Is The Gag Reflect Hereditary????

My son is a gagger. He gags and throws up so easily. I am going to give you a couple of examples from today. Let me start by saying Jude woke up last night with an ear ache and was screaming almost every half hour. None of us (except Elise, who is a very sound sleeper) got any sleep. Jude has a runny nose and a little fever. Because he was over tired and feeling sick he really upped his "flare for the dramatic". He came to me and in a whine-cry combo said, "Mom, the snot is going into my mouth...Gag...Gag...Get it mom....Gag....Gag...It is touchin' my lip...Gag...Gag." It was the clear water like snot. I agree, it would be gross but I wasn't going to let it get in his mouth. I was running for the tissues as he gagged.

We left Tennessee around 10 A.M. Jake, Jude and I all felt pretty bad. Jude and Elise slept most of the way. We made a few stops: bathroom breaks and such. During our last stop Jude walked through the grass and got a little mud on his boots. When Jake put him back in his car seat he saw the mud. He said "Daddy, there is mud on my boot...Gag...Barf." Yes, my son threw up over mud on his boots.

The crazy part is...he comes by it honestly. Paul Miller is a gagger himself. He gags very easily. Once,when he was much younger, Jude choked on some food and started spitting up. Paul ran from the table in a gagging fury toward the bathroom. I am beginning to think it is hereditary. A couple of summers ago, we went on a camping trip in the eastern part of West Virginia. Jude was about 6 months old. He had a bottle and spit up a little. Miles and Ashely were riding with us. Miles saw Jude spit up (just milk) and threw up in the van. He had eaten a banana...he threw up in the cup holder. We hadn't seen a store for miles and miles. As luck would have it we came upon a Family Dollar. Jake pulled over and went inside to get some "throw up cleaning supplies". We were all out of the car by the time he got back. Boldly with a latex gloved hand, Jake reached into the cup holder and scooped out a handful of banana barf. He started gagging. At this point I was getting tired of all the queasiness, so I pulled a glove on, took a huge pile of paper towels and I started gagging. Yes, here we were on the side of the road in a very rural town...gagging. It was something out of the movies. We finally got it cleaned up but barely made it to the camp site without Ashely puking due to car sickness.

I used to be grossed out by barf. Now it doesn't bother me. I can catch it in my hand and I don't even flinch. I guess it is part of being a mom.

See you tommorow.