There are few things that strike fear into a mothers' heart more than the unmistakeable sound of a child vomiting. Yesterday was scary. Very scary.
K started just before lunch, and the poor bub is still too little to understand what is going on. Of course, my dear, sweet husband is out of town. And God love him, he is a great dad, but bodily function desensitization didn't kick in with him like it has with me. A mom will make a bowl with her hands to grab vomit before it hits the floor. Dad is usually gagging with his back turned. But a gopher for paper towels would have been handy.
So here are a few of my suggestions for getting through the day (and night) with a sickey.
First-Do your best to occupy other children with an activity that can keep them seperated. Chances are if one goes down, they all will. But keeping them seperated can also be keeping them out of the line of fire.
Second- As if you won't be doing enough cleaning, clean more. Make sure sheets, washclothes and handtowels get a good hot water or sanitizing wash. If your sickey is little, make sure you give all pacifiers, teethers, bottles or sippies a hot, soapy wash. Same goes for toothbrushes. You can vainly hope at heading it off by getting real serious with some extra hand washing, sanitizer and some house cleaning.
Third- BRATT diet. I know that when your kid is relocating all their lunch, feeding them more is not always on the list. And they may well not be interested at all. But if they do want to eat, stick to a BRATT diet. Banana, Rice, Applesauce, Toast and Tea. Simple, bland, easy to digest. Make sure your tea is decaf. I also opt for fitness waters over the kid forumlated electrolye drinks. They are much cheaper and taste better. I spent the extra dollars once on the kid ones and found out that my kids' won't drink them, money wasted. I'm not a fan of the sugar substitutes, but I'm willing to make an exception to keep them hydrated.
Fourth-Nightime sheet changing prevention. My daughter is 5 and has been potty trained for years. But if she has the flu, she is still sleeping in a pull up with a plastic bowl on her nightstand. I have had one pack of pull-ups that have lasted 3 years and we may never use them all, hope we don't. Kids have a hard enough time getting to the bathroom in the night, so make it easy on them and you. And be ready with backup. Make sure you have a mattress pad on the bed and opt for washable bedding, rehome any super sentimental keepsakes for the night. I often lay a towel on the floor next to the bed as well. Lay out a change of bedding and a change pj's before bedtime. And have a clean towel or two ready to go on the bathroom counter. For a baby, all you can do is be ready with lots of extra bedding and pjs. If you can move to be closer to baby, might be a good idea.
Five-Thanks to the wonder that is Murphy's Mom Law, chances are your child started showing signs of being sick a few minutes after your pediatricians office closed. So keep an eye on fevers and any unusual behavior and be smart when using any OTC meds. Before stores close, make sure you have some ibuprofen, Immodium (for an older child), something they like to drink, and diaper cream (even for an older kid, raw bums are no fun at any age). Keep kiddo as comfortable as possible. Know who to call in an after-hours emergency and call your ped first thing in the morning.
Good luck and feel better soon.
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