One Day I Won't be Covered in Puke

This is not a glamorous blog, but I need to get it out of the way.

Charlotte is a puker.

Not at first. In fact, I remember thinking to myself (smugly) in the beginning, "I am so thankful that Charlotte doesn't spit up like _____'s baby, what an annoying thing." Well, little did I know I would be in for months and months of puke. I'm not talking a little spit-up here and there, I'm talking about large quantities of puke 6-8 times a day. At first I thought it was a phase, she'll grow out of it in no time. But days turned to weeks, and weeks to months, and the puking just carried on. Our pediatrician said that their pyloric sphincter is not fully developed until 6 months, so around then it should stop. 6 months came and went, and I'm still covered in puke on a daily basis. I thought, maybe when she started eating solid food it would slow down, but no such luck. The only thing that changed was the consistency of the puke. Wonderful...

I started developing strategies to get out the door with clean clothes. I had a designated "puke shirt" that I would wear over my real clothes and take off right before I left.  Since I have a moral aversion to bibs, Charlotte would stay in her 'puke clothes' until we arrived at our destination, then I would change her. I carry around burp clothes wherever I go.There is a cloth tucked away in every corner of our house. If anyone wants to hold her, I hand them a burp cloth also. I even carry paper towels so I can wipe up the floor of Target when it splatters.  And praise God for hardwood floors. I don't even want to think about what our house would smell like if we had carpet.

It does say a lot about a mother's love. I don't even mind that she does it. I know it's gross, and yes, it is extremely annoying, but I love her no matter what. God really blessed mothers with the ability to see their children through rose-colored glasses. I would feel so sorry for any other mom if I knew their baby puked on them everyday. But it doesn't phase me one bit.

So, don't feel bad for me. I love her regardless of the constant regurgitation. And a  word of warning: I can't promise she won't get you!

I'm documenting this for the same reason I document everything else. One day, I will look back at this and remember what it felt like to be puked on all day. I will laugh about it, tease Charlotte about it, and move on. All of these things come and go so quickly. There is joy in everything, even puke.