I’ve been out of commission for the past two days due to my own Attack of the Plague (stomach flu). I woke up in the wee small hours of Wednesday morning feeling … decidedly ill. I spent most of Wednesday lying on the couch, getting up feebly to change a VHS tape or DVD in the machine, drag myself to the bathroom, or change a diaper. Curious J was still not feeling fully healthy either, so she was willing to cuddle with me on the couch some of that time. With all the sickness at our house lately, our TV has been getting more use than usual, but yesterday topped it all, with the TV on almost all day.
Despite my Plague-induced fog yesterday, I realized that I was pushing Curious J’s intestinal system too fast, as she was still having lots of problems in the diaper region. This was futher confimed when she couldn’t keep her supper down last night, creating quite the mess for JJ and I to clean up. So, with that in mind, I’ve been a lot easier on her system today. She’s eating the same easy-on-the-tummy food that I am eating, and I am flooding both her system and my own with probiotic supplements. It seems to be helping: both my innards and hers are a lot calmer today.
Now, this afternoon (Thursday), my dear husband has finally succumbed to the same Plague. So far, it seems like his case won’t be as bad as the rest of us have had, but his 24 hours isn’t up yet! But, as far as I know, no one outside of our family has caught this Plague, and no one at school has it. We don’t know where Lyd caught it in the first place — perhaps gymnastics class? It’s the only place outside of home or school where she goes during the week.
Anyway, with JJ finally getting the Plague, I’m hopeful that the end is finally in sight. We’ve got plenty of probiotics on hand, bread for toast, applesauce, Cream of Rice, bread for toast, lightly salted Saltines, Pedialyte, and a few bananas still left on the counter. Best of all, thanks to some chicken broth I made up at the end of January, we have home-cooked chicken broth thawing in a pot on the stove. During a recent search through my freezer, I found some forgotten leftover cooked rice, so into the soup it goes! Hopefully that will serve for small meals for the next day or two as our intestines all get back to normal.
Finally, two tips for those of you who may have to deal with this Plague in the future. First of all, for little children who are vomiting, fold up a big, thick beach towel neatly, put it into a pillow case, and give it to them to use as a pillow. I had to throw out Curious J’s pillow when it was strongly attacked by the Plague, and ever since she’s been sleeping on this towel/pillow. It works pretty well.
Secondly, I’m sure many of you naturally-inclined mommies already know this, but Fels-Naptha soap works fantastic on scrubbing out vomit stains from clothes. And, wash the stained items as soon as you can. Obviously. 😉
Not Finished Yet 