Garrett was uncharacteristically good on our trip home from church yesterday. He held my hand and didn't dawdle or whine as we walked to the bus stop. He let me change a near-blowout diaper while we waited for the bus with very little complaint. When the bus arrived (literally seconds after I threw the dirty diaper into the trash), he boarded cooperatively, sat down obediently, and immediately cuddled against me and fell asleep. He slept the whole ride home, willingly walked the last few blocks to our building, and, once in the door, asked to be tucked into his bed so he could finish his nap, which I was more than happy to do. Once Blake got home after wrapping up his after church ward clerk duties, I was in the process of telling him how good and sweet his son had been when ---
Suddenly there was a panicked scream from Garrett's room. Blake rushed in and found Garrett sitting in a pool of vomit. We rushed him to the bathtub, got him calmed down and cleaned up and into a warm pair of pajamas when ---
He threw up again, all over both himself and his father.
We changed his clothes once more and got him a drink of water when ---
You guessed it. Which is why I moved my trip to the laundromat up a day to this morning.
He did have some nasty diapers, but though he felt a little warm, he didn't have a fever. Except for during those moments of projectile vomiting, his personality remained intact, so I wasn't too worried. Even so, I still had to call my mom to find out how to care for a child with a stomach bug -- what do I feed, or not feed, him, and so on -- as this was the first time I'd had to deal with an illness of this nature. When I have fed him, I've kept him on the BRAT diet and have been encouraging him to drink clear liquids (and I probably will continue doing so throughout the rest of today at least), and this morning he seems to be mostly fine. He's not yet completely himself, so we're spending the day in recovery-mode. But the fact that he's acting like nothing ever happened is comforting since, as I learned yesterday, sometimes he's his sweetest just before it all comes shooting back up.
9 comments:
Poor guy. No fun. It's so hard when they are little like that, and they don't understand that if you give them something besides the Gatorade or BRAT diet, they will lose their cookies again. Hope he is well very soon.
I've learned with my kids that they're usually OK after a day or so, but it's a rough day. We learned to definitely not give milk, no matter how much they beg (it is truly nasty coming back). Diluted apple juice is good because it doesn't stain; don't buy red Gatorade if you use it. And Murphy's law will dictate that as soon as you get them into clean clothes they will immediately vomit again. Good luck--hopefully he'll be feeling better soon.
No fun! One of the things my pediatrician said is that they're getting away from/expanding the BRAT diet. She said that juice can make things worse with any diarrhea, and to stick to pedialyte or watered-down gatorade as the drink of choice. (Kate won't drink anything but water, so we just give her water.) They also want us to give starches to bulk things up - so feel free to stick potatoes and fries and pasta in there, too.
My personal favorite "I'm sick" meal is chicken rice casserole:
1 can cream of chicken soup (we use the 98% fat free kind on all of these)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can milk (as in, fill up one of those empty soup cans with milk)
Whisk together in 9x13 pan, then add 1 heaping cup rice, whisking under the surface. Then place raw chicken on top (bone-in and with skin on is tastiest - keeps it from drying out) and season each piece with garlic, salt, pepper, and paprika (be fairly generous with the paprika, it looks pretty). Bake at 350 for 1.5-2 hours. We typically serve it with corn. I haven't met anyone yet who doesn't like this stuff - Kate gobbles it up when she's sick (and the milk doesn't seem to have any negative effects on diarrhea.
I can't wait for that rite of passage of motherhood! Hope he's back to normal soon.
Definitely not fun. Sorry little Garrett. I'm sure you are an awesome mom when it comes to caring for the sick. He's probably already waiting for the next episode with mixed feelings of my mom is AWESOME and I never want to throw up again ;)
Lindsay,
I can't thank you enough for painting toddlerhood in such a realistic manner. I love my sweet daughter but at 18 months, am already getting a taste for how hard toddlerhood is for both babies and mamas. I love how you show Garrett as a loveable yet challenging guy who is always keeping you on your toes. I know he isn't perfect but he is sweet and fun all the same.
Kristi
Hey, where are the pictures? :)
Oh I am grossing out just reading this....feeling really sorry for whoever had to clean up the mess. Vomkit is the worst thing ever.
Yuck. I hate puke. When Patrick was about this Garrett's age, he got his first projectile vomiting illness. It was just so SAD. We'd find him in the crib, crying and holding handfuls of the stuff, just looking so very confused about what was happening to him. SO pitiful.
Hang in there. This too shall pass. Trust me, I'm counting on it, as I'm still pregnant puking every day. This too shall pass...I hope!
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