How do YOU take care of a pukey toddler?

[barkley1]

DS (19 months) came down w/ the stomach bug Tues night. He had vomited once before, 13 months old maybe, but I just changed him, sheets and cluelessly put him back in his crib. Thankfully, that was it.

this time, however, as I was rocking him back to sleep, he had a vomiting spell again. I was covered in towels, etc....so all I had to do was change his PJs again. but, after that I didn't want to leave him in his crib alone. He was ready to sleep, but I know the vomiting scared him b/c he was crying, etc. until it was over. So, DH and I just took turns holding him in the glider, covered in towels, until the morning came. Fortunately, it was pretty short - he got sick maybe 3 or 4 times.

So, what do you do with a pukey toddler in the middle of the night? I'm preggo, so didn't want to bring him to our bed to spread the "love" around - although I did end up changing our sheets anyway b/c DH doesn't wash his hands as much as I do. I'm paranoid about getting the bug, too, even when I'm not preggo. I'm underweight (not by choice) and having that thing is virual DEATH for me - I literally would rather give birth again than have a stomach virus.

Anyway, tips, suggestions would be good for the toddler age/still sleeping in a crib age group, in case this comes up again (Fingers crossed it won't any time soon!!!)

[katerinasmom]

Sorry but when my kids have a stomach virus and are puking, I get very little sleep because i end up lying next to them in their bed cuddling with them propped up under my arm. The cuddling is part comfort for them and part sanity for me. I'm paranoid that they will choke on their vomit. I know it's not going to happen (they are 3 and 6 now) but I'm still paranoid. We keep a metal bowl on the bed within grabbing distance and every time they stir, I grab for the bowl and wait for the puke to start. When they were still in a crib, it was the same routine except they would be lying in my bed with me.

[Corie]

Sorry but when my kids have a stomach virus and are puking, I get very little sleep because i end up lying next to them in their bed cuddling with them propped up under my arm. The cuddling is part comfort for them and part sanity for me. I'm paranoid that they will choke on their vomit. I know it's not going to happen (they are 3 and 6 now) but I'm still paranoid. We keep a metal bowl on the bed within grabbing distance and every time they stir, I grab for the bowl and wait for the puke to start. When they were still in a crib, it was the same routine except they would be lying in my bed with me.


This is pretty much what I do with my kids too.

[brittone2]

We use a fairly deep dishpan and keep it close to where they are sleeping (or if they are younger we are in there with them) so that it doesn't take as long as it does to get them to the bathroom.

Hope it passes quickly. Ugggh. That is the worst.

eta: well that was interesting timing. DD just vomited several times.

[MSWR0319]

DS is 2.5 and has been vomiting for 2 days. This is the first time ever and I am not prepared! We've been sleeping in the living room on the blow up bed so I can be right with him all night. Right now he's sleeping on the couch so I can keep an eye on him. Other than that we just change clothes when he gets sick and try to make him comfy. Were headed to the doctor this afternoon because I'm worried about dehydration. He hasn't ate or hardly drank since Tues night.

[Indianamom2]

Ugh...sorry. DD used to vomit, almost on cue, every six months for the first 4.5 years of her life. The worst was when she would vomit in her crib...ICK!

We got into a routine of just taking her downstairs and laying out beach towels and a draping the couch (or floor) with a big waterproof picnic blanket (the kind that folds up into a little bag). DD would also vomit about every 20-30 minutes when she would be sick, so we'd keep a small trash can (with bag) close by.

Trust me, your best defense is large thick towels/blankets all over everything! They are much easier to clean than the couch/crib/bed/etc...

Hope everybody gets better soon.

Oh, I forgot to add that you might try to find button-down tops, so if there is more puking, you don't have to pull an icky shirt over the head.

[lizzywednesday]

The last time I had to deal with this was about 20 years ago, my sister was 4 and had puked all over her bed.

It was the middle of the night and Dad had gone out, so I had to get my sister cleaned up, the bed cleaned up and manage not to disturb my brothers.

We gathered her sheets & comforter into the washer, gave her a bath and found a bucket in case she needed to barf again.

