The first time a baby throws up is not the best milestone. Here is our story of a not so fabulous first time vomiting.
Last night we checked off another item on our list of “Firsts” for Annabelle. This “First” wasn’t anything fun. It wasn’t fancy. It wasn’t something to celebrate. This first was one of those bad firsts that won’t be a first, since I am sure it will happen a billion more times in the future – which doesn’t make it any easier to handle in the moment.
I woke up to her whining. She had been up 3 times since I put her to bed, but she always fell back to sleep without me even walking in the nursery. This time it was different… she was whining and whimpering. As I walked into her nursery, she started to cough. And then she vomited. All. Over. Herself. And she vomited again on her bunny. And again on me. And again on herself.
There is nothing fabulous about baby’s first time vomiting.
She was crying, with yucky throw up all over her face, and looking at me those big brown eyes asking for me to help her. And I couldn’t. There was nothing I could do except tell her it was going to be OK and rub her little back.
B and I cleaned her up and brought her into our room. She was whimpering and rubbing her face on my chest, so I figured she was probably hungry. I nursed her a little… then she sat up, started crying, and vomited ALL. OVER. ME. and the bed and herself and the pillows and her blanket.
We stripped the bed, changed her, cleaned her and myself up, and then spent an hour trying to calm her down. We went to the guest room. She tried to nurse, so I gave her just a little …and she fell asleep. Just as I was drifting off to sleep… she threw up again. Everywhere.
It’s so hard to see your baby sick for the first time.
As I write this, I am running on about 1 hour of sleep. I had to come to work today – and my heart is aching that I can’t be home with my sweet sick girl. I think it’s safe to say that aside from seeing your child hurt, watching them throw up is one of the most pitiful and painful things ever. There was nothing I could do for her – except refuse to nurse her, since my Mom told me to never give a baby milk when they’re vomiting. I vaguely remember throwing up once in the middle of the night as a child. My mom came running in the room and I just cried harder, wanting her to make it stop. Moms and Dads are supposed to make it all better, aren’t they?
READ THIS: How to Survive the Stomach Virus
As I held her in my lap, rocking together in the nursery at 4 o’clock this morning, she gripped my arms so tightly as if she thought I might put her down. I sang all the songs I could sing, and rubbed her back, and prayed that her little belly would get better. She cried a little, and finally fell asleep. I sat there looking at her beautiful face, wishing I could make her feel better, knowing that I couldn’t.
So here’s to a first: throwing up in all the beds in the house, all over Mommy, and all over herself. Hopefully Daddy will bring her to the doctors and she will be feeling better when I get home at 5 tonight.
Poor, sweet girl! Hugs for you three!
Thank you so much Jessica!
Poor gals! It is miserable. Isn’t it surprising how much little ones can vomit? IT is also surprising how fast they can get over it. I hope she is on the mend, and you can get some rest tonight.
The doctor says it isn’t viral and probably a result of the mucous from her cold dripping down her throat into her little belly. Plus, she has another ear infection. My poor sweet baby just can’t catch a break with these dumb ear infections!
I’m so sorry that you had to go through this. I actually have tears reading this because I remember when my sweet little girl had the stomach bug and threw up. It was this spring, and she was about 5 months old. The look she gave me just broke my heart. I felt so helpless. So I completely understand how you feel. Hugs to both of you. Hope she feels better today.
Thanks so much Joelle.
Oh no! That is the worst! That happened to Beckett a little over a month ago. If it helps for future reference, the pediatrician had us give him 1 oz of Pedialyte at a time to see what he could keep down. In our case, I knew it was from spoiled breast milk, so he was able to get over it pretty quickly. After he was able to keep the Pedialyte down, they instructed us to give him 2 oz of milk at a time until he was good to go.
(Then a few weeks later, I gave him homemade peas and one of them apparently didn’t get blended, so he choked on it and threw up peas all over my mom. THAT WAS FUN.)
I hope your sweet girl is feeling better. I know it’s a hopeless feeling not being able to help. Just give her extra cuddles! Hey, my mom made me drink vinegar as a kid when I threw up. Where is the logic in that one??
The doctor suggested Pedialtye and my MIL picked some up. Last time they told us to give it to her when she was sick she refused to drink it. Hopefully she won’t this time because the poor little thing is dehydrated!
Drinking vinegar after throwing up sounds AWFUL! I will definitely try the cuddles instead hehehe.
I so wish I lived closer so that I could come help you out. This breaks my heart for all of you as i know all to well how difficult it is to leave your sick child. May she get better quickly. Love you all. Mom
That sounds so awful! I’m so sorry. I hope Annabelle is better by the time you get home. My little one has been feeling sick the last couple of days so I can relate, it’s an awful feeling.
I am NOT looking forward to this first! Today was Clara’s first round of vaccinations and my heart broke watching her in pain 🙁 I hope Annabelle is feeling better today!