I Am A Spit-up Magnet!
December 8, 2006
I’m not sure how I became a target, but somehow Xander has decided that spitting up on me is the best place to get sick. It doesn’t matter how vigilant I am with a burp cloth, Xander will save his spit-up for times when I’m not burping him, and have of course forgotten the cloth over my shoulder. In the past 3 weeks I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been on the receiving end of spit-up. One eventful night Xander got my t-shirt - but I was prepared for that, and had a spare t-shirt next to the bed. After I changed my t-shirt, I nursed Xander, and he managed to spit up on my pants. I wasn’t prepared for that, so Zach held the baby while I changed my pajama bottoms. As I took Xander back, he managed to spew spit-up into my hair (I had it pulled back, that kid just has a special knack for getting spit-up everywhere!), so at 4:30 am I found myself in the shower… Yesterday Xander managed to spit up on two sweaters (both dry clean only…), and this weekend he managed to spew what looked like 4 ounces of milk all over the both of us - before I could even get him to the burp cloth on my shoulder! Why is any of this interesting? Because Xander doesn’t spit up on anyone else - just me. Well, to be accurate, he did catch our friend Sandee with some this past weekend, but other than that isolated incident, I think I have caught all of Xander’s spit-up, and I don’t spend as much time with him these days, as Zach is at home with him during the day, and gets up with him at night. Somehow in the 6 hours during the week and the weekends Xander manages to save all of his spit-up time for me - I don’t wear perfume, Zach and I use the same shampoo, laundry detergent, etc., so I’m hoping that it isn’t something about my scent that makes my kid ill, but at this point I’m starting to worry that something about me makes my kid sick…
Xander has his 2 month check up last week. He is doing great - developmentally on target, growing well (up to 11 lbs 4 oz and 23 inches long!) He also got his 2 month shots at this visit. I really think this is a more traumatic event for the parents than it is for the children. I held Xander’s hands (mostly so he wouldn’t be able to swat at the needles) and talked to him while the doctor held his legs and put the shots in. It was so hard because when I bent down to talk to him he was happy, and obviously didn’t know what was about to happen, then the pain set in. First there was shock on his face, and then just wailing - it made me want to cry. He got 2 shots in one leg, and one shot in the other. One of the areas bled, even after the band-aid was on, so we had to apply pressure, which I’m sure didn’t make it feel any better, and seeing my little baby’s leg bleeding made me want to both cry, and hit the woman who made him bleed.
I know that some people dread the holiday season - interacting with parents, siblings, in-laws, extended family, etc. I love it. I look forward to that time just before Thanksgiving until the new year. This year was no different. The three of us (
On Friday we had our second Thanksgiving with my family. My sister volunteered to change diapers on multiple occasions (somehow she got “lucky” with poopie diapers more than once that day…) My grandmother got a chance to feed Xander a bottle and we got some excellent pictures of everyone holding the baby. Later that afternoon my family watched Xander while Zach and I went to a movie - which was a strange experience for both of us, since it was the first time Xander had been apart from both parents at the same time. It was nice to have some time to ourselves though. Xander was fine, and behaved well for my family, so overall it was a positive experience.