Don't Read This...It's Disgusting

Well, it's 4am, and I'm finally going back to bed.

I've been switching to the couch halfway through the night every night because of my back, so when I heard Caspian crying around 3, I assumed it was because I was gone. Instead of going in to take care of it, I decided to see how Charlie handled it. 10 or 15 minutes went past, and they had migrated into the bathroom, still awake. I was a little miffed that he hadn't just told Caspian where I was and explained why and maybe snuck in to "make sure" I was there...but I was letting him do it his way. Then I heard Caspian cry in a weird way I didn't recognize, so I got up.

I didn't recognize it because he's never had to use the puke cry before.

Oh, yes. While I was laying awake on the couch, letting Charlie fend for himself, Caspian had actually puked himself awake in bed. Poor Charlie. (But thank goodness we were sleep-sharing, or we might have woken up to a puke-crusted toddler.) Caspian had puked once on Charlie in bed, once on his own legs in bed, once on the bathroom floor, and several times into the bathroom trash can. He was so confused and totally distraught. That was the cry I heard.

In addition, Charlie was stuck on the toilet while Caspian threw up nearby. They apparently had contracted food poisoning from bad pizza (which I hadn't eaten, praise God). I sat on the floor an held Caspian while he heaved (mostly clear liquid, now). When he was finished, I got him to drink some water and eat two bites of saltine cracker. Which he then deposited back onto the bedroom floor. And the bathroom floor. And into the trash can.

I changed the sheets and his clothes, mopped up the floor, started a load of pukey laundry, and got them settled back into bed. Caspian was distraught for "boo", which doesn't surprise me, since he was so upset. I was hesitant to put anything else in his stomach, but he was going to make himself sick crying otherwise. A few minutes in — while he was asleep — he heaved and bubbled up again. I flipped him upright so he could "use" the towel we'd spread on the bed, and sure enough, out came more. Mostly mucous. Ew. That was new. Caspian was, of course, completely unsettled, having woken from serene sleep by being flipped around and then throwing up again.

After cleaning up a second round in bed, I held Caspian and rocked and sang and stroked his back. He was out and limp before Charlie could change the Boppy cover. I laid him down on the new towel, and he and Charlie are now blissfully asleep in bed. I decided to record this very first puke session for posterity while I waited for the first laundry load to finish. And now for round number two...

For those of you who are stalking this blog and haven't yet been informed by a real person: we're expecting!

Yes, it was planned (but the exact timing is God's.)
Our due date is April 23, 2009.
No, we won't know the gender until Christmas.
Yes, we hope it's a girl.
No, we'll still be thrilled if God wants us to have a boy. (Or as Charlie puts it, "If it's a boy, we'll just know that God wants us to have three kids.")
Yes, I've been tired and nauseated.
Yes, I'm already showing a little.
Yes, Caspian is over the moon about it.

From the creative team that brought you Tidbit, we present...Merbaby!