Why do children have to puke in the middle of the night?

[LisaK in VA]

I fess up. I'm tired. Two weeks of almost non-stop puke and loose poop duty (and now, I've got it too). This bug just keeps on giving, and I've had it.

My oldest is in the top bunk -- from my bedroom I hear the familiar wretching sound and run to the room only to see my 8yo boy heaving chunks over the side of the bed onto the floor. It's 1:20am.

I spend the next 15 minutes cleaning it up.

About 2 hrs. later, my 20mo old (who is in my bed) begins wretching all over my bed, my floor, my feet... spend the next 15 min. cleaning it up and 2 hrs. later she explodes out of her diaper all over the bed.

My husband slept through almost all of it.

Nothing like the smell of puke mixed with poop to get the day started.

I think I'm going to purchase a bucket for each of my children to hang by their bed.

Any suggestions?

[justme]

Oh, you poor thing! I remember those days well. My dc are a little older now, but I still spent yesterday holding my 13yo's hair back and wiping her face as she threw up over and over! Luckily she is better today, but I'm just crossing my fingers that no one else (including me!) gets it. And yes, I would get a bucket for each child. Anything is better than cleaning puke out of carpets. That is actually what led us to buy a carpet cleaner years ago.

[Angel]

Your bucket idea sounds like a good one. The only suggestion I have would probably only work for the little one. When mine had the flu at around 17 mo. I sat her/sat with her on the floor/couch/bed with heavy towels under her and around her. When she puked, I took the towels straight to the washer and started it. If I ran out of towels before I got the others done, I started on my blankets.

Get rest when you can:o

Angel

[Soph the vet]

Dealing with one hurler dd5 overnight. She did it in her sleep:eek:! So I am washing bedding right now. Hopefully no one else gets it!

[RoughCollie]

The minute my kids were old enough to use it successfully, I started putting a stainless steel mixing bowl on their nightstands if they were sick at nighttime. I do it during the day, too. When they are sick those bowls go everywhere with them.

[Laura Corin]

Hobbes threw up all over the sitting room floor last Monday. It was unannounced - from then on he went to bed with a bucket.

It turned out to be giardia - he's responding well to treatment. That reminds me, I need to give him a pill.

I'm sorry you had to go through all that.....

Laura

[Kristafish]

My dd got sick last Thursday, went to Dr. on Monday.. She is on an antibiotic.
Ds just went to urgent care tonight with fever, coughing~doesn't have the flu or strep throat.. Hubby doesn't know what he has though~I guess that is what I get for sending hubby with him.. But hubby is gone now to get son a prescription and a few other items..
His fever doesn't seem to be going down with Motrin so we are gonna have to do Tylenol also :(

Just hoping I don't get it.. I am already miserable being 34 weeks pregnant and having a huge belly, so cross your fingers I don't get sick :)

Hope your household gets better soon..
I am hoping the medicine kicks in here, we have a very busy weekend coming up

[Brigitte]

In my house, if it is not in bed in the middle of the night, then it is in the carseat. They really do need to come up with machine washable/dryable covers for those things.

When my two are sick, they stay on the couch (well covered in blankets and other washables). There is a vomit bucket/bowl, a trash can for used tissues, and a box of tissues next to them. Unfortunately they still require me to sleep on the floor next to them.

[Stirsmommy]

I line the little trash cans with grocery bags. It lessens the clean up time for mom. I also do the towel thing with my 7yo who has only recently begun to wake up enough to move from the bed. Good luck. We have the cold/flu bug at our house. I don't envy you.

[sdWTMer]

Oh, your poor thing. I'm so sorry. It is hard when that happens. No advice, just commiseration.

[HS in NZ]

I thought I'd chime in here and say that I can relate! I don't know about you all, but it's so hard sometimes for me not to get grumpy about some of the icky duties I have to do that are just part of being a mother. BUT it sure would be easier to do my "motherly" duties if "sleeping dh" could at least commiserate with me while I'm cleaning up ALL the mess. :o) KWIM?

[Laura Corin]

Glad to have your company.

Laura

[Katia]

I also use waste baskets that I line with plastic grocery sacks; throw a few paper towels in the bottom to lessen the 'splash', and it sits beside the sick child's bed, or beside them on the couch. Wherever they are!

Clean-up is a snap. Tie it up and throw it in the garbage. Re-line and you are ready to go.

This really works well. I've been doing it for years and years. SO much better than cleaning up all that mess.:)

[HS in NZ]

I forgot to mention that I also have a bucket next to my child that happens to be sick and it goes wherever he/she goes. It does help keep the mess to a minimum with my two older children. The trouble is when my ds (2.5 yrs) wants to cuddle "while" throwing up instead of putting his head over the bucket!

[JWSJ]

And why do they wait until they're in thier parent's bed to unload the bus.

Well, hey, at least it didn't hit me...

[Amy in Orlando]

Oh man - is the fact that they are disgusting little people who just want to see how quickly you can move a good answer? As they get older the question seems to be to see how quickly you can scale a bunk bed . . .

Hope you're all well now.

[Valerie(TX)]

I have older kids, so I was "out of practice" and--very foolishly--did not put down towels on the floor after I sent ds18 to bed with a bucket. He woke up from a dead sleep at 1:30 a.m., got most of it in the bucket, but also liberally doused his floor as well. I use the carpet cleaner the carpet the next morning, but am still sprinkling and vacuuming up baking soda every couple of days. :(

These are the things that have worked well for us:

1) No one gets to sleep in a high bunk if they are sick. 'Nuf said.
2) layer towels on the floor and in the bed, so if they don't make the bucket, it is very easily removed, rather than having to wash out the carpet. (Like I said, I had forgotten.)
3) where possible, designate one bathroom as the "sick bathroom", and keep lysol/papertowel wipes handy for doorknobs and any other hard surface that nees cleaning.

I'm sorry! Hope you all get well soon.