A Mommy's Guide to the Pukes

There's nothing you can do to prevent it, but there are a few things that can help you survive it.

We've tried hand washing, hand sanitizer, vitamins and, my personal fave, social isolation from January through March. But somehow, the creeping crawling crud still finds its way into my children's guts. For example, this morning.

My baby girl has recovered well from the heaves and is now rolling around the living room floor showing me tricks. But this morning was awful. She was shaking, her heart was racing, and she was throwing up frequently. Which leads me me to my first tip: 

1. Write down the "puke" times. This may sound very strange, but it is so helpful. Stomach sicknesses are not as unpredictable as you think. Little C started throwing up 7:30. She threw up again at 8:11, 8:40, 9:12, 9:40 and 10:11. See a pattern? Keeping this information written down, I knew she was throwing up
every half an hour. That allowed me up to get things done right after she had been sick, but when another half hour was rolling around, I knew to stay close. This not only frees you up to take a quick nap for middle-of-the-night sickness, but also avoids some pretty bad messes. It can also show you patterns so you'll know when the end of puking is nigh. Since she'd been consistently throwing up every half hour, when an hour had passed, I knew she was improving.

2. Set them up in the bathroom. No, I'm not kidding. I give this advice all the time. Unless you enjoy doing loads of laundry at 2 AM and trying to remove stains from your carpeting and furniture, your kids should be set up, nice and cozy, on the bathroom floor. Since I've started doing this, I am proud to report I have not cleaned up one bit of vomit. It goes in the toilet and gets flushed. End of story. I know it sounds gross, but the kids actually enjoy it. I make it cozy with a night light, put a soft blanket under them for cushioning, cover them with a warm blanket and during the day, they can even have a CD player to listen to stories or the radio. I know everyone loves their bed when they are sick, but if it's covered in vomit, that will be short lived. Also, isolating the child to one room avoids spreading the bug to others in the house if they haven't already been infected. Our system gives everyone a little more peace of mind.

If you only have one bathroom and you can't give it over to a sick child, there is another option: When the kids were younger, we would cover the area near their bed with a tarp and put a bucket or garbage can directly next to them. Teach them to throw up in the bucket. It's not fun to clean up, but much easier than a sheet and comforter.

3. Make an organic electrolyte mix. I'm sure Pedialyte and the like are great... but they are expensive. And it seems you never have that stuff on hand when you actually need it. This one is super easy, and you probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen. 

4. Don't rush food! Any belly -- but especially little bellies -- are tender after all that workout. Your child will tell you they are hungry, they may even beg for food, but go slow. The BRAT diet should be started, but very gradually. I start with the electrolyte solution, and only let them sip small amounts. After they have stopped throwing up for more than an hour or so, I'll let them eat part of a cracker, then sip more solution.  Introduce a little more food and solution gradually. The BRAT diet is bananas, rice, applesauce, toast and tea. I would definitely avoid greasy and spicy foods for at least 24 hours.

I am not a medical professional, but as the mom of four kids, I could be. These tips are just from one mom to another to make a messy, sad time a little less messy.