Parenting 'Right Of Passage', Perhaps?

Yesterday Rhys was not himself. He had a terrible night's sleep and was grumpy all day. Runny nose, bum rash and general malaise with an ample amount of whining. Let me tell you, nothing makes me appreciate his easy going self than when it's gone. I could see his 2 top front teeth pushing their way through the gums, so we figure he was teething. Some baby Tylenol helped him have a 2.5 hour nap in the afternoon, which was glorious. The cherry flavoured medicine used to go down easily, but this time he winced and scrunched his nose at the taste, but he took the full dose.

Now, jump ahead to bedtime, when Gramma Patsy was over and Warren & I were getting all dolled up for a fancy romantic dinner at 'Rush' restaurant downtown to properly celebrate our anniversary. I was in my bathrobe, had just finished bathing Rhys, and had him all snuggled in his jimjams. Time to give him a nighttime dose of the cherry flavoured medicine that we hoped would help him sleep better and get the rest he needed. He winced and scrunched and turned his head and even gagged a little at the taste. But I persisted. Then, IT happened. Projectile Vomit. All over my baby. All over my bath robe. All over Gramma Patsy's arm. All over the carpet. Splatter on the bedding. Later, when I picked up the medicine bottle, it was also dripping vomit. My poor little man. I felt so responsible, because I was forcing him to swallow something he didn't like. It was clearly a gag-reflex reaction. Warren came to our rescue to help clean up the mess, and I was just thankful he wasn't there to witness it happen. He would have freaked out and insisted we go to Emergency at the hospital. It was exorcist-like.

So, son's projectile vomit all over the place while getting ready to go out. I think this means I have 'earned' my first parenting badge. Kind of like they do in Beavers and Brownies. I can sew that onto my Mama Sash and wear it proudly.

I'm VERY pleased to announced that, even though he needed more care & love from Gramma Patsy than usual while we were out, he woke up in a delightful mood this morning, runny nose gone, bum rash gone, and those little white 'Satan's Kernels' poking through a bit more. Maybe he'll have some adorable buck teeth in time for his birthday. Perfect for chomping down on birthday cake.

In the end, we were able to dress ourselves and have a delicious meal, just the two of us.