Icky, sickly, and smelly

This week I am talking about playing the role of Dr. mom. Because who is going to be there most of the time when it comes to wiping the little noses, forcing down the medicine, and kissing the boo boo? It's mom of course.

Z was sick a couple weeks ago, so I really thought we had paid our dues for a while. That was until this morning when I hear a little voice cry "mommy". I squint hard to see the clock and it's still pretty early. As I head toward his room I start smelling this wretched awful scent. The first thing I did was feel Z's pajamas to see if he had a messy diaper. The smell was overwhelming! I finally open my eyes enough to realize that the poor little guy had thrown up some nasty white chunks all over himself and the sheets.

I don't think he is sick, he just had too much pizza last night. Actually, what he had was too much cheese. He devoured the top of the pizza by just smashing it against his face and licking off the topping. This vomit was definitely cheesy. As Dr. Mom I have learned to examine the icky, sickly, smelly, oozes that come out of my child. I am blessed to have a wonderful circuit of other moms to talk to about these things. Poop, snot, rashes, vomit, you name it, nothing is off limits. It can be very helpful sometimes to get advice, or even just to vent.

The problem is not everyone is so interested in openly discussing such matters. Sometimes I forget the company I am around and just ramble on about topics like breast milk and circumcision, as if it is as common as talking about the weather. When someone watches my son I often will inquire about the dirty diapers hoping to get a thorough analysis of the specimen. It's the looks I get from the teenagers that remind me that examining poop is not typical, let alone discussing it. Eventually they will all probably go through the same phase in life too when the parts of the body and the things that it does become more practical and less grotesque or taboo. Until then, I will try not to spoil it for everyone.