Shower Time Any Time!

October 11, 2017

So I brought Bradley in from school yesterday.  While I took his lunchbox with me, he sat down in the entryway and immediately rid himself of his socks which went flying and his shoes, which got lined up precisely side by side.  He then made his usual request for his movie, which I denied.  And so of course, he walked down the hall towards my room and where he knows it sits to charge... knowing this is our routine and that I would find him paying homage at the bottom of my dresser waiting for the IPad Gods, or mom, to finally give in and give it to him at some point...I felt pretty secure in dumping his Tupperware in the sink with his fork and spoon, refilling his Pediasure and Juice cups and putting them in the fridge, and then wiping out and putting away his lunchbox.  Then I walked down the hall to find my little guy.

Hmmm....some days he really likes to surprise the Heck out of me.  I walk around the corner and don't find him in his spot.  Pause and listen...ahhh, the bathroom.  As I opened the door, I saw him in our shower, it's a glass enclosed shower.  So I can see him standing there, barefoot in the shower, trying to take his shirt off.  Oh, okay...  So I join him at the door, and I ask him: "Do you want to take a shower?"  He looks at me and says: "Yesss!"

Since we have added Bradley to this family, he has been unpredictable and we have been very careful to be spontaneous to adjust to his needs, and definitely not set too many plans in motion because it always sucks to cancel plans; especially if they involve other people.  So there are times that if I can do it, I drop everything to accommodate the potential teaching moments that come along with him.  If he indicates he might have an inkling to try the potty, you'll see us running through the house with him naked and mommy rushing him to the potty; watch closely, and you might see me running to the fridge for mini peanut butter cups to encourage said potty time.  So here I am, in the middle of the afternoon with an hour before I have to pick up Sydney and I am stripping Bradley down while he stands in my shower.

He pointed towards the shower head, and I asked him, "Shower?  Like Daddy?"

"Yesss... Dada".

"Okay! Let's take a shower!"

I moved him close to me, then turned the water on away from him, knowing it would be cold and not wanting to scare him away.  He tapped his feet in the puddles of the water, not caring that it was cold.  Once it was warm enough I let him know it was ready and directed it on him.  He stood under it and even turned around for me.  Then he pointed to the soap, so I laughed, grabbed it and started soaping him down.  Then when I leaned back, he started washing his arms, his belly and his chest.  Then I grabbed Dad's shampoo and started on his head.  When I pulled back he put his hands up and started washing his hair in the front.  I let him go at it until he put his hands back down, then I worked on rinsing out the soap, he tried to help me do that too.  I was so excited and had no way to share it with Eric, so I stepped back, grabbed my phone, prepped the video, the leaned in and pretended to rinse his hair again and said: "Your turn."  He actually agreed and as I grabbed my phone and hit record I caught him moving his hands in his hair and trying to rinse it.

I shut down the shower and wrapped him in a towel and rubbed him dry.  He then pointed to his shirt and I pulled it over his head and he went running to his room and waited by his changing table to be lifted up and then he lay down and waited for his diaper and clothes.

Every little bit of understanding that leads to the tiniest inklings of compliance are so exciting in our house.  Bradley is fifty pounds, and almost forty four inches tall, it's getting difficult to keep moving him around let alone trying to do anything when he isn't in the mood to help out.  We want him to have a say in the world around him, especially things that are happening to him or because of him.  We can only hope that that will lead him to have a life that he leads in a way that makes him happy and gives him a sense of community with connections and responsibilities.  He has an inquisitive mind and a preference for doing things outside of the box, so there has to be a world out there where he will fit in and be appreciated for all the wonderful aspects that make him who he is.  At least his Mom can certainly hope so.

Sure, they're baby steps, they're always baby steps.  But the baby steps are truly the cutest steps to take and that's okay.  My big boy is growing up really fast, he pushes his development in surges rather than stages, the rest of the family just has to be standing by ready to react and not miss it.  For now, Bradley's desire to initiate a shower like a big boy in a big boy type shower is just a really cool little milestone for him.  Does that mean he's giving up baths?  Probably not any time soon, a bath is just one, big, not-so muddy puddle that he loves as much as his Beloved Peppa Pig.  Too cool to pass up.

Exciting little moments in our house!  Bradley is the coolest kid and his days of discovery are worth all the work and worry!

Winding down Day 11 in the Blog Challenge for Awareness and Acceptance for Bradley and all his friends out there with Down syndrome too!