The Best of Baby Vomit

I was reading a list of embarrassing baby stories, and I figured that I'd share mine right here. It's not my only one, of course, but it's my favorite so far.

My best friend is in the navy, so when she was home visiting her family, I brought Pike up to see her and her parents. We went out to lunch, which I wasn't at all worried about since Pike (who was around seven months at the time, I believe) was always so well behaved. Naturally that day he was fussy. Instead of just letting him scream, I decided to distract him with his lunch.

He ate like it was going out of style and devoured everything I'd brought alone. I figured he'd drift off for a nap, but he was still a little fussy, so I picked him up to cuddle him into submission. The waiter came over and was saying how cute he was and, just as our (thankfully very nice) waiter finished the sentence, Pike puked. He didn't just spit up a little. He vomitted everything he'd eaten - right onto me. Naturally I had a change of clothes all ready for him, but I had to pass the baby off to my friend so I could go to the bathroom and clean off as much puke as I could.

It's worth noting that he's only puked like that one time since... and it was right down my back. Yep, mommy's a puke magnet. Lucky me!

Mom Thought of the Day: Vacuuming

Woman looking at the vacuum bag, originally uploaded by thefroghunter.

My floors are not so clean that I would eat off of them. Thankfully Pike's standards are lower than mine, and if I hate a guest so much that I'd make them eat off the floor, they probably wouldn't have gotten in the front door anyway.

One Year Later

Today, August 7, 2012, my baby boy is one year old. A year ago today at almost this exact moment, I was numb from the waist down and panicking because I couldn't feel it when I was breathing. The nurse calmed me down, and I was medicated enough that it wasn't hard to do. A few minutes later, I heard Pike cry for the very first time. He was swept away with Wes watching over him and cleaned up. Then I saw my little boy and got to kiss him before he was swept off all over again and I didn't see him for another 32 hours.

This year I've been more proud and tired and excited than I've ever been before in my whole life. Pike has gone from not being able to remember to breathe on his own (literally) to climbing the stairs by himself (his most recent accomplishment). He can babble and laugh and clap and high five and even wave goodbye when he wants to. The tiny little baby who couldn't figure out how to work a nipple on a bottle eats Cheerios like it's going out of style. 

Once we decided to have a baby, there were moments of doubt and fear and worry. Since Pike was born, that hasn't gone away - but it's worry and fear for and about him. We want him to have every chance and do everything he wants to do. I can't see anything but my sweet, beautiful, perfect baby boy when I look at him. He gets cuter every single day. I may miss a phase when it passes ("Oh, that's our last smile with no teeth!"), but it's always exciting to see what he's going to do and learn and how he's going to change.

I can't imagine life without our sweet little goofball of a baby, and I can't wait to see what the next year will be like.

Happy birthday, Pike Alexander Howard!