The Part Where I Violently Gag
Last night was a normal, routine night at our house. Beanie had a few booster shots that afternoon, so we laid low and stayed pretty calm around our house in the evening. I made a big pot of chicken noodle soup because it was so cold outside. It was going to be a good night.
I was really excited because Bean could eat everything that was in our soup. I cut up pieces of noodles for him and some carrots, which he loved. And then I cut up tiny pieces of chicken. It was his first time having any meat and so I only gave him a few little bites, but he loved it! He kept opening his mouth for more every time I took a bite. Good Beanie!!
Chris was a little worried about giving him meat. He was afraid we were trying it too early, but I had checked with our doctor the last time we had an appointment and we were okay to start meats between 7 and 10 months old, so I didn’t worry too much about it.
That is, until about 12:16 AM.
At 12:16 AM, Bean woke up crying in his crib. But it was a different cry than normal. It sounded heavier and nervous. Like Beanie was scared. So, I go into his room and am met at the door with this pungent smell of throw up. Bean had gotten sick all over his crib, his jammies, his favorite teddy bear, everything. I immediately picked him up, cuddled him to calm him down, and called Chris to come help. While I cleaned Bean up and put him in fresh jammies, Chris changed the sheets on the crib. Then, I rocked Bean until he fell back asleep while Chris and I whispered back and forth about what had made Bean sick.
I felt sick myself. How could I have fed him chicken? It was too soon and now I’d gotten Beanie all sick. I felt horrible.
Once Bean was asleep, I laid him back in his crib and then went back to bed. But about an hour later, I heard that same little cry. It was a cry that seemed to say, “Mom? Something’s wrong!” So, I go running into his room. Same smell hits me. Same mess in the crib.
I, once again, wake up Chris who tackles the crib while I get Bean into his third pair of jammies for the night. At this point, Beanie is a little shaky and still half asleep, but he was dry heaving now. Oh, it was awful. I was simultaneously grossed out beyond believe and incredibly sympathetic towards Beaner. Chris got him some apple juice (mixed with water) to settle his stomach a bit and put some sugar back in him. And to clear out that nasty taste you get in your mouth after you are sick. Yuck! Bean settled right down and so I laid him in his crib and he was asleep before I left the room.
An hour and a half later, here we go again.
Finally, we got smart. This time, Bean actually needed a bath to clean up, so while I bathed him, Chris took all the sheets off the bed and laid a clean towel down instead. And when I took Bean out of the bathtub, I wrapped him in his towel and a diaper and that was it. I was running out of sheets and clean jammies! When I went to put him down in his crib this time, he started to get sick again. So, we changed the towel out and I ended up taking Bean into my room where I rocked him in the rocking chair for a long time so his tummy could settle back down. After he was sleeping again, I was afraid to put him back in his crib because I think laying flat was part of the problem (plus, I was afraid he’d get sick and choke…), so I propped him up against my chest and laid down in my bed so I could get at least one more hour of sleep before work this morning. Thankfully he didn’t get sick again.
In the morning, Chris decided to stay home with Bean so that I could go to work. I called the pediatrician and told them what was going on to see if they had any suggestions and to make sure we were doing everything we should be doing. They suggested Pedialyte and Benedryl (to relax the stomach muscles and help him sleep). When I asked about the chicken, the nurse said that unless Bean has an allergy to the meat, then it shouldn’t have been caused by that. So, we have to try chicken again sometime next week and just hope and pray he doesn’t get sick all over again. And the shots Bean got yesterday really don’t trigger reactions like throwing up. When I called the daycare next to tell them that Bean wasn’t going to be in school today, they told me that a couple kids were out this week with a 24 hour stomach bug, so I’m thinking that’s what was wrong with Beanie.
Oh, but it was awful. Watching Beanie get sick was the worst because he was sleepy and groggy, but he was scared, too. His little bitty face was so sad and he kept putting his little arms around my neck, burying his head in my shoulder, and crying. It was the saddest little thing ever.
But he hung out on the couch with Dad today and by the time I got home from work, he was doing 100% better thanks to some juice, a couple small bottles, and a lot of TLC.
I called my sister tonight to tell her about how sick Bean had been and how sad it was. “It was the first time I’ve ever had to really take care of someone who couldn’t take care of themselves,” I said.
“You should have joined a sorority,” she responded. “You get lots of practice holding people’s hair back when they’re puking and can’t take care of themselves.”
Thanks for the advice, Aunt Ginny. You’re a peach.
