The noise that drives me nuts.

Every few months, Melvin has bouts of nausea.  It has been going on for years. Most of the time it clears up on its own, sometimes we need to give him some meds to help him along.  It’s sort of the equivalent of an ulcer flare up.  He doesn’t throw up during these bouts, although his liquid burps pick up in frequency.  During this time he drools excessively and… he licks and smacks his lips.

I do everything I can to make him comfy.  Lip licking, lip smacking.  I wipe up the foot long drips of drool hanging from his jowls. Lip licking, lip smacking.  I let him sleep with me. LIP LICKING, LIP SMACKING.  I love him and all I want in life is for both boys to be healthy and happy but if I’m being honest, the constant lip licking and lip smacking starts to drive me completely insane a little bit nuts.  He does it 24/7, even in his sleep.  You would think that after learning to sleep with Jake honk snoring six feet from me that I’d be able to tune out a lip lick here and a lip smack there, but no,  I hear it and it’s my equivalent of nails on a chalkboard.

I try to tell myself that Melvin feels far worse than I could ever be annoyed at the noise, but even then, I start to question it.  I just want it to stop.  I used to feel bad for letting this one thing get to me but you know what, I’m only human. Oh sure, now you’re thinking, ‘wow, she is a terrible person–poor Melvin doesn’t feel well and here she is kvetching about a noise’.  BUT PEOPLE, YOU HAVE NOT HEARD HOW LOUD AND CONSISTENTLY HE CAN DO IT!

Here is he is looking adorably out of sorts.

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10 thoughts on “The noise that drives me nuts.

  1. Oh! That sound. I know exactly what sound that is, only fortunately (?) our boys gain “relief” pretty quickly. I know that sound is horrendous mostly because you wait and wait for the vomit so knowing it won’t come must be difficult. However, the boo boo looking adorably out of sorts pics are soooo cuuuuute!

  2. OMG I KNOW! Pug is a serious lip smacker, hacker, smackity smacker. I’ve been told that it’s post nasal drip but it drives me absolutely INSANE. It’s repetitive, disgusting, and there is nothing I can do to make it stop. Sometimes I sleep under my pillow so I don’t have to hear it, but I still hear it. I just found some earplugs, I think it’s my only option for peace. I feel your pain.

  3. Ug! Sorry T, Paul and Annie have a similar move when sleeping with us. Paul starts self grooming (channeling his inner cat?). Annie removes some of her own fur when she hits an itchy time. So we hear licks and the sound of a dog eating her own fur. It’s not much better when they’re in their own room (we still hear it) but we have 2 doors and a wall between us.

  4. aww poor Melvin! Zev does the lip licking, lip smacking combo, too, but he ALWAYS throws up after a minute or so of it. I have magically woken up from a dead sleep several times to the lip smacking and hurried him outside or off the carpet just in the nick of time!

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