Last Friday night, I went in to comfort a fussing Little Sister and saw Big Sister sit up in bed. It's not unusual for her to wake up when her sister does, so I didn't worry. Until I heard it. It started out like a cough, and at first I thought,
"oh crud, she's going to need a drink of water and this better not take too long because I want to get back into bed." But then the noise changed, and it took me only a second or two to realize what it was--- she was throwing up! I sat Little Sister in her crib, called for back-up, and went to help Big Sister. I soon discovered that she was only half-way awake, not sure of what was going on. Not only did this mean that she was completely freaked out, but it also meant she was not
aiming- at least as much as a three-and-a-half-year-old can aim. Instead she just kind of looked like one of those rotating lawn sprinklers- covering her pillow, her sheets, her stuffed animals, her bed rail, whatever. If it was in the general vicinity, it was now... well... you know.
So, here we were, in the middle of the night, stripping the bed & scrubbing the kid. Big Sister felt terrible- and not just physically. She kept apologizing like it was Crayola marker & not vomit that she had gotten all over the bed. At one point, while I was washing her face and hair and trying to reassure her, she just exclaimed, "I threw-up on Bun-Bun!" and started to cry again. (Actually, Bun-Bun fared better than some of the other stuffed animals in her bed, since he is a washable beanie bunny. A few other less lucky "guys" as she calls them just got the spot-treatment and a good dose of febreze.) But the point is that she was devastated. She actually asked, "Can you ever forgive me?" To which I replied that there was nothing to forgive because she didn't do anything wrong. I found out later that she just took that answer as a "no" and thought I actually
couldn't forgive her. When she asked again, I simply said "yes." It was a better three-year-old answer, I suppose.
As I type this, I am recovering from another middle-of-the night sheet change. This time, instead of a stomach virus, our midnight adventure was caused by the three cups of water before bed. Big Sister handled it like a champ, sneaking into our room to tell us so as not to wake Little Sis. Daddy was as stealth as a cat as he changed the sheets, and we were all back in our beds in record time. Last week's practice paid off, I suppose. I just hope this doesn't become a weekly thing! A few other things I learned:
- Obviously, no more big drinks of water before bed.
- In retrospect, 6 stuffed animals in bed everynight is bad for several reasons, not just for the vomit-clean-up-factor. There isn't much room for even a little kid. If one falls out in the middle of the night, it can be way too much drama. Some of them need to be tucked in, and some of them can only sleep by certain others. I am hoping to set a "two-guy" limit for Little Sister.
- Febreze is still pretty amazing. Did you know it's been around for 10 years now? (and did you know that is really how to spell it? I though it was a blend of the word "fabric" and "breeze" but not so much.) I'm usually a "baking soda & vinegar can clean just about anything" kind of person, but I'm not ready to give up my febreze. What did our parents do before it came along?
- Big Sister hates "wipe off baths" even more in the middle of the night.
- It is really overwhelming to a child to go through an accident or sickness in the middle of the night. Even though the grown ups want to hurry through the clean-up to get back to bed, and even though we are sleep-deprived too, encouragement, reassurance and even a little snuggling are a must. The day after our adventure, I got really sad thinking about all of the little ones out there who really are made to feel bad and "unforgiven" for things their little bodies can't control. I really wish every parent would realize the power of their words & their approval. I know this was a reminder to me!
