I Survived Projectile Vomiting

(originally appeared on WorkIt Mom Entrepreneur Mom blog)

Had to republish this here because it was a monumental, rite-of-passage motherhood experience for me!


I Survived Projectile Vomiting

Not my projectile vomiting, but baby's.

I think I've just entered a new level of work-at-home motherhood. If you told me a few years back that my workday would be interrupted by a baby throwing up all day long, I would have thought you were crazy. Little did I know.

Yesterday was a day like any other weekday - babysitter arrived on time, I settled in to work. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Baby had just thrown up her breakfast.

Quick gear shift from work mode into mommy mode.

Was it something I fed her? Were those grapes going bad? Did I give her too many grapes last night? I don't know why I focused in on the grapes as the culprit, but that was my first thought. We wiped her off, changed her shirt, I comforted her for a while, then went back to the other room to work.

Knock knock. She threw up again. All over. This time, a bath was in order. We ran a bath and put her in. I made sure the babysitter was okay watching her as baby played contentedly in the tub, then went back to work.

Right after she was clean, dry and dressed, baby threw up again. By then I was in the middle of attending an online panel that I was covering for an online publication. So much for work. Baby was in need. Gear shift. Getting priorities straight.

We changed her clothes again, and I called the pediatrician. Yes, there is a stomach bug going around. Vomiting for a day then diarrhea for a day. Oh boy. My 17-month old daughter must have caught a stomach bug at the fitness club play center a few days ago.

I closed my laptop and spent the rest of the afternoon sitting with her, catching the vomit in towels, holding her, watching Elmo with her (thank God for Elmo, the new toddler pacifier), and changing her clothes and even bathing her a second time.

She couldn't keep anything down - not Pedialyte, not water, not any part of the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast). In face, her biggest throw up was after a little applesauce.

I was able to get her to nap for about an hour in the late afternoon and squeezed in a few work tasks in between worrying that baby was going to vomit in her sleep and choke to death.

Later that evening, she was asking for "Feff," her word for "Food." I mixed some plain white rice with a little chicken broth (per the nurse's instructions), and she ate it and kept it down. The entire household sighed in relief. Then she drank half a bottle of water and kept it down.

Once she was asleep for the night, I squeezed in one more task for work then called it a day.

That was my workday the other day. How was yours?

I Need a Post Vacation Vacation

The vacation verdict is in.

Travel with a four year is not a vacation in the true sense of the word.

We returned this week from a 10 day stay upstate. While it was good to get away, I can't say that I've come home rejuvenated.

Seth completely rejected the notion of trying the kiddie camp, so downtime for Marc (my husband) and I did not exist as I had hoped.

It was nice to spend time as a family without the distractions of home and my typical To Do list, but I'm sure you can guess who dictated, for the most past, our choice of activity at Mohonk Mountain House, the resort where we stayed.

We went boating, attempted fishing (though I'm not keen on the whole worm thing....or the idea of spearing a living creature), explored the grounds, took a stab at hitting golf balls....etc. But, most of our time, on a daily basis, was spent either at the indoor pool or man made beach lake area.

I did manage to squeeze in a massage, which I adored, and had fleeting pockets of time to read and take an art class. What I really wanted most was the opportunity to do some hiking and sitting in one of the many thatched huts surrounding the spectacular lake and mountains. It is there that in the past I've been alone with my thoughts and could clear my mind....something I don't do well at home.

I guess this is the way vacations sometimes go when your child (especially a busy boy) is no longer an infant you can contain in a stroller.

To his credit, Seth showed a huge sense of autonomy, easily navigating the resort and playing on his own at times. That was great to see.

We are considering a winter vacation, when Seth is on break from Pre-K, and I imagine we'll be looking at places like Disney, etc. There, I will not have the expectation of chilling, and I guess that's the key. To let go of vacations as we've known them....go with the flow....make the most of family time.....and know that our kids grow up fast, so relish even the less than relaxing times.

I would, however, welcome another moms retreat with gal pals, or a weekend to myself.

How have your vacations gone since you've become a mom?

She Walks!

Okay, I'm getting all excited because baby took a few steps while holding onto her little pushcart. But I counted nine consecutive steps on her own, unassisted by us, across the living room floor.

I'm excited about her walking. So many women say it is a mixed blessing when their children start to walk. They also say that about crawling, but I found that once baby crawled, she became more interactive and fun.

Sure she got into things. Okay, she is still getting into things like my cooking magazines (ripping the covers off them) and the carbon monoxide detector (removing it from the wall). But all in all, I'm enjoying her mobility.

Now we'll have to do the babyproofing a little higher up than before. Gone are the days of leaving things on a chair because they are out of her reach. I know I'll be chasing her around even more than before. But I look forward to her toddling.

A friend of mine keeps lamenting each stage of her baby's development and growth. Oh, she is no longer a baby. Oh, I can't believe she won't be a toddler for long. I'm not feeling a sadness or missing the previous stages.

Is it because I'm a constant overachiever myself and always striving for more more more that I am content with my kid's development. I'm just not missing the earlier stages as much. I'm trying to cherish each one as it comes and welcome the next one.

Admission from the Potty Challenged

We took Seth to the pediatrician this week. He has a nasty cough. And, while we were very concerned about it, the pediatrician seemed more intrigued about the fact that at age four he is in pullups.

I admit it. We are a potty training challenged family.

We have tried. Last summer we had it partially nailed...so I thought....the #1 bodily function, as they say. My son was pretty consistently alerting us when he had to pee. #2 has never worked. Once we got lucky, and he pooped in the potty, and we celebrated....thinking he was now on the path to bathroom success. Well, that lasted a day, and he was back to having constant accidents. Even his new cool Spiderman briefs couldn't motivate him to speak up.

Once he started nursery school, it seemed that he digressed completely, since it
changed his daily routine. And, he now rarely, if ever, says he needs to go potty....whether for #1 or 2. On top of it, he denies when he does it in his pullup and doesn't even mind walking around in it.....until we have to use 1/2 a tube of Balmex to treat his irritated skin.

What's a mom to do?

So....we are now consulting a parenting pro to see what light she can shed.

Bribery hasn't even worked......not even a supersize rescue helicopter that he couldn't wait to get his hands on.

I have joked that he won't walk down the aisle in pullups when he gets married one day. But, since we have a long way to go until the wedding, we have to somehow get with the potty training program sooner than later.