A Two Year Old's Sick Day: Part 1

Yesterday, while happily driving to buy some tylenol for my little one's fever, I heard the dreadful sentence, "Mom, my tummy hurts." Oh. No. I know what's coming, and it's going to be all over my already-toddler-decorated car. "Mom, my tummy..."

And yep. There it is. All over my sweet little two year old, his car seat, my car... oh joy. My poor little bean feels awful, and all I want to do is help him to feel better (despite his older brother yelling, "B! You can't throw up. That is a no, no!). So we pull over, I wipe him down, my husband frantically tries to take my direction as I clean off our kiddo.

Once back in the car, my husband presses forward to the only store open in our little city: Wal Mart. I get on my phone and look for remedies for sick babies and toddlers. I didn't find much that I didn't already know: saltines, ginger ale, Pedialyte, and Jello. These are all dandy, but we've tried them all before with little success. I wanted a miracle.

I didn't get one. I did however, use a little creativity to make our lives a little easier last night. Here are the things that made our lives a little simple:

Sick Station:

 Next to B's bed, I placed a bucket. I placed a little tupperware (for throwing up), a sippy cup about 1/4 full of water and a bowl with a couple of Saltines. I explained to B before falling asleep what each piece of the station was for. I also placed blankets on his floor between the bed and the door (washing a blanket is easier than shampooing a carpet, right?) It worked like a charm. All of last night's vomit stayed right where it was supposed to, in the "barf bucket."

Mommy Bucket:

 I knew that I would be up all night, and I didn't want to have to leave B to run back and forth from the kitchen. So, in an ice cream bucket, I made myself a quick kit too. I had the thermometer, Tylenol, IBU profin, a notebook, a bottle of water (to refill B's sippy), some extra Saltines, my phone (to use as a clock), a hand towel, and a package of wipes.

Pedialyte Jello:

You know what is more disgusting than Pedialyte? Nothing. That stuff is gross. But, I used it to make strawberry Jello. And it tastes like strawberry Jello. This is how I did it:

1 Cup boiling water

1 Small packet of strawberry Jello

1 Cup strawberry Pedialyte.

I made the Jello like it said to on the package, replacing the cold water with the Pedialyte. Wooo hoo! Something my little can keep down a bite-full at a time.

Otter Pops:

I never opened them for him to eat, but they are easy for him to hold and suck on while he is feeling too hot. He snuggled with a couple at bed time, and it seemed to help bring down his fever.

I think the real key to sick kids is patience. You have to remember how miserable they are. Remember? Ok, now don't panic so you can think straight. Got it? Ok, so while considering how sick they are, and keeping your cool, now take care of them with out any sleep. That's it! Right? No. Now you need to take precautions for the rest of your family so they don't get sick as well. So, cuddle, disinfect, sympathize, stay calm, don't sleep, keep track of fevers, keep track of medecine, wash your hands, wash the vomit dishes, wash your hands, give little a bath, wash his bedding, feed him a bite of Jello or a TBS of water every 15 minutes, WASH YOUR HANDS, find a little bit of rest in between. Did you notice that I said to wash your hands? You don't want to be sick too.

But that's it. Piece of cake. I always remember how much I LOVE laundry when there is twice as much of it to do. Ok, not really, but at least it makes my house smell good.