Fortunately, DD hasn't gotten a stomach bug. Yet. (Knock wood.) But I'm taking notes on the ideas I'll be able to implement if/when she does; thank you!

[YouAreTheFocus]

There must be something traveling the country, our 16 mo old is just getting over a stomach bug. He puked all over his crib around midnight on Sat night--we went in and cleaned him up, changed the sheets, etc, and put him back to sleep. Then at 2 am we heard a little cough, and blech, all over his crib again. Strip eveything down and clean up again. I just felt so bad for him, he was so tired and sad that we had to keep getting him up and changing him. I laid him down in his changing table and he fell dead asleep :( So we put him back to bed and he seemed fine the next morning. We gave him some milk (BIG MISTAKE) and got ready to do some errands. Then at 2pm, blech, all over me, from sweater to shoes. From that point on, it was nothing but small sips of water for 24 hrs (he won't take pedialyte or juice). I could tell he wasn't getting dehydrated b/c he also has a cold, and his nose was running nonstop through all of this as well. Poor guy! We've kept him home from daycare, he's just exhausted & has been napping 5 hrs/day.

[Raidra]

We got into a routine of just taking her downstairs and laying out beach towels and a draping the couch (or floor) with a big waterproof picnic blanket (the kind that folds up into a little bag). DD would also vomit about every 20-30 minutes when she would be sick, so we'd keep a small trash can (with bag) close by.


This is what we do when it gets bad. Thankfully the last time the kids were really sick, I happened to still have Chux from the homebirth, so we used those. That was SO convenient. Actually, I should probably go out and buy some more because it worked out so well. We also used whatever those pull-ups for big kids are for my 5 and 7 year olds because they had diarrhea and the vomiting would make them poop, too. Still got a pack of those in the closet. I know that doesn't help with a toddler, though.

Anyway.. I vote for moving to wherever will be easiest to clean. For us, it's sleeping on the leather couches with Chux all over the place, and a big bucket right next to them.

[brittone2]

Yes, DD (4yo) spent naptime on the floor with towels over a quilt, chux pads (LOL Raidra! We had a lot of leftovers from our homebirth too and I kept them for this reason), pillow with trashbag over it and then another pillowcase overtop of the trashbag, and a dishpan next to her in case she needed it.

[Pear]

DD has only been pukey once. It was when DH was out of town and we were living out of boxes in temporary housing. She just didn't want to be put down and it was hard to find supplies. Rummaging in boxes while holding a very unhappy little girl was challenging to say the least. I managed to get her wiped up and get some meds into her for the high fever. Then I laid some towels in the bed and just held her all night. I think at one point I managed to put on a second shirt to help with the smell. She got sick on me in the first round. Even if I could have changed clothing it was mostly in my hair. In the morning she was fine and I cleaned us up the best I could. It was 2 days before I could get a proper shower since I had no one to watch her.

Some day when it happens again I'll have her aim for a tub on towels. Really I think towels are the key when little. I wouldn't leave a puking kid alone so I would just lay down as much absorbent material aa you can find and be ready to wash your sheets.

[mikala]

We've had the (mis)fortune to experience the stomach flu multiple times this year. We just go into survival mode with the most worn out clothes we can find for baby and us and do constant laundry. I usually double up the sheets on his bed with a waterproof cover-fitted sheet-waterproof cover-fitted sheet. It makes the night time bedding changes a lot easier. When he's sick we also lay a bath towel on top or under the fitted sheet. We spend as much time as we can in rooms that are easy to clean (tile and hardwood) and break out the antibacterial soap and Clorox wipes. We usually go for vinegar and other green cleaners but I'd rather not mess with the stomach flu. We wash our hands like mad and wipe off doorknobs and other hard surfaces regularly.

When the diarrhea is really bad we've had success layering a cloth diaper cover or cloth swim diaper over a disposable.

We've learned to go really easy on solids when they start to feel better and want to eat again. The BRAT diet is really helpful.

It's really hard to do but we also try to make sure we take good care of ourselves during the illness and try to still eat ok and sleep as much as possible.

Good luck! I hope this passes quickly!!