May 29, 2007

tummy troubles

Elliot is sick. He threw up several times late Sunday night and again on Monday. He's been living off of chicken noodle soup and "orange milk," a concoction of Gary's made with orange sherbet and 7-Up. He resisted the orange milk at first, requesting regular milk instead (which we knew would make him sick. Ask me how we know.) So Gary just made the drink in one of Elliot's sippy cups and handed it to him. Elliot eventually forgot what was in it, took a sip, and decided he liked it after all. So far he's been fine today, and we plan to try some solid food for dinner.

Meanwhile, I've been doing laundry almost non-stop since Sunday night. I learned that there are numerous ways of getting vomit out of clothing, but washing an item multiple times is not one of them. I wound up adding vinegar in with the detergent, which seems to have removed the smell. Other suggestions have been borax, baking soda, drying the item in the sun (I did this with some of Elliot's stuff), color-safe bleach, Oxyclean, and some magic spray you can get at pet stores. Who knew? (Well, apparently a lot of people did, just not me.)

Luckily no one else has gotten sick, but Gary and I have gotten a lot less sleep. I didn't know it was even possible to get less sleep than what we were getting.

Posted by Jen at May 29, 2007 01:28 PM
Comments

Use borax with the detergent and vinegar (white, not tarragon) in the rinse water to remove detergent residue.

Ginger ale and plain crackers (not cheesy chili or anything) are good for eating between bouts of nausea. The ginger settles the stomach and the carbonation, as you've discovered, is beneficial.

Posted by: Jessica at May 29, 2007 07:12 PM

Dr. Stone used to tell me to take orange soda or whatever soda you like and run it through the blender for about a minute. This removes the carbonation which makes the drink easier to keep down.

You might want to have some inexpensive t-shirts and bottoms for times when the kids are sick so that you can toss them if the smell does not come out. I do remember soaking things overnight and washing them, and then repeating the soaking and washing several times!!

Hope you all get some rest--
Love, Mom

Posted by: Mom at May 30, 2007 02:43 AM