I generally try to keep a clean home. I regularly clean those germy and frequently touched items like door handles and faucets. But, with a toddler on our hands, germs and bacteria are a given.
This weekend we were all attacked by a wicked stomach bug. No amount of cleaning would have kept this 24-hour treachery at bay. I am happy to say we all survived.
The least affected was Droolface who only vomited once. Of course that one time will haunt me for the rest of my life.
We were driving north on what should have been a two-hour jaunt when disaster struck. Droolface projectile vomited about a half-gallon of liquid all over himself and his car seat.
He was freaked out and crying, so I climbed in the back (very gracefully, I might add) to comfort him. While my husband deftly pulled us into a Walmart parking lot, I debated what to do with a vomit-covered child and car seat. What do you do?
As soon as we were parked, I unstrapped Droolface and stripped off his clothing. It had rained recently, so I figured the Walmart parking lot was probably as clean as it would ever get. I stood my now diaper-clad son on the cement, and went to work on the car seat.
Since Droolface is now a toddler, he could not be bothered to stand patiently by as mommy fixed up his seat. He wanted to explore the many puddles in the parking lot.
I sent hubby inside to purchase a new outfit and new blankie, since both were ruined.
Between corralling Droolface and using multitudinous baby wipes to clean the car seat, I had my hands full.
People walked by, pointing and smiling, some knowingly.
As much as I tried, I could not get all the vomit from the interior workings of the car seat. It was a lost cause.
A new car seat was purchased, along with Febreze in an attempt to rid the air of that horrid vomit smell.
About a half hour later, we were as clean as we could be and headed north again.
Sigh.
What a day. Have any suggestions of how to deal with this kind of situation? Has anything similar ever happened to you?
Here are my suggestions to prepare for car trips with a little one:
• First, have back-up everything. Droolface must have a blankie when he travels, but we didn't have a back-up one in the car. Also have a back-up pacifier, outfit and car seat cover if your manufacturer provides such a thing.
• Car seat. I looked, but could not find any replacement car seat covers for our brand of seat. Since I have now purchased another (cheaper) car seat, I plan to keep it in a bag in the back of the van just in case we have another situation like this one.
• Wipes. Always good to have lots of them!
• Plenty of toys to get the little one's mind off the trip.
• Car snacks. We planned to stop for lunch, but when a half hour was lost to 'the vomit incident' we no longer had the time. Having car snacks saves parents from low-sugar-induced crankiness.
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Real Parents. Real Food. Real Fun.
Welcome to Adventures in Drool! Talking about green living, getting rid of plastics and toxic chemicals in our homes and raising happy kids on a budget. Join the conversation (www.adventuresindrool.com) and don't forget to Like us on Facebook!
Rachel Swick Mavity, author of the blog, lives with a reformed drooler (Droolface), who at age 3 loves to get muddy, drink homemade smoothies, giggle and flirt with old ladies. Her current drooler (Birdy) enjoys spitting up on work clothes and leaving drool trails as a way of showing her love.
Mavity previously worked as a journalist for seven years at newspapers from Pennsylvania to Maryland and Delaware. In Sussex County she worked for several newspapers, including the Cape Gazette. She lives in Lewes with her husband, Ryan Mavity, their son, "Droolface," and daughter, "Birdy."
