at the drain then looked at me as if to ask what was going on. I wasn't sure what to do, so I started waving at the drain and saying, "Bye-bye water. We'll see you next time."

And whaddya know? The boy starts saying, "Bye-bye wa-wa. Next time," while he waved at the drain.

And of course, once the water has drained out, there's nothing else to play in. So he stands up and is ready to get out and get dressed.

I think the saying "Necessity is the mother of invention" includes the word "mother" for a reason. Whatever the situation, the Mamas figure it out!