What's a Little Baby Puke & Fear?

Today was a day like any other.

I worked, came home and hung out with Olivia for a bit, then my husband took Olivia to his Mom's house to spend the night. (Kid free night, SCORE!)

All was well until about 930 PM, when my Mother-in-law called to let us know that Olivia had thrown up.

My kid has never thrown up before, so naturally I lost my freakin mind and hysterically cried about not being there with her. My mother-in-law assured us Olivia was okay and that she was already back to sleep, but said she would call if anything changed.

I knew then that there would be no sleeping for me that night. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was letting Olivia down by not being with her while she wasn't feeling good... My husband offered to go pick her up (which deep down I wanted), but I also didn't want to second guess my mother-in-law. I completely trust her judgement, and I didn't want her to think otherwise by rushing over to pick up Olivia, especially if she was already back to sleep...

Not even 30 minutes later we got the call that Olivia had thrown up again. At that point I was in a panic. Nick rushed to pick her up while I frantically paced around our downstairs waiting for them...I summoned my good friend Dr. Google, and began searching for "what to do when your toddler throws up"... Yes, that was my exact Google search... In hindsight I recognize the ridiculousness of it...And no, the results were not helpful at all...

While Googling my child's symptoms, my husband called again to let me know that Olivia had thrown up for the third time on the way home. At that point I couldn't even think straight. I was terrified, and decided to call the after hours nurses line for Olivia's pediatrician.

The nurse must have thought I was a complete nut job. I frantically told her our whole life story from that day, including parts of the day that didn't even have anything to do with Olivia. (Face palm) This lady could clearly care less that I went to work that day as usual...

I'm sure the nurse sensed my anxiety. She totally handled me like a pro though. She said that it was likely something viral, and that there were a lot of bugs going around. She said not to panic, and it should blow over. The first 4 hours would be the worst. There would be more throw up, but as long as we made sure she was hydrated and not feverish, Olivia would be okay.

Speaking with the nurse definitely calmed me, or at least I thought, until my kiddo finally arrived home...

I had already prepared our living room for the puke fest that was about to unfold. I covered the floor with bath towels and grabbed a small trash can from the bathroom. I mixed Gatorade and water in a sippy cup, and I checked to make sure we had crackers on hand. What I wasn't prepared for, is how upset Olivia was. My husband carried her into the house and both of them were covered in throw up. It was like I was in the twilight zone.

Without even thinking, I grabbed Olivia and held her as close as I could. Her poor little body hung on to me for dear life. She was completely exhausted. She had throw up chunks crusted into her hair. Her jammies were stained. Ugh... My poor baby.

At that point it was like something just took over me. Obviously I was still scared, but I just sprang into action and my husband and I didn't even miss a beat. We spent the rest of the night laying on the floor of our living room. Olivia would fall asleep in 15-20 minute increments. She would then wake up, dry heave, cry, then actually throw up. We tried our best to keep her clean and dry, and try to make sure she got as much sleep as possible. After about 5 hours of this, Olivia finally fell asleep and stayed asleep.

Thank God.

In hindsight it blows my mind to think about how we just handled it. Being covered in baby puke didn't even phase me. All my instincts were laser focused on caring for my kiddo and making her as comfortable as possible.

Maybe I do have that "Mothering Gene" after all....

Olivia is now back to running wild and causing trouble, and I could not be more thrilled. Seeing that kiddo ill was rough, and I'm definitely glad it's over, even though I'm sure it will happen many more times in the future...

What are some things you've done as a Mom that you'd never thought you would do?