Puppy Takes a Bath

Max's lovey is a Ty-brand stuffed puppy named, surprisingly, Puppy. Max is getting more and more attached to Puppy and last night Pup made his way into the bathroom for bath time. I didn't think anything of it, but in the middle of the bath, Max started asking for Puppy. I explained 10 ways from Sunday why Puppy couldn't get in the bath. I even propped him up on the back of the toilet and showed Max how Puppy was watching him take a bath. No dice. He still wanted Puppy in the tub. I decided, "What the heck! It's just water." So I gave him Puppy in the tub. He was thrilled as he dunked him, "fed" him water from his pouring cup and even washed him with his shampoo. I was hoping maybe he'd realize why putting Puppy in the bath wasn't such a good idea, but also realized that at this age, he probably wouldn't make the connection. After the bath and when the rest of the bedtime routine was completed and Max was in his crib, he asked for Puppy. I just smiled and handed him his cold and wet best friend. He pushed him away and gave me a strange look. I explained that Puppy was wet because he's not supposed to go in the tub and that's why Mommy didn't want him to go in. I told him that Puppy would come back to bed with him later, but he had to go get dry first. I seriously doubt that my little "natural consequences" lesson had any impact on Max, but we'll see when he gets in the tub tonight! At any rate, Puppy definitely needed a bath!