Parenting Without A License

Wake Up Call

Posted by Kimberly on November 8th, 2007 — Posted in The Ladies, Kipple, NaBloPoMo

Sure, it was 3:07 a.m. But you know, there are worse ways to be awakened than by your kid climbing Mount Mummy to plant a very slobbery kiss on its summit. Trust me, I know.

I’m a co-sleeping parent. We’ve never had one of those pseudo-cribs or anything like that; the baby toddler preschooler kid sleeps next to me in the bed proper and always has. Which is normally fine; it’s not like I’m using all that extra bedspace for anything. Plus, ease of nursing, fewer nighttime disturbances, happy and secure child…You know the drill. Sometimes, however, life takes a detour out of the ordinary. If you’re lucky, it’s something exciting like actually needing that extra bedspace. Life being what it is, however, it rarely works out that way. Usually it’s something far less sexy, like the stomach flu.

A word to the wise: If you are going to co-sleep with the sick baby, be prepared for the fact that she will throw up all over your bed. Repeatedly. I still retain a rather visceral memory of waking up to Diva Girl spewing her spaghetti dinner. All. Over. My. Head.

That was actually a watershed moment for me. I really knew I was somebody’s mother when, instead of taking the perfectly normal course of action of shrieking “Ewwwwww!” and decontaminating myself in the shower for about 3 hours, I put someone else’s needs first. I calmed the distraught toddler. I bathed the foul smelling toddler. I changed the sheets of the bed. I washed *and* dried the precious blankie. I settled the now peaceful toddler back to sleep. And about 3 hours after the incident I finally washed my hair, seriously grossed out, but with a sense of real accomplishment, knowing that I could do this mommy-thing. I had been tested, and I had passed. Baptism by vomit, if you will.

You can see how I was willing to take the kiss in the spirit it was intended and not begrudge Zen Baby the five minutes of stolen sleep.