The List You Don’t Think About…Until It’s Too Late!

I began thinking about this post at around 1:30am when my 19 month old toddler woke me up crying via his video monitor. I assumed he was awake and scared because the lightening and thunder were so bright and loud, and he just needed me to rock him for a little bit… Boy, was I surprised when I walked into his bedroom and smelled exactly what was wrong. Mr. Stomach Flu struck our happy, unsuspecting baby boy, and I went into instant panicked mommy. Luckily {is there really a need for me to say luckily in this post about vomit? Probably not, but I digress…} the stomach flu visited our residence just a few months ago, striking me and the kid, and I had already made the appropriate arrangements to be ready for when it visited again. I knew that when this monster of a virus struck our home, I would be ready to tackle it with ease and try to lower my personal level of anxiety, for both my sake and my husband’s.

Here is what I did a few months back that made this early morning just a little bit better to deal with ::

1. If you can, try to buy a replica of what soothes your baby the most {ie – their favorite blanket or stuffed toy}. In our house, we have a favorite blankie that pretty much gets toted everywhere the kid goes. I found out where the blanket was purchased and luckily found the same exact one at Target. Last time the stomach bug hit, the blanket hit the washing machine a total of three times in one night. We washed it and dried it {about a 45 minute process each time}, gave it back to the baby because he wouldn’t calm down without it, got sick again, and we would have to wash it once more. This process continued and left the baby, my husband, and myself exhausted. This time, I immediately threw the nasty blanket in the wash, gave him the replica of the blankie he loves so much, and it calmed him immediately. He did get sick a few more times, but I had a spare washed and dried before he even knew what happened. This saved us so much time and tears!! If Target had four more of the blankies he loves so much, I would have bought all those suckers. Unfortunately, they only had the one, but this extra blanket really helped so much.

2. Buy Pedialyte people, even if you don’t need it at the moment! And also, check the expiration date on it – it does expire! The last time the stomach flu hit our house, we rushed to the medicine cabinet to get the Pedialyte…but it was expired. My husband had to schlep to CVS down the street at 3:45am to buy Pedialyte to begin the rehydration process. I’m a weirdo when it comes to expiration dates. {If it has an expired date on it, I won’t touch it. At all. Once, I had wine that was expired, and I didn’t even touch that. If you know anything about me at all, if I pass on wine – you know it must be serious.} This time, we had Pedialyte on hand, and the husband didn’t have to make a late night trip to the local pharmacy.

3. Buy those mattress pad protectors in BULK! And while we are at it, buy lots of extra sheets too. Have them washed and put somewhere easily accessible for quick, in the middle of the night changing sessions.

4. If your pediatrician has an on-call nurse system in place, keep that number on both your phone and your husband’s! You never know when you need to talk to a night nurse! I am that mom that calls the night nurse for every single sick symptom my child exhibits. So you bet your sweet bananas that I called the nurse the last time he got the stomach virus. And this morning when he got it again! The process of calling the said nurses was so much easier this time though because I was prepared. You do not want to be scrounging around your house in the wee hours of the night yelling at your husband while you dig through your purse and simultaneously hold the baby who is crying in your ear…all with the constant fear of vomit being spewed into your purse or down the front of your pajamas and/or hitting the dog. That may or may not have happened to me the last time, but that is a different day and a different post, ladies.

5. Stay calm. Easier said than done, I know, but unfortunately for me and the toddler, the stomach flu has hit our house more than our fair-share of times. Just know that it won’t last long and that when you are calm, the time passes by quicker and your plan of action is that much more clear.

Any time our babies get sick, it is very easy {and natural!} to become nervous wrecks! I just hope that this post will save you some time and give you a little more peace of mind when the dreaded stomach bug makes a visit to your home.

What are some things I left off of my list that you have on yours? Do you have any tips to share regarding unexpected illness in your home? Share in the comments below!