A Visit from the Tummy Bug

Baby tummies sure are cute and bugs are pretty neat, but Tummy Bugs are no fun at all.

After a very nice visit with Dad & Carolyn, Malcolm got right back to his nap & sleep schedule. Things were looking good. On Monday night, Mal was acting tired earlier than usual so we put him to bed about an hour before his usual bedtime. When he woke up about 45 minutes later, he wouldn't go back to sleep (this is a common occurrence that we're trying to resolve). I brought him back downstairs for Tony to walk him around in hopes of getting him back to sleep. Around 10 PM, Mal threw up all over himself and Tony. He then proceeded to throw up then dry heave every 30 to 45 minutes until 4:30 AM. It was a looooong night.

I call the pediatrician's office Tuesday morning to see what I should do. I was giving him Pedialyte every 15 minutes and the nurse told me to start feeding him small amounts if he was able to keep the clear liquid down for two hours. I started feeding him and things were looking good. He was starting to act like himself again. I thought we cleared the woods until he threw up again around 1 PM. Fortunately, he didn't continue to throw up. So I did the clear liquid for 2 hours and then started feeding him again. When I tried feeding him at 5:30, he was not interested and I knew we were in trouble again. Tony got home around 6 PM and gathered poor Mal into his arms. Guess what happened next...Mal threw up again all over himself and Tony. Ugh.

We waited several more hours this time to feed him again. We had a really hard time getting him to bed because he was pretty hungry. I fed him small amounts throughout the night and he was able to keep it down. When he woke up at 7 this morning, I probably nursed him longer than I should have in hopes of helping him get back to sleep. When he didn't fall back asleep, we got out of bed and came downstairs where he then threw up again. However, it was a lot less this time.

The tummy bug is no fun. There is lots of crying involved. He's either whimpering because he doesn't feel well or crying because he's hungry. Taking care of a sick babe is definitely one of the more difficult parts of parenting. When he whimpers, I hear him saying, "Mommy, why aren't you fixing the way I feel?" When your little ones are sick, all you can do is comfort them until it passes while it breaks your heart a little that you can't magically make them feel better right away.