20 Comments
Nate's Mom
Having experienced morning sickness throughout my entire pregnancy, I have an extreme sympathy for the little Bean and his episode. I hope his tumtum is happier now and that he’s back to his normal, bouncing self. Good teamwork, Mom and Dad! Experiences like that make me have an even greater respect for single parents, who don’t have someone to help clean the mess while the other soothes the babe!!!
Katie
Chris and I say that all the time to each other. How do single parents cope? I just can’t even imagine how strong you have to be. They are my new heroes.
Jordan
Aww, I’m glad he’s feeling better now! How nice of chris to ‘volunteer’ to stay home, because I’m sure that’s what you wanted to do after not getting any sleep last night!
Also, the pictures of Bean in this post are absolutely adorable. He looks like a little boy with that face. And those icy blue eyes…….
Casey
It sounds like you and Chris handled that like pros. Bean sure has some wonderful, loving parents.
Lisa
Poor Beanie! I hope that he is feeling better now! A face that cute should never be sick for too long, he is so adorable.
Ella
Poor Beanie. My little son gets scared too when he throws up. He crys right before he is sick like he knows whats about to happen. It is awful. Hope Beanie is feeling better now and i hope neither Chris or you get the tummy bug.
Amanda
Now just be prepared for the rest of you to get it. The same thing happened to Jack -in the middle of the night as well- and I got it three days later. My mom got it, my aunt and uncle and who knows who else ended up with it. (It was over the Christmas break).
I figured out to get a tupperware bowl in front of Jack when I started to hear it coming. He hated the bowl and tried to push it away, but when he was ‘in the throws’, he didn’t push it away. And it was much easier to clean up.
Dave
I remember when my son came down with that virus. Then to show us he loved us, gave it to us. Worst I felt in years. Hope Bean keeps is cooties to himself.
Mindee@ourfrontdoor
Bummer! My kids were/are big pukers. You handled it beautifully though. It is always better to be the parent who cleans up the baby as opposed to the parent who cleans up the bed. The bed is chunky and when they get older and start getting it on the carpet? Make sure you call dibs on giving the child a LONG bath while Chris deals with that.
Stay well.
Katie
LOL – All excellent points.
deepa
Ooooh! My eyes got a little wet hearing about the Bean’s confusion and tears. Rohan was sick recently too (a throat virus). He was just MISERABLE, and he kept looking at us with these sad sad eyes that seemed to be begging us to make it all go away. You are right, it’s times like these where you realize how much they really depend on you 100%.
I second your opinion of single parents. How do they do it?
Ashley
Haha I LOVE Aunt Ginny 🙂 hope Bean is feeling much better and that you and Chris don’t get the bug!!
Whitney
This breaks my heart!!! 🙁 POOR BEAN! I can’t imagine how sad that must have been.
Julie
Poor guy!
I laughed when I got to Aunt Ginny’s comments. Having a 17 month old baby who threw up on me I relate to how you were feeling. I was also in a sorority in college and held hair – it didn’t help me prepare or calm my gag reflex.
Becky V.
Man, that kid is CUTE!
Ash
Hahaha… I was thinking the EXACT same thing as your sister!
Patty Ho
Poor little guy. Everytime my little pumpkin gets ill I wish it were me instead of him. I never had anxiety worse than when the first time my son got sick and it is still nerve-wracking. Vomiting and fever send me into silent torture. Glad that Beanie is better.
Beanie’s face is changing again. He is growing up so fast.
Heather
I’m glad to hear he’s feeling better. Look at you guys, nursing a sick baby back to health like pros! You even figured out that laying him flat was contributing to his upset stomach, and kept him upright after that. You have got this parenting thing down pat!
When you send him back to daycare, make sure they have bleached all of their toys extra-well and are making sure to use hand sanitizer or wash their hands in between babies. If it was a virus that he had (and it most likely was), he could catch it again and again.
Hilary
Just wanted to say, been there, done that and it ain’t fun! Plus, at the time, we were at my mother’s house and she was sick and so was I. So the two of us were trying to muster every ounce of strength to tag-team baby girl who was also puking at least three times a night. It was probably the worst week of my life. Once we got home, my husband was all like, “No problem, I’ll take care of her, you get some rest.” Awesome, until HE got the flu a day later and guess who was back on baby duty? Yep, totally sucked!
Casey
I hate those nights! Although it is good excuse to hold your baby all night on your chest and just REST, because you know you are not going back to full sleep.