Snotty Stories

Gotcha! He's been doing this some when he sucks on his fingers, and I finally got it on film. Aunt Judy, this picture's for you!
At least he doesn't always stick that finger right in his mouth when it leaves his nose.

For the first time today, I got to clean bananas out of Patrick's hair...and forehead...and nose. That's in addition to the usual bananas all around his mouth and sometimes on his hands (and knees, as he loves grabbing his knees, especially with dirty hands) and the high chair tray. He suddenly sneezed with a mouthful of bananas, spraying them everywhere. I fortunately saw it coming and ducked to avoid the mess, but Patrick couldn't avoid it. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the spots of bananas in his hair and eyebrows and on his forehead and nose. It was one of the grossest things I've laughed at in a while. It's a good thing all those freshmen boys I taught showed me how to appreciate potty humor. Between all the poop and booger stories I have from Patrick, it's a necessity in this new job.

I know the title says I'll be discussing snotty stories, but I have a poop one too, so while I'm telling gross stories, I might as well throw this one in. Just before feeding Patrick his lunch, I changed his diaper. It was somewhat poopy, as many of his diapers are these days. Then just a few minutes later while eating bananas, he started straining really hard to poop again. He had just pooped! Sure enough, though, I had another fun diaper to change when he finished eating.

I was never one to get too grossed out by anything, at least until I got pregnant and anything could make me sick. But I still didn't expect to be able to handle all the gross things kids subject parents to, like poop, snot, pee during diaper changes and baths, spit-up, and puke. Now almost six months later, I have found that I can not only handle the grossness, but I am nearly immune to it. Occasionally if I'm already frustrated, a particularly chunky spit-up can really gross me out, but otherwise these things are just part of daily life. It completely amazes me how nonchalantly I can wipe off poop stuck to Patrick's butt. Or when he sprays my shirt while I'm bathing him, I can cheerfully scold him and not immediately feel the need to jump in the shower to wash it off. I haven't had the chance to deal with actual puke yet, and I'm hoping this doesn't turn out to be my Achilles' heel. That's the one thing that has always grossed me out, especially after experiencing so much of it myself in the last year. I suspect, though, that after the first few times, it will become just another mess to clean up and won't even really bother me. Other moms out there, have you found this to be true as well? Or are there still some things your kids do/did that gross you out?