Makes Me Want to Puke

Cole came home from church Wednesday night not feeling well. His teachers said he threw up a little in class but he also ate about 213 goldfish crackers, so that didn't mean a lot. Sometimes he stuffs his face too fast to chew and gets choked-that's what I thought happened. He woke up around midnight that night vomiting and could not stop. Finally he and I fell asleep on the bathroom floor around 5:30am.
I know when my babies are sick-I can always tell by their eyes. After a little 12 hour virus he seemed to be feeling better. A couple days later his little eyes were still puffy and he was catching up on lost sleep, but he had regained his appetite and his orneriness.
Saturday night we decided to go have dinner, look at Christmas lights, and have a little hot chocolate break. Cole is dancing at Starbucks eating spoonfuls of whipped cream and getting lots of attention. On the way home he got really upset about something. The crying begins.
Cole's will is strong...really strong. I'm trying to figure out how to control this. I've heard that you have to break their will without breaking their spirit. This is a battle for me. I don't even know where to begin sometimes, but I know I have to get this under control or it could cause major problems down the road. So...he wants something he can't have, the crying ensues and he pukes. Not just a little puke...the most vomit I have ever seen come out of a 28 pound body.
Lately, every time Cole cries, he throws up. I don't know if this is a battle of wills with him, if he just get so worked up, or if Jon is paying for his childhood. Briefly...Jon's a puker. He gets weak in the knees about smells. I've watched this man change diapers with a gas mask on. When we first got married, we made a deal-if I cleaned the poop messes then he would clean the puke messes. Well, for 6 1/2 years, he's let me down except for one time I was pregnant and Sampson got sick in the house.
Cole has started and he can't stop. It flies in the front seat and hits me in the hair, Jackson is freaking out and begins his one million questions, Jon looks like he's going to lose it. Luckily, today, I was a well-prepared mom. I had trash bags in my car, and a load of wipes. I did a pretty good job of cleaning up. But, it wasn't enough. We pull in the driveway, it starts again. Jon bolts out of the car and throws up...twice. I get Cole out of the carseat, and he's throwing up all over me as we walk in the door. I finally get him calmed down enough to stick him in the tub and get myself in the shower. I ask Jon if he can please pull the cover off the carseat to wash. He comes in and tells me, he tried his best, but he got frustrated with all the straps, and he pulled out his pocket knife and cut it to get it off. "I will gladly pay $35 for a new carseat," he says. "It was getting all over my fingers." I just looked at him and thought, "Are you kidding me?" This man couldn't do my job for half a day.
There is a reason women outlive men. Simply...we're stronger. We love our babies so much that we let them puke on us because they want to be held and they don't feel good. We suffer through nights with two hours of sleep to be up at 7am and do it all over again. We do the the jobs of 5 people. We...were built for endurance.
Through all of this, I just have to laugh. Or at least force myself to. I know someday I will laugh about these moments. Someday I will probably wish dealing with bodily fluids was as hard as it gets. Someday...I will miss this season of my life. But not today.
Meanwhile-20 minutes after the episode, Cole is running circles in the living room. He grabbed Jack around the waist and wrestled him to the floor, and says "Mean Bubba...you mean." He's back to the normal Colie!