Babys First Year Blog
Finding A Way to Laugh At Myself
Had to take a picture to prove this really happened!
There are a lot of things people say to you to try to prepare you for motherhood! Sleep now – you’ll never feel rested again. You’re going to be covered in poop and drool soon enough. Showering will become a luxury.
While all those things are absolutely true, hearing them doesn’t really do much to actually get you ready for the real deal. I was playing with my two month old today when I had one of those parenting moments that should make you cry, so instead you just laugh.
I was reading a parenting magazine recently with some suggestions for exercises that new moms can do with their babies. One of them was to lay on your back and bend your knees, resting baby on your legs like an assisted airplane. Then you rock back and forth, working your abs while your baby laughs and squeals with delight.
Cullen loved it! He smiled and gurgled and made goofy faces while I held onto his little arms and got my ab workout on. And then it happened…
In one moment my baby was smiling and laughing at me, and in the next all I saw was projectile vomit headed straight for my face. I was completely shocked!
I rolled sideways on the bed and laid Cullen down, all while keeping my eyes and mouth closed since they were dripping in nastiness. I was able to navigate the familiar path to my master bathroom and quickly grab a washcloth so I could breathe again. With my eyes opened up, I looked quickly over to Cullen who was happy as a clam in the middle of the bed, kicking and dancing. And then I glanced back to the bathroom mirror to see that I had a head covered in baby vomit.
It should have made me cry, or at least made me gag, but all I could do was laugh. Sometimes being a mom feels so ridiculous. I reached up to wipe it off, but first snapped a quick camera phone picture to document the evidence.
Thankfully this was the one day each week that my husband was working from home. I walked downstairs where he was on a work conference call, and watched his face turn to shock and then hysterical laughter as he tried to maintain composure while starting at my barf bun. As soon as he was off the phone, I handed Cullen over (who also needed a new outfit), and begged for 15 minutes to go take another shower. As if finding time in the day for one shower isn’t hard enough, what mom has time for two!?
When all was said and done, we both got cleaned up, and I learned my lesson in too much airplane too soon after lunch. As a first-time mom, I’m learning new lessons in parenting day by day. I’ve had my days where I have most definitely cried, but it’s always so much better if I can just find a way to laugh.
Go Back To Babys First Year Blog
18 Comments
heather d commented on Jan 06 12 at 1:57 amOh my that is hilarious. Laughing is better than crying!
Digital Mom commented on Jan 06 12 at 2:27 amYou’ve been initiated. You are officially a mom! Welcome to the club!
Linda commented on Jan 06 12 at 8:23 amMy baby spit up a lot until about 8 months old so we were always dodging the spit up. I had one experience with projectile spit up that landed in my face and also in my mouth. Funny and disgusting all at the same time! I still laugh about that day.
Kim Q commented on Jan 06 12 at 8:38 amBe thankful that it did not land in your mouth- that happened to my husband. HA!
Koreen commented on Jan 06 12 at 10:40 amOh time I was holding him up and his spit up down my cleavage…
Lisa commented on Jan 06 12 at 12:24 pmI am enjoying all of the stories and pictures of Cullen – and so is my 10 year old daughter :) She has suffered from acid reflux her whole life so puking is something she did/does often. Have you ever taken Cullen in the shower with you? That was something I had to master early on so we could both get clean. Looking forward to more tales!
BB commented on Jan 06 12 at 1:36 pmYup that brings back memories alright. Like the time I got sprayed in the face with pee while changing my 1 week old’s diaper. I know they say babies that small don’t smile, but I SWEAR he smirked.
Heather commented on Jan 06 12 at 1:45 pmhahaha, I love it! You have to laugh because it really is ridiculous and hilarious. And the fact that they are just happy as can be afterward is the icing on the cake.
Sejal M commented on Jan 06 12 at 1:45 pmThis happened to us this morning- true story!
Colleen commented on Jan 06 12 at 2:41 pmSo yes! Those were the times when you wish you could move faster but you can’t.
Jennifer commented on Jan 06 12 at 8:27 pmVery true and a good lesson! These things happen all the time. The other day my husband was watching our baby while she was having some tummy time. He smelled some poo, leaned in closer, and saw she had pooped through her backside. So he lifted her on his shoulder, only to discover that she had also pooped through the front! Big poosplosion! So he stripped her down, took his own shirt off, and proceeded to take her to the bath, when he felt something warn and wet down his front. Yep, she peed on him. Of course, she found this hysterical, and luckily so did my husband!
Leatitia @ The Sweetest Year commented on Jan 06 12 at 8:48 pmI was at the theater with my baby when I heard him poop. I could tell it was a big one, but the movie was almost finished so I waited a bit.
Turns out, I had poop ALL over the front of the jeans. I tried cleaning it up at the restroom and you can do so much with brown paper. Baby didn’t have any on him (well, except in his diaper) because it all came out from the back of the diaper, his shirt was pulled up a bit and his pants were lower. Lucky baby!
I always carry around a change of clothes for the baby, but now I’m thinking I should also carry one for me!!
Stefanie commented on Jan 06 12 at 9:08 pmMy son was laying on the floor one day and I was near his face talking to him. All of a sudden he spit up in my face. My immediate reaction happened to be spitting it right back at him. It wasn’t even like I had time to react, the spit up hit me and I just spit it right back out. My sister now tells everyone that story to joke that I am a horrible mother for spitting on y son.
Tara commented on Jan 07 12 at 10:11 amI used to work at Gymboree Play & Music, and we would do Airplane with the 6-10 month olds. And I remember every class giving the advice that if baby had eaten any time in the last half hour to modify by just holding and rocking along to the song. This is exactly why! One horror story included puke right in mom’s mouth, so at least your mouth was closed?
Rachelle commented on Jan 07 12 at 1:44 pmOne of my favorite exercises is to sing the Grand Old Duke of York (he had 10 thousand men, he marched them up to the top of the hill, and he marched them down again) doing movements while the baby is on the legs.
You know, a good hour after the last feeding ;-)
This is the first time… wont’ be the last!
Karen commented on Jan 08 12 at 10:14 amWith my first born..his first.month he was wakibg every hour at night to eat…i was so sleep deprived after some feedings i would lay back in bed, spit up n hair n front of shirt..i didnt care,lol come to find out after leaving the hospital they never told me when to up his amount of formula …so i was still giving two oz.s per feed,LOL…no wonder he was up so much..soon as i switched him to four oz.s he woke up only once a night…heehee
Kerry commented on Jan 08 12 at 11:22 amGreat post…..words that this first time Mamma lives by…. “you have to laugh at yourself…..’cause you’d cry your eyes out if you didn’t” <3
ashley commented on Jan 08 12 at 7:05 pmLol, that’s too funny. I’m glad you were able to find humor in the situation. :)
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
Lauren Jimeson 
Lauren Hartmann 
Emily Elling 
Meredith Carroll 
Emily Malone 
Molly Thornberg 
Selena Burgess 
Casey Mullins 
Madeline Petersen 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
18