why I need a vacation

Some of the most frustrating words you will ever hear as a mommy are, "It's a phase. He'll grow out of it." That's so not helpful in the moment.

My son is into everything. We call him the destroyer. He pushes, pulls, lifts, climbs, bangs, eats, rips and throws anything and everything he gets his hands on. He has learned how to lift the air vents out of the floor and does so constantly. It's only a matter of time before something valuable gets pitched into the black hole. He's now on the brink of full-fledged walking, and the thought of it alone is exhausting.

But all of that is relatively normal stuff. Not so with the baby bulimia. You see, my child has taken a liking to gagging himself. He sticks his thumb and/or pointer finger all the way in the back of his throat until he chokes. This usually occurs while we're driving down the road and scares me into pulling over unless one of the other kids can assure me that he's simply sticking his finger down his throat again. This has been just annoying and upsetting. But today it has spilled over into maddening. He managed to stick them so far back in his throat that he actually did make himself throw up. A lot. Over the side of the crib onto the floor and everywhere in between. Sorry if you have a weak stomach, but I need to vent.

So, if anyone knows anything about this bizarre behavior, please let me know. The "it's a phase" I got from the nurse at my pediatrician's office is just not cutting it. I need something a little bit more implementative than that. (No, I'm not sure that's a word.)

Maybe I'll just go to Puerto Rico. Grandmas are good for stuff like this.