I love dealing with vomit. Said no one. Ever.

When our kids are sick, we can’t help but lay awake and worry whilst they try to get back to sleep. One SAHM fan spent that time this week thinking up a fabulous idea for a post: how to manage a vomiting child.

One of the biggest problems with having a few kids is the speed and frequency at which a virus or bug can be transferred back and forth. SAHM fan Kylie wasn’t alone this week, with a few of us at SAHM in the same boat, dealing with vomit at ungodly hours throughout the night.

Kylie’s hot tips were to have a change of spare clothes handy and a towel beside the bed, and we’ve come up with a few more to help you with a problem that usually rears its head at a time of day where the brain may or may not kick start in time.

Firstly, Items for Catching Vomit:

A sick pot (or spew bucket) should be rinsed after each deposit and given a quick spray with Glen 20 or the like to stop the spread of germs. In a pinch any receptacle will do the job and can be washed out, as demonstrated recently by our Tonka hard hat and handy sand bucket.

Towels are also great as suggested by Kylie, for catching vomit, wiping anything and protecting surfaces.

Then for minimising the fuss:

Know your going to be in for a night of it? Get prepared! Having a change of clothes organised is a start, but draw on your nighttime toilet training/bed wetting experience and make the bed up with two sets of sheets with a mattress protector in between sets. This way you can whip off the soiled sheets without fuss or having to make the bed up in the dark and get everyone back to bed sooner.

It’s hard to see our kids sick and upset, but they need us to be there for them. Try comforting them by gently placing your hand on their back while they are throwing up and repeat a few simple mantras to them in a calm, reassuring voice. “I’ve got you,” “Mama’s here,” and “Get it all out” are good ones to start with.

Encourage deep breaths during pauses between throwing up and laying down when done to let the stomach muscles rest.

Explain briefly after each vomit session in simple terms that there is a virus/bug in their tummy that needs to get out, and that it can’t have food in the body to do that. Ask if their tummy hurts, and make sure to highlight that our tummy usually feels better after throwing up.

Stock up on electrolytes and juice, which both come in the form of ice blocks too, to replenish fluids.

Sponge down the poor patient with a wet cloth to clean vomit and sweat associated with the effort.

And finally for Cleaning up:

Have the mop and bucket ready for the bathroom and other hard floors, make sure you’ve got plenty of Glen 20 or similar and check out our posts on How to Clean a Lounge suite, removing carpet stains or making Home Made Febreeze if it all just happened too fast to catch, or to make it to the bathroom in time.