Viral baby

No, the latest adorable A videos haven't gone viral (I generally make them private so you can only view them with a direct link). Instead, A picked up the latest virus at school. She got sick Thursday night after I rocked her to sleep. She threw up about 6 times in a 3-hour period, which isn't as much as some of the stories I read on the internet where kids were throwing up every 5-10 minutes the first few hours of illness. I stayed up with her sleeping in my lap until about 3 am and fortunately she went the rest of the night without getting sick. I canceled everything on Friday and stayed home. She was pretty tired but no throwing up. We managed to get her to eat (& keep down) some pedialyte pops, club crackers, and applesauce. She ended up sleeping quite a bit. However, this morning she unexpectedly threw up again. She just seemed off the rest of the day. I worry because I know she isn't eating enough (a pedialyte pop, some saltines and graham crackers, and a few peas in plain pasta is all she's managed to eat) and she's slightly dehydrated. Not much we can do, though. And I know she will be okay once she is able to eat again.

She woke up from this afternoon's nap completely inconsolable. It took almost 30 minutes to even get to the point where we could touch her or pick her up. Poor sweet pea. Broke our hearts.

I spent a lot of time Thursday night reading random google pages and blogs in between episodes. I found quite a few helpful tips. Given that we went through 2 pairs of pjs for me, 3 pairs for her, 2 robes, 1 blanket, and 4 towels, trying to minimize laundry became a priority. Some people say keeping bowls nearby is a good idea. I didn't get to try that one (though I did hang out with a big bowl within arm's reach this afternoon) but I liked it enough I thought it was worth mentioning. 

So my tips--

1) Keep pedialyte popsicles in your freezer. The pedialyte liquid quickly goes bad once it's opened (typically 24-48 hours). The popsicles can just wait for these middle of the night events. I think they also might make pedialyte packets that you can mix in water. A hates pedialyte drinks but she loves when I cut the popsicles into chunks and let her eat them with her hands. Win.

They do have a dye in them that little miss sensitive reacts to, though. Note her skin just after finishing an orange one. 

2) Clothing choices are tough--the options (that I considered) are one-piece pajamas, t-shirt separates, and button up separates. A usually sleeps in one-piece footed pajamas but having to take them off multiple times didn't seem like the best idea so we switched to two pieces, hoping we could at least just take off the shirt. I didn't want to mess with buttons but just know, you run the risk of having to deal with pulling a dirty shirt over arms and head. Though, you also run the risk of being totally mismatched the next morning...

3) Towels and receiving blankets. These can pull double duty by providing warmth and also covering the body. By the end of the night, I was able to save our clothes by catching everything in a towel. I chose towels and blankets that were easily washed in hot water, had no sentimental value, and were thin enough that I felt comfortable putting them in her crib with her (just in case).
4) Wash your hands often and sleep as much as you can. That may help your immune system enough to avoid the illness.
5) Just remember that this won't last forever. Usually you just have to make it through the night. It's always darkest just before the dawn and all that. It may or may not help to tell your child that as well. I tried to keep telling A that it was almost over and she was doing great. I have no idea if it helped at all but it did help me to try to stay calm.
6) Try to enjoy the cuddles. Even if you are secretly terrified that close cuddling means being thrown up on (as well as increasing the likelihood that you'll be the sick one in 24 hours) and you jump every time s/he coughs, enjoy as much of it as you can.
7) If you are married, don't kill your spouse. It's amazing when s/he gets up the first time you call and comes running with extra towels, wet washcloths, and theories on what might have made your child sick (even though you both know it's a virus). So even when s/he makes arguments for why it would be okay to feed your still-ill toddler pizza for dinner, stabbing him/her with a spoon is not a good idea.
8) Never ever have two or more children. I can't imagine trying to handle more than one sick child. Clearly people do it.