Me and My Shadow

I was warned.

Many of my mom friends told me in advance that once you become a mom, you lose all your privacy. ALL your privacy. That even includes taking a pee.

Yes, I'm no longer allowed to go, well, ANYWHERE without Ellie, apparently. The girl will just not stand for it.

For the past week, I've had to either sneak away or race to the bathroom, although she sometimes still catches up to me at the door, where I have to pick her up and deposit her on the sofa with her father. And all the while, she's wailing in my ear, all because I won't let her come into the bathroom with me.

I'm a private person. I need to pee alone. And I need the 2 freakin' minutes to myself.

OK, truth be told, I have let her come into the bathroom with me when it's just the two of us at the house. It's good for her to see how you pee pee on the potty, so I'll let her tag along. It's when Harry's home that I just can't do it. Yes, I know he's seen me naked. Yes, I know he's seen me give birth. I just can't pee in front of the man. Give me a break!

Today was especially bad. Every time I had to use the bathroom, she flipped. When I took a shower, she flipped. When I had to pay a few bills in the next room, she flipped. When we went to the store and I turned the corner before her and Harry did, she flipped. I could hear her screaming, "Mama! Mama!" at the top of her lungs. At one point, we were walking down a narrow aisle, and Harry blocked her view of me. You'd think I'd fallen off the face of the earth or something. She started frantically looking for me, and I was no more than 4 feet away from her.

I really hope this is a short phase. I love my little girl to pieces, but it's no fun being shadowed by Mini-Me.