Surviving a family holiday sickness bug

You may have been there before, or – heaven forbid – be going through it now, but when a holiday sickness bug hits the whole family at once, all rules go out the window.

Time to batten down the hatches, and get through it any way you can. Parents need to pull together: you’ll need a healthy supply of bowls and safe water… and hope there are laundry facilities.

[Skip to the Summary at the bottom for top tips]

Saturday: The bug arrives

It started on the drive up to Scotland. We arrived at our hotel room at 3am and I gave Littlie (13months) some milk to get him back to sleep. He promptly threw it all up again, but I put it down to possible car sickness or iffy milk.

Fast forward to the morning, we’re I’d quickly picked up the wide-awake Littlie at 6am and headed straight to the hotel lobby to allow the rest of my family to sleep in. I gave him his morning bottle as usual, and then 15 minutes later it was ALL coming back up again.

I was subtly trying to catch it with my hands/dress/napkin at the breakfast table at the hotel restaurant without causing too much of a scene for my dining neighbours (nailed it), whilst frantically texting my husband to ask if everyone was awake in the room yet so I could come back and hose off.

And so it continued, with Littlie being off his food and throwing up any food or milk he had for the next 5 days.

Sunday – Tuesday: lots and lots of sick

He’d only sleep if he was literally lying ON me. If I managed to successfully transfer him to the cot, I’d have to check on him whenever he started crying, in case he’d just been sick. Then he’d want to go back to sleep on me. Repeat til 6am.

Lots of cuddles prescribed. And water. I continued trying with meals and milk just in case he started to get better (and I just wanted to get some calories in him), but in much smaller portions.

Protein, including milk, set him off. Baby corn puff crisps seemed to work very well and he could at least keep those down.

He was super clingy and basically wouldn’t be put down. Ever. He would also only be happy with mummy or daddy and no one else would do.

We didn’t bring my sling on holiday, but we did bring one of those mountain hiking toddler carriers, so I put Littlie in that whilst I was pottering around the house sorting out meals or cleaning & tidying. It was a lifesaver and meant I could get things done whilst keeping Littlie close and happy.

Wednesday: The bug spreads

Wednesday night saw Middlie (4 years) and my husband afflicted. Midnight vomiting, continuing every hour or so through the night. I always recommend washing sheets as soon as it happens, even if it’s the middle of the night, as you never know how quickly you’ll need to change the sheets again. Massive thanks to my sister for doing the midnight laundry!

So. I was in Littlie’s room as he was still refusing to sleep without being on me, whilst Middlie and my husband slept together in our bed surrounded by bowls.

The next day my husband spent all day recovering in bed, whilst Middlie was still being sick, so I prescribed a day in front of the TV. We tried her with a bit of bread, but she was sick, so she spent pretty much the whole day with nothing but water. She said she wasn’t hungry, and certainly wasn’t asking for food. She seemed to stop being sick, but was very clingy and needy, and stayed sleeping with my husband for the next few nights.

On the plus side, Littlie and husband seemed to be getting a little better.

Friday: mutation and further spread

Oops. Clearly someone touched something and infected something else because on Friday night half the holiday house came down with it in one fell swoop.

Biggie (6 years) was very sick, along with four other extended family members! It seems the virus affected grown ups with more diarrhoea than vomiting. Joy.

So Biggie went in our bed with my husband, puking every hour, while I flitted between Littlie and Middlie. A full week of sleepless nights for me, and half a week of sleepless nights for my husband.

Recovery

By Saturday afternoon (i.e. the end of the holiday and journey back) everyone seemed to be better.

Despite this, we did actually have a lovely holiday in Scotland seeing family in a beautiful location. I was exhausted from sleepless nights, however, and Littlie was still thrown off by the whole experience (as well as having three teeth come through in one week) so he still hasn’t got back on track with his sleep and is still very clingy. I’m hoping it’s a clingy phase, but it’s very likely to be bad habits from the holiday of sleeping with mummy.

I’m still too sleepy to deal with that hurdle just yet…

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Summary: Top tips for surviving sickness bugs with kids

You’ll need lots of:

• Bowls / saucepans

• Clean, safe water

• Rehydration sachets, if you can get them (hard to give to young kids… maybe add honey, or mix with lemonade as a treat)

• Simple, plain snacks (see point 3)

1. Let their body guide you. Offer them food, but if they’re not hungry, listen to them.
2. Complex food is hard to digest and will upset their stomach easier (i.e. meals with protein, or a big bottle of milk).
3. Plain simple snacks are the safest, such as white bread, dry crackers, white tortilla wraps, dry rice crispies, etc. Baby corn puff crisps worked well for my 13 month old.
4. Don’t worry about them not eating, or their poor diet. They will naturally catch up on calories and good food when they’re better. Kids are amazing and doing this.
5. They need to rest and recover. TV is allowed. There’s nothing wrong with your little one tucking up on the sofa under a duvet or blanket and watching TV all day. With a bowl next to you.
6. Expect clinginess. They’re feeling rubbish and want love and cuddles from someone they feel safe with. For babies, this may mean crying whenever you put them down. Slings and baby carriers are great for this as you can still get a few things done.
7. Laundry queen. For night time incidents, hose off the bed sheets in the bath/shower and get them in the washing machine before you go back to bed. It’ll be really really hard when all you want to do is go back to sleep, but you’ll be happy to have washed sheets in the morning in case you need them sooner than you think.
8. Be prepared for sleepless nights.
9. Also be prepared to get up close and personal with vomit that’s not your own (and maybe to catch). Nice.
10. Avoid contamination. Wash everyone’s hands every spare moment.
11. Work together. If both parents are around, both should pitch in or take turns.
12. Ask for help from others if you need it – maybe a sleepover for one of the healthy kids (careful of contamination), or just having a friend take the healthy ones off for an afternoon.
13. NOTE: I’m not a medical professional – If in doubt, if things take a downwards turn, if high fevers persist, or if a dubious rash appears, then speak to a doctor or medical emergency centre. The above advice is only for your run-of-the-mill tummy sickness bugs and viruses.

Good luck! You CAN get through it and make it out the other side!!

Now to catch up on some sleep…..